Manitoba government opens locations for ‘essential mail’ as strike continues

The province has opened locations to drop off and pick up “essential mail” as the Canada Post strike continues, the Manitoba government said in a news release Wednesday.

Most offices will be open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the province said. Essential mail includes cheques, court orders, educational materials, medical supplies and resources required to maintain health-care services and other prioritized items, according to the release. 

“Provincial departments have held essential mail in anticipation of a possible disruption and have forwarded these items to pickup locations,” the release said. 

Anyone picking up mail must bring one piece of government issued photo ID or two pieces of non-photo identification that include their name and address. 

Mail can also be dropped off to the provincial government at any location, but letters have to be addressed to a certain department and include the room number, street address and city or town. 

The full list of locations including what kind of mail can be picked up or dropped off can be found online.

Canada Post stopped delivering mail across the country on Nov. 15 when tens of thousands of postal workers went on strike over wages, working conditions and other issues.