Pricey parcels: Canada Post fuel surcharges surge
Anyone looking to send packages this holiday season might want to prepare themselves for the price to do so.
High fuel costs have led Canada Post and other major delivery companies to raise fuel surcharges for parcels.
This week, surcharges on domestic packages have been set to 37 per cent. This is a slight drop from when it hit nearly 40 per cent last week.
In an email to CTV News, a Canada Post spokesperson said fuel surcharges are applied year-round as a standard industry practice.
"Our fuel surcharges are based on the average price of diesel across Canada as measured by Kalibrate Technologies Ltd., an independent company that monitors fuel prices in Canada," the statement reads in part.
People showing up to the Canada Post office on Bridgeport Road East in Waterloo on Tuesday were taken aback when they found out the pretty penny it was going to cost them to send a parcel.
"I'm just kind of realizing this now so I don't really know what I'm up against when I get in there, but I'm sure I will. I'm sending this off to some great friends in Nova Scotia," one person told CTV News.
"That is horrendous. I haven't sent a parcel and I have to do it this week so it's going to be crazy," said another person.
As the saying goes, good things come in small packages. But people are having difficulty finding the good in any of it, no matter the size.
Given inflation and the holiday rush, small business owners who rely on mail to get their products to customers are also feeling the pressure.
"We do a lot of shipping. We ship out almost daily. The prices have almost doubled with the fuel charges and it's no longer competitive for us so now we've had to reach out to other shipping companies," said Crystal Malone, the owner of Crafty Crystal, which specializes in DIY craft kits.
Crafty Crystal ships products almost daily, but had to stop using Canada Post because of the high fuel surcharges.
Malone used Canada Post before the fuel surcharges became too costly. Considering she offers a flat rate to customers for shipping, she was forced to eat the added costs herself.
"It's ridiculous. I would rather hand-deliver and drive around city to city delivering," said Malone, who suggests other business owners should consider smaller delivery services because they sometimes offer better deals.
With the holidays fast approaching, many feel the fuel surcharges have boxed them in, but admit they'll have to send their packages anyway – stamp and all. But nobody said anything about a stamp of approval.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.