Well into the holiday season and with a territorial lockdown fresh in people's memories, the Iqaluit Post Office has been quite busy, with heavy parcel volumes and long-lineups at the post office's main location.
Trevor Wright/NNSL photo
"While the Iqaluit Post Office has always been one of the busiest post offices in Canada, the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent rise in e-commerce has increased parcel volumes beyond anything we could have anticipated," said Dale LeClair, director of Indigenous and Northern Affairs with Canada Post.
LeClair adds that they have begun changes to postal operations queuing lines and continue to explore future changes, including hiring more staff.
"We are committed to reviewing our overall logistics to meet the demand of the city's high rate of growth."
The Iqaluit Post Office has also extended their hours during the holidays until Dec. 23 to help meet the demand of the large volume of parcels coming in.
They are open Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the final three hours being only for parcel pick-up and box renewals. They have also opened up on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. also just for parcels and box renewals.
While the Iqaluit Post Office is busier than usual, LeClair says this won't impact mail that goes through the city onto the majority of the hamlets in the Qikiqtani region.
There are a few exceptions to this, such as mail originating in Iqaluit itself that is processed at the Iqaluit Post Office, which will continue to be dispatched on weekdays to the communities in the Baffin Region.
Mail sent from across the country is brought through Iqaluit, but is not processed at the post office, except for the Municipality of Sanikiluaq, where the mail comes in directly and the mail from Yellowknife, which moves through the Iqaluit Post Office then on to the hamlets.
"Our team is working hard and is proud to serve the people of Nunavut. We thank our customers for their continued patience and support," said LeClair.