Canada Post is apologizing after some residents in the Greater Toronto Area reportedly did not receive mail for up to two weeks as a result of the extreme winter weather.
Jon Hamilton, the Crown corporation's spokesperson, said some customers in the GTA, including Thornhill, did not receive mail on a daily basis due to staffing shortages.
"Unfortunately, we had some issues in the GTA. We didn’t provide the notice that we should have and we certainly apologize for that and we're reviewing that right now to make that better," Hamilton told CP24 on Wednesday.
He said although Canada Post has a storm contingency plan, many of their backup-workers weren't able to reach "pockets" of the city due to the severe winter weather.
"Our people live in Toronto as well and are affected by the same things and some of them unfortunately had to take some time off," Hamilton explained.
"We have backup people who weren't able to get out, so in many pockets of the city and in the GTA, we didn’t get delivery out on a daily basis as we should have."
@canadapostcares We've had no mail by Canada Post for 10 days no bills, flyers, weekly magazines - same with neighbours - where's our mail?
— Durango Miller (@durangomiller) January 6, 2014
Is it possible to NOT have to use Canada Post? Did not have mail delivery for almost 2 weeks. Too bad going paperless mean ePost. ;-/
— Andre Gaulin (@fuzzz) January 8, 2014
Bad enough when #CanadaPost doesn't deliver since Christmas, but when they hang up on their cust. service line, you know they're in a mess.
— Ken Godevenos (@pappou) January 8, 2014
So. What are the chances of me getting my bills in the mail today? *fingers crossed* #canadapost #cndpoli #fail
— Lianne (@unavitacaffeina) January 8, 2014
In late December, the GTA was hit by a crippling ice storm that left much of the city in the dark after splintered tree limbs downed power lines. At the height of the storm, more than 300,000 Toronto Hydro customers were left without power.
Hamilton says mail delivery in the affected areas have returned "back to normal" and mail carriers will be out on Saturday to ensure they have caught up with the backlog of mail.