Londoners brace for possible public sector strike

Many of the services we take for granted could soon be in jeopardy if the Public Sector Alliance of Canada, the country’s largest federal public sector union, goes on strike.

The situation has made for long lineups at income tax offices, a rush to get passports, and concern from veterans who count on benefits each month.

At C&V Income Tax Services on Southdale Road in London, Ont., retiree Richard Gignac waited patiently in line.

He hoped to avoid getting caught up in a potential Revenue Canada backlog in the event of a strike.

“I have a refund that’s coming, and it’ll just delay that income complement,” he explained. “It’s money that I could spend.”

This year, the rush on taxes has come early, according to Crystal Volpe, the CEO at C&V. “It’s been excessively busy this week, where normally you’d see it in the very last week of tax season.”

She explained that filing electronically may be the best option if there’s a strike.

“If you mail in your tax return, then yes, there’s going to be delays. There’s nobody in the mail room, there’s nobody to process things manually. But if you’re filing electronically, the systems are still working and running, tax returns are still going to process,” said Volpe.

Some tens of thousands of federal public sector workers are in a legal strike position and could walk out if a deal is not reached with the federal government.

In addition to Revenue Canada, a myriad of agencies and services would be affected, including passport processing.

Londoner Ryan Cooper was at the Oxford Street West passport office Thursday, worried that his new cross-border trucking job could be on the line if his passport doesn’t come through.

“It affects me big time,” said Cooper. “If that slows down then I can’t get my job hauling cars.”

The possibility of a public sector strike also weighs heavily on those at area legions.

Veterans Affairs Canada has said a strike would lead to a “significantly reduced ability" to process new benefits.

Victory Legion, London (Br. 317) Service Officer, John Slugget, is himself retired from Veterans Affairs. He said new applications would be impacted the most.

He also explained that the agency will have a contingency plan for those most in need.

“They can, what they call ‘Red Circle’, so the most needy, or the most hurting veterans, can get bumped to the top of the file,” he said.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada must give 72 hours notice of job action.