Canada Post strike: Ottawa small businesses feeling the pressure during the holidays [Video]

While mail and parcel deliveries remain at a standstill, small businesses in Ottawa are being forced to scramble to find other shipping methods during the busiest time of year.

“Black Friday and Cyber Monday is a pivotal time for us because we’re going into the quieter months,” said Sports 4 general manager, Karen Zerr.

“It’s been especially busy online, so it’s been pretty significant. I used to bike into work now I have to drive into work so I can drop off the packages at the UPS outlet.”

Forced to find alternative shipping methods, Zerr says the cost to ship with UPS is triple what it is with Canada Post.

“An $11 dollar package is now a $35 dollar package,” Zerr said.

“We generally do free shipping after $150 but that cuts into our bottom line now because we’re paying more for shipping.”

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent …