With Canada Post on strike, these mail-strike hustlers are picking up deliveries

Cost of Living4:48People are turning the Canada Post strike into extra cash

It started as a joke. Cameron Hurteau posted on social media, saying that with Canada Post workers on strike, he'd be willing to deliver people's mail. Since then he's delivered Christmas cards, a death notice, and even an inmate visitation form. 

Though he drew the line at an oddball request to deliver a Christmas carol.

"I said, 'Do you mean kind of like a Christmas gram? Like, Buddy the Elf shows up and starts singing Christmas carols? I'm sure you don't hate the person enough for me to sing to them,'" Hurteau told Cost of Living. 

Christmas carols aside, Hurteau, who lives in Kingston, Ont., has stumbled onto a need. Negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have brought mail delivery across the country to a halt during the busy holiday season. 

And with no clear signs of when the strike will end, people are looking for alternative ways to get their mail and packages out.

Hurteau, whose day job is doing maintenance at a hotel, says he was surprised by the number of people who responded to his social media post. When his friends suggested he post on Facebook Marketplace, he did that as well.

And it's been a success. So far Hurteau says he's done deliveries for about 50 to 60 different people and made about $2,500. And he's far from the only one.

Out of necessity

When shipping costs went up with the start of the strike Nov. 15, Natassja Francis of Hamilton, Ont. — who owns an online thrift store called ReModest — decided to take matters into her own hands.

She got in her car and started making deliveries herself. Since she was already behind the wheel, she figured it was worthwhile to make a few extra deliveries on her way.

"I thought maybe I could capitalize on this and, you know, just deliver my own products around the area, but then also advertise to deliver other people's stuff as well," said Francis.

With a two-year-old son at home, she's able to fit the deliveries in on her own schedule. Over the last week and a half, Francis says she's done 10 jobs, along with her own work. That includes Christmas cards and promo material for realtors. 

She charges $2 per kilometre on both the pickup and the dropoff. Francis also has people sign a liability waiver.

For Hurteau's deliveries, he asks his prospective customers what other delivery companies would've charged them and then offers to do it for less than that. 

"One lady said, '70 bucks.' I said, 'OK, well, I'll do it for 50 if you want.'"

So far he's delivered cheques, regular mail, furniture, a form to visit an inmate, a death notice, and even some prescription medication. He had some questions about the latter.

"I'm like, 'What kind of prescriptions are we talking about? Like, do I need a special license? Or like, what?' And he goes, 'Well, it's legal,'" said Hurteau. 

"I take faith that I'm not delivering illegal things."

Hurteau says he does ask what the contents are so he doesn't deliver anything he shouldn't. And if something does turn out to be illegal, he has the person's information and address to show police, he says. 

But the Canadian Union of Postal Workers says it has concerns about people taking on deliveries like this. It says postal workers must pass background checks before being hired, and have protections in place if there are any on-the-job injuries.

"Private citizens offering delivery services lack these safeguards. Without union representation, there is no assurance of fair pay, proper training, or protection if they are injured on the job," the union said in an emailed statement. 

"This raises huge concerns, not only for their safety but also for the integrity and security of the mail being handled."

CBC reached out to Canada Post, which declined to comment.

The side hustle

Guy Holburn says these side hustles prove how important a postal service can be. 

"This is really an essential service that we have. So even though we live in an electronic age, we're still very reliant on physical delivery of letters, packages and so forth," said Holburn, a professor for the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario.

But there is a challenge, he says, for those taking on deliveries. He say people will question if the delivery method is reliable, where they might not have those same questions around Canada Post or other established delivery companies. 

Still, Holburn says it doesn't surprise him to see an uptick in self-employed delivery drivers. It's part of a trend of people finding ways to make some extra money on the side. But he isn't sure how long it will last. 

"Entrepreneurs will jump in where they see potential opportunity and a need," said Holburn. "Whether it's going to be a lasting business is another question."

Hurteau, for his part, doesn't intend to turn deliveries into a long-running side hustle. He's says he's happy to be getting some extra money, especially around the holidays, but isn't sure how long he will keep it up.

"I don't even know, until it dies down I guess. Or until people realize that Canada Post is back up and running. Maybe they like their delivery guy, who knows?" said Hurteau. "I like side cash."