The Bigger Picture

A lot of major news events have occurred this week including the Air Canada strike and Canada post strike, the Vancouver Canucks losing game 7 and allowing the Boston Bruins to hoist the Stanley Cup, and the rain.

I hope I get a lot of
strawberries, but right
now I only have 4.

The rain has definitely been nice because the fields were dry, gardens were dry, and there was always a fear of fires starting and spreading quickly.  There are hopes that this rain will have come at just the right time and just the right amount to create the perfect growing season for a good crop, but I feel that farming always involves a little bit of hopes.  I know that I am really hoping for this rain to help the rhubarb and strawberries grow in my backyard.

While the weather can be an interesting topic to discuss, one major discussion that has occurred lately has been the Canada Post strike.  The post office in Forestburg has remained open, and was only affected by the strike when mail delivery was stopped in Edmonton and Calgary, which is where the mail passes through at some point in time. That meant for a fairly slow day at the post office, but the regular visitors still stopped in just to see if they had any mail. This has not really had a significant impact on people, but I am now beginning to question the impact that the Canada Post lock out will have on rural areas.  I know people in larger, more urban centres have not been significantly impacted by this postal strike/lock out, and while some people expecting checks from the government can go to a government building to pick up their check, I have been struggling to find, if I was hypothetically anticipating a check, where to pick it up.  Government buildings are not listed in an online database to know where I could potentially pick up my hypothetical check, but thank goodness I was able to find on Google a news article stating that I can call Service Alberta to arrange a pick up location. 

From anywhere to anyone... as long as
we're not on strike.

Now this may seem all fine and dandy, but talking to people who work in municipal offices, the lines to contact Federal as well as Provincial offices have been “experiencing a larger than normal volume of calls at this point in time.  They will now hang up and you can try again later.” Okay, so that may be an issue, but now where do I pick up my check?

Again, the news sources I have read all state you can receive your check or drop off important mail at “the nearest provincial office” due to their “inter-office mailing system”. So this got me wondering, if I lived in Forestburg where would the closest provincial government office be?

Stettler Alberta Service Centre 1hr 11mins

Camrose Alberta Service Centre 1hr 17 mins

Coronation Library 1hr 29 mins

Wainwright Alberta Service Centre 1 hr 56 mins

Red Deer Alberta Service Centre 2hr 14 mins

Leduc 2hrs 23 mins

Edmonton 2hrs 31 mins

Drumheller Alberta Services Centre 2 hr 37 mins

View Larger Map

So these are locations of government offices, not very close to Forestburg at all.  After some further investigation and almost an hour of my time I found a news release from the government with a link to a list of locations you can drop or pick up government mail and checks.  I was relieved to find out that there are 2 locations in Flagstaff County that were not included in my initial search. These places are:

Killam Mental Health Centre 40 mins

Sedgewick- Flagstaff Building 50 mins

So according to Google maps, if I were to require an assistance check I would have to drive a little under an hour to get my check.  Now this may not be so bad, except for the fact that these offices are open during business hours, on week days, and not everyone has a car. 

I know this may sound like I am complaining a bit, but after considering some of the issues faced by rural Alberta, it is important to recognize why something so simple could be an issue. I did not think that a postal strike would have such an impact on people, and I feel very fortunate that it has not impacted me, or that the ways it could have impacted me have been minimal due to allowances by different departments or different organizations.  This postal strike has really opened my eyes to the problems faced by people in rural Alberta and I am now aware of the expectations of people in rural Alberta from the government to be able to drive and travel in order to meet their personal needs.