Christmas is 12 delivery days away and Canada Post is not guaranteeing packages will be delivered to customers in time.

According to Canada Post, 6 million parcels are backlogged and waiting to be delivered across the country.

Vancouver and Toronto are the biggest centres facing backlogs, but many Saskatchewan shipments are processed through those plants.

“The backlog is uneven, so it impacts some facilities more than others,” Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton said. “It’s a trickle effect.”

“You could order one thing and it could arrive relatively quickly, but with the uneven backlog that we’re facing another item could take an extended period of time to arrive.”

Bill Johnson, president of CUPW Local Regina, says he hasn’t seen a problem in delivery services here in Saskatchewan.

“We’re getting tons of parcels that are coming through everyday here. We’ve been checking up on parcels to see when they’ve been shipped as to when they are getting here and it’s all within normal time frames.”

According to Johnson, it’s normal for carriers to pump out 30 to 70 a deliveries per day during the Christmas season.

“We’ve had no backlog. I would suggest that from the start of the rotating strikes we have not seen any drop in mail volumes, in parcel volumes. It’s been pretty steady since late November,” said Johnson.

Both Johnson and Canada Post are still encouraging customers to shop online, but there are no guarantees when they might get their orders.

Canada Post says holiday cards should be delivered in time for Christmas. But delays on parcels could continue into the New Year.

“We expect to be current by Christmas with mail, but it’s the parcels and the gifts under the tree that we’re facing significant challenges with,” said Hamilton.

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