Canada Post removes deadline for Santa letter program amid strike

Canada Post says it has removed the deadline for its Santa Claus letter program amid an ongoing national workers’ strike that has halted mail delivery leading up to the holiday season.

Some 55,000 workers walked off the job more than two weeks ago, suspending mail service — and a program that helps deliver up to 1.5 million letters from Canadian kids to the North Pole each year.

The postal service says that while the initial deadline to mail a letter to Santa with the iconic “H0H 0H0” postal code was Dec. 6, it has now removed the deadline from its website.

It says once operations resume, it will ensure that all letters make it to the North Pole and receive a reply, but it cannot guarantee delivery dates.

Canada Post says since the program began more than 40 years ago, Santa’s North Pole post office has delivered replies to more than 45 million letters.

During the strike, some communities stepped up to deliver Santa’s mail themselves, offering their local programming on social media to make sure letter writers received a reply by Christmas.

Canada Post strike nears 3-week mark amid pressure for government intervention

The strike by more than 55,000 Canada Post workers entered its 19th day as the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping weekend came to a close.

Canada Post said on Monday that it was waiting for the union to respond to a framework it presented over the weekend to reach negotiated agreements.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has said it’s reviewed the proposal.

It said Canada Post has moved closer to the union’s position on some issues, but the framework “still remains far from something members could ratify.”

One of the sticking points has been a push to add weekend delivery, with the union and Canada Post disagreeing over how the rollout would work.

The federal government has been pressured by the business community to intervene in the strike but has said that’s not in the cards.