As one of the largest strikes in Canadian history hits day six, Canadians and businesses who need access to federal services continue to find themselves faced with disruptions with no idea when the thousands of public servants who walked off the job will resume their duties.
Passport Application
In an interview with Global News’ ‘The West Block’ program on April 23, Karina Gould, minister of families, children, and social development, urged Canadians not to apply for a new passport or renew an old one.The minister said on a typical day, about 20,000 to 25,000 passport applications are received across the country. When the strike kicked off last Wednesday, processing hit rock bottom.
“For the first day of the strike, Passport Canada was only able to process 500 applications because those were 500 that were considered to be urgent or essential,” she said.
Service Canada
Though services for Old Age Security, Social Insurance Numbers, Employment Insurance, and the Canada Pension Plan are deemed as essential, the 338 Service Canada centres located nationwide, including the call centres, will operate in a “reduced capacity,” the minister said in the interview.Tax
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is not planning to postpone its tax deadlines even though over 39,000 of its employees have joined the strike.“Canadians should take steps to ensure their return is filed by May 1, 2023, along with payment for any balance owing.”
The agency did not immediately respond to whether the current deadline for T2 tax filing, which applies to incorporated businesses, will be extended beyond June 15 for business owners.
Agriculture
The strike has also affected grain inspections, which would potentially harm the profits and exports of Canadian farmers.In an email statement to The Epoch Times on April 24, the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) said about 65 percent of its staff are currently on strike, including over 140 grain inspectors.
“[P]rovision of official inspection and certification of grain exports is significantly impacted,” wrote Rémi Gosselin, manager of corporate information services for CGC.
Contingency plans were being put in place to ensure that managers and others not on strike can maintain inspections essential to keep market access, he added.
“A strike causing a slowing or stoppage of grain movement from Canadian ports will have a massive impact on the entire grain industry, especially farmers,” it said.
“Any disruption in the supply chain will also cause a backlog of vessels that are currently enroute to Canadian ports, adding additional penalties to the industry which will be incurred even after a strike is settled.”
Gunter Jochum, president of the association, said the impact will be felt by consumers eventually.
“A stoppage would be devastating to the industry, and ultimately to consumers,” he said in the release.