As an extreme cold snap continues to bite across the country, some Canadians might experience delays in sending or receiving their mail.
Canada Post suspended all delivery services for Huntsville, Ont. on Thursday due to inclement weather, snow and freezing rain.
Deliveries were also halted Wednesday for Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island in British Columbia as well as Cornerbrook in Newfoundland due to inclement weather, snow and freezing rain.
Red service alerts remained active in those locations, as of 11 a.m. ET Thursday. That means mail won’t get delivered for the day and delivery agents won’t be sent out on the road or will be asked to return.
Meanwhile, Canada Post has also issued yellow alerts for northern and southern Alberta, southern B.C., Owen Sound, Ont. as well as Deer Lake and Stephenville in N.L. due to the difficult weather conditions.
In those areas, there could be delivery delays, but the national courier service says it is doing its best to deliver.
“Delivery will resume once conditions improve and it’s safe to do so,” the Crown corporation said. “The safety of our employees is our number one priority.”
A Canada Post worker walks along a snowy street as they deliver mail in Toronto, Ontario on January 13.
Lance McMillan/Toronto Star via Getty Images
Canada Post has been using the yellow and red service alerts since 2014.
Mail carriers are briefed daily about the weather conditions and risks they may face throughout the course of the day, said Janick Cormier, a Canada Post spokesperson.
“Although our employees do their best to deliver in difficult weather conditions, there are many safety risks in winter that affect everyone,” Cormier said in an emailed statement. “We encourage people to clear snow and ice from their homes, stairways and driveways so that delivery staff, and anyone else, can safely access the front door when the service resumes.”
Customers can report any issue with community mailboxes, like a frozen lock or snow obstructing access, by going on canadapost.com.
Meanwhile, the frigid cold is also likely impacting some FedEx shipments in Canada.
“Seasonal weather events and other disruptions may occur and cause delays for inbound and outbound shipments,” the company says on its website. “Our top priorities are the safety and well-being of our team members and providing the best service to our customers.”
The current extreme cold wave that has brought heavy snowfall, freezing rain and strong winds is expected to continue into the weekend in parts of the country, but there could be some relief next week, meteorologists say.