Canada Post says it has removed the deadline for its Santa Claus letter program amid an ongoing national workersB次元官网网址� strike that has halted mail delivery leading up to the holiday season.

Some 55,000 workers walked off the job more than two weeks ago, suspending mail service B次元官网网址� and a program that helps deliver up to 1.5 million letters from Canadian kids to the North Pole each year.

The postal service says in a statement that while the initial deadline to mail a letter to Santa with the iconic H0H 0H0 postal code was Dec. 6, it has now removed the deadline from its website.

It says once operations resume, it will ensure that all letters make it to the North Pole and receive a reply, but it cannot guarantee delivery dates.

Canada Post says since the program began more than 40 years ago, SantaB次元官网网址檚 North Pole post office has delivered replies to more than 45 million letters.

During the strike, some communities have stepped up to deliver SantaB次元官网网址檚 mail themselves, offering their own local programming on social media to make sure letter writers receive a reply by Christmas.

The strike entered its 19th day as the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping weekend came to a close.

Canada Post said Monday it was waiting for the union to respond to a framework it presented over the weekend for reaching negotiated agreements.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has said itB次元官网网址檚 reviewed the proposal.

It said Canada Post has moved closer to the unionB次元官网网址檚 position on some issues, but the framework B次元官网网址渟till remains far from something members could ratify.B次元官网网址�

One of the sticking points has been a push to add weekend delivery, with the union and Canada Post disagreeing over how the rollout would work.

The federal government has been under pressure from the business community to intervene in the strike but has said thatB次元官网网址檚 not in the cards.