Envelopes full of handwritten letters and donations for various charities are piling up on Dianne ParkerB次元官网网址檚 desk due to the Canada Post strike.

She says it has been heart-rending she canB次元官网网址檛 ship them off to mailboxes across Canada and the world, including to her granddaughter who works an ocean away in Switzerland.

B次元官网网址�(My granddaughter) loves to get snail mail from her grandma,B次元官网网址� the 78-year-old reverend said in a phone interview from her office at an Anglican church in Halifax.

B次元官网网址淪he has a number of (letters) framed. It gives me so much joy sending it. And I love receiving mail myself. I really do.B次元官网网址�

Parker, who is also on the board of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, says her experience is just one example of how the strike, now entering its second week, is B次元官网网址渆roding joyB次元官网网址� for many seniors in Canada.

Some, she said, havenB次元官网网址檛 been able to receive the results of their medical exams. Others are waiting on prescriptions. Many feel isolated, unable to connect with loved ones during the holiday season.

B次元官网网址淭he postal service is a lifeline to the aging population,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淭hey donB次元官网网址檛 have WhatsApp (text messaging), they donB次元官网网址檛 have email. Their only avenue of keeping in touch is with Canada Post. To be disconnected during this season is isolating.B次元官网网址�

She said folks in her community recently saw a senior crying at a caf茅 over the strike.

B次元官网网址淭hey asked her, B次元官网网址業s there anything we can do?B次元官网网址� And she said, B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 devastated that IB次元官网网址檓 not going to be able to receive or send a Christmas card to my lifelong friend.B次元官网网址�

About 55,000 employees represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers walked off the job last Friday, shutting down Canada Post operations and halting deliveries. The two sides are negotiating over wages, job security, working conditions and other issues.

The strike has been gripping communities across Canada, with towns and utility companies regularly issuing reminders on how to pay upcoming bills online.

Parker said she learned of the strike during one of her many weekly trips to her local drugstore to send mail.

B次元官网网址淭hey recommended that I not even put (the letter) in the slot because it could just be there for so, so long,B次元官网网址� she said.

She said she loves going to the post office so much, her neighbours and their kids call her the B次元官网网址渕ail ladyB次元官网网址� and drop cards into her mailbox on her birthday.

She said talking to her local postal worker brings her joy. She said sometimes itB次元官网网址檚 the only interaction seniors have with the outside world.

She said she recently learned the workers can even save lives. In England, postal workers are required to notify their manager if mail is piling up at someoneB次元官网网址檚 door, she said.

B次元官网网址淭hey have to report that thereB次元官网网址檚 something amiss going on in that home,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淚t has saved suffering.B次元官网网址�

Valerie White, a 77-year-old senior in Halifax, said she can understand why the workers are on strike, but hopes for a speedy resolution so she can return to sifting through the junk mail and magazines that get delivered to her door.

B次元官网网址淚 look forward to reading an interesting article, a recipe or someone expressing more information about whatB次元官网网址檚 going on in the province or in the community,B次元官网网址� the former government worker said.

B次元官网网址淵ou just take it for granted.B次元官网网址�