We at westrifle will continue using Canpar and UPS as shipping options. Canada post will not be used from today because of strike possibility. Order with confidence your firearms or ammunition will be delivered to you.

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Canada Post impasse looming, but no strike or lockout yet

Talks between Canada Post and its largest union are continuing while the prospect of a strike or lockout draws ever closer.

Mail service spokesman Jon Hamilton said the Crown corporation is hopeful the two sides can hammer out a deal, and notes Canada Post still has not given the required 72 hours' notice to call a lockout. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers union, meanwhile, has a strike mandate from its members, but has also yet to call for any job action.

That puts the timeline, if any, for a work stoppage on Thursday at the earliest.

Small business owner says Canada Post stoppage would be disastrous
Both sides remain at the negotiating table and Hamilton says he hopes they can reach an agreement that is "affordable and reasonable." The union, meanwhile, called the company's latest offer an "insult."

While many issues are on the table, the dispute ultimately boils down to money.

Changes to employee pension plans have been a key sticking point in negotiations. The company wants to switch new hires to a defined contribution plan, different from the current one which guarantees a reliable payout every month. The union doesn't want that, and has also proposed some wage hikes.

A representative from Canada Post says in a written statement that the union's proposed plan would add "at least $1 billion" in costs over the next three years.

Winners and losers already clear as Canada Post strike or lockout draws near
The statement also says that two other unions representing Canada Post workers have agreed to the pension changes, and only CUPW is holding out.

Canada Post is mired in a changing economic climate for its core business. While the company took in more than $8 billion revenue last year — an increase from 2014's level — the volume of mail being delivered has shrunk for several years in a row now. Canada Post delivered 8.9 billion items last year, down from 9.1 billion in 2014 and a figure that would have been much smaller were it not for growth in parcel delivery partially offsetting a large decline in letter mail.

The last time Canada Post experienced a work stoppage was in 2011, which included 10 days of rotating strikes and a lockout before the previous Conservative government mandated the company to end the dispute with back-to-work legislation.

Canada Post made new contract proposals about a week ago, and the union presented a counter-offer on Friday.