Older Canadians are among those who rely the most on traditional mail to receive pension cheques, medications and bills
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As the Canada Post attacks continue, vulnerable groups, including the elderly, as well as passport applicants, are suffering from service delays. For parents like Cecilia Lopes, a retired teacher who lives on Montreal’s West Island, the impact of the attack was deeply personal and financially destabilizing.
“I depend on the pension from Portugal, and they do not offer direct deposits to Canadian banks,” Lopes explained. “The check was supposed to be sent in the mail, and now it’s stuck. It’s threatening my life.” He added that unpaid checks may be returned to the country of origin, creating a bureaucratic nightmare.
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Seniors are among the most dependent on traditional mail, relying on Canada Post not only for their pensions but also for prescription drugs and bill payments.
According to the Canada Post 2023 survey, Canadians aged 65 and over show a higher reliance on physical mail, especially for important documents such as bills, government benefits, and personal correspondence. This finding is associated with a lower level of digital adoption among parents, along with a preference for real communication methods.
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Furthermore, pensions account for 15.1 percent of household assets for seniors, which underlines their importance for financial security and underlines the possible difficulties caused by mail delivery disruptions.
Lopes, who lives alone, expressed concern for others in the same situation, especially those without a support system. “For some seniors, it’s a disaster,” he said.
Lopes’ situation is not unique.
Many parents also rely on mail for private pension checks from employer-sponsored plans, unions, or insurance companies. Although direct deposit has become more common, not all providers offer the option, leaving mail delivery as the only option for some retirees. And although there are no exact figures on the number of seniors who rely exclusively on the pension checks they send, Statistics Canada reports that more than 6.7 million Canadians will be active members of a registered pension plan in 2021.
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The attack also had a significant impact on pending time-sensitive documents, including passports. Rishi Balani, who lives in Ottawa and is in Canada on a work permit, recently surrendered his passport to Service Canada for visa stamping. Despite paying for the expedited service, the passport was still not delivered.
Balani described the emotional toll in an email to public services minister Steven MacKinnon: “We are ping-ponging between Canada Post and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), with no resolution. This is not about gifts – this is about our identity.
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Although Canada Post has agreed to continue sending domestic government pension checks, Lopes criticized the lack of support for those who rely on international payments. “Millions of Canadians have pensions from overseas,” he said. “The federal government needs to step in.”
• Email: shcampbell@postmedia.com
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