The Canada Post strike is here again
For the Pass Herald, a paid subscription newspaper that has delivered trusted local reporting for generations, the strike is more than a temporary inconvenience.
The Canada Post strike is here again, and once more it has landed on the backs of small communities and the local newspapers that serve them. For the Pass Herald, a paid subscription newspaper that has delivered trusted local reporting for generations, the strike is more than a temporary inconvenience. It disrupts how we reach our readers, it challenges the very business model we operate under, and it strikes at the heart of what it means to be a verified newspaper in Canada.
Unlike some papers that are free, the Pass Herald is a paid-circulation newspaper. That means every subscription matters. Every reader who supports us financially helps keep this publication alive and working for the people of the Crowsnest Pass. We are not a flyer wrap or a freebie on a counter. We are a verified newspaper, audited every year through News Media Canada. That audit process is rigorous, requiring us to prove how many people subscribe and read this paper every week. The numbers are then published for advertisers and readers alike, ensuring complete transparency. When you pick up the Pass Herald, you know it is a newspaper with a real, paying readership.
That verification is also what qualifies us for an annual mail subsidy called Aid to Publishers, a program which has been around since pre-confederation. This program, funded by the Government of Canada, helps newspapers like ours offset the cost of mailing copies to subscribers. It is not a handout, it is recognition of the essential service community newspapers provide across the country. We only receive the subsidy after proving our audit numbers. In other words, we must show the federal government that our subscriptions are real, paid, and accounted for. For a small business like ours, that support is crucial.
And yet, when the mail stops moving, our ability to serve those subscribers is disrupted. That is what we are facing now. The Canada Post strike means some readers will not see their paper in the mailbox on Wednesdays. It means subscribers who count on us for their weekly update on community news, council decisions, school events, sports, elections, and local voices will be left waiting. For a paid subscription paper, this hurts.
But just as we have done before, we will weather this storm together. There are still plenty of ways to get your Pass Herald each week.
You can pick up the paper at outlets across the community:
Bellevue – Crockets Trading Company
Blairmore – Pharmasave, IDA, IGA, The Pantry, and Circle K
Coleman – Remedy’s RX and Happy Mart
We will deliver papers in Pincher Creek to Pincher Office Products and Rexalls.
We have also placed hard copies at the Blairmore Library. If you are a subscriber, just walk in and ask for your paper.
For those who prefer digital access, the process is even simpler. If you want the Pass Herald delivered straight to your inbox by 8 a.m. every Wednesday, send us an email at passherald@shaw.ca and we will set you up with a digital subscription.
We are also posting each week’s edition on our website at passherald.ca, giving subscribers another way to read the news that matters to the Crowsnest Pass. And because this is an election year, we are making sure our candidate coverage is accessible to everyone. The complete question-and-answer feature with municipal candidates will be available on our website and on social media, so all residents can review platforms and ideas before casting a ballot.
This is not the first time we have faced a Canada Post disruption, and it likely will not be the last. But as always, we will continue doing what we have done for nearly a century: bringing you the news of your community, with accountability, transparency, and commitment.
We thank you for your patience, your loyalty, and your continued support. Together, we will get through this, because community news is too important to be stopped by a picket line.