Steep surcharges for mailing parcels may dampen holiday spirits

Photo: The Canadian Press

Canadians sending parcels this holiday season may be surprised to see a steep surcharge on domestic shipping due to the high price of diesel.

The Canadian postal service's package surcharge rose to nearly 40 per cent last week on domestic parcels and fell slightly to 37 per cent this week.

Canada Post spokesman Phil Rogers says the fuel-based surcharge has been a standard company practice for more than 20 years and is based on the average price of diesel as measured by Kalibrate Technologies Ltd.

Despite the higher-than-normal prices, Canada Post anticipates a busy holiday season as Rogers says the postal service has hired 4,500 additional staff and 1,550 more vehicles to accommodate the holiday shipping surge.

Deadlines for domestic shipping vary on priority but regular parcels shipped in Canada should be sent between Dec. 9 and 19 to arrive in time for Christmas.

Even sooner is the deadline to ship internationally which varies depending on the country.