Juanita Mercer/The Telegram
Mandy Morgan moved from Newfoundland to Alberta 13 years ago, but even she was affected by the blizzard and state of emergency in her home province.
Morgan is waiting on important mortgage renewal documents from her family in Newfoundland, and with the interruptions to mail service, she doesn’t expect to receive the forms in her mailbox any time soon.
She said the bank wanted the information on Thursday. The delays have already cost her $175 in interest.
“I was stressing about it a lot at first,” she said, adding that she’s been able to extend her existing mortgage until the Newfoundland mail delays are sorted.
Canada Post said all outbound mail and parcels will be transported out of Newfoundland to their destinations as soon as possible.
People living in the Avalon East area, including St. John’s and Mount Pearl, will begin receiving deliveries next week, Canada Post said.
“Items destined for addresses in areas that are not affected by the ongoing state of emergency will be delivered as soon as possible,” reads a news release from Canada Post.
A week to work through backlog
Meanwhile, Purolator’s St. John’s terminal was partially open on Friday, and the company expects it to be fully operational on Saturday.
“Like every business in the region, the conditions have hampered our service levels,” Stephen Noseworthy, senior manager of Atlantic Canada operations, said via email.
He said hospital deliveries have resumed, as have delivery routes to some areas outside St. John’s where the weather wasn’t as bad.
“We are enacting recovery plans to return to normal service levels and we estimate it will take about a week to work through the backlog of packages. Health care and hospital deliveries will remain a priority.”
Anyone expecting a package via Purolator can track the delivery at purolator.com.
On the FedEx website, a service update indicates Newfoundland operations will remain closed until the state of emergency is lifted.
“Once the state of emergency is lifted by local authorities, we will implement our contingency plans. We are prepared to provide service to the best of our ability, as local conditions allow, in the areas affected by the storm,” the update says.
Anyone expecting a delivery from FedEx can check the status of packages at fedex.com.
7,000 undeliverable meals
And at least one delivery-based company is trying to make the best of the situation.
When the healthy meal box subscription service HelloFresh couldn’t get 7,000 meals delivered to subscribers in Newfoundland, the company issued refunds – and then put the food to good use.
“While we couldn't get the meal boxes out to Newfoundland, we also hate to see good food go to waste,” the company wrote in an email to subscribers.
“So, with the help of partners at the Canadian Armed Forces and CFB Gagetown (in Oromocto, N.B.) in particular, we’ve donated these boxes to the families of those in the military who are assisting in this state of emergency.”
Hundreds of troops were deployed to Newfoundland to help the province shovel out from under a record-breaking snowfall that crippled the metro area of St. John’s.
A portion of the donated HelloFresh boxes were also distributed at the Oromocto Food Bank.
“As soon as it became clear our courier would not be able to deliver to Newfoundland this week, our team sprung into action,” said HelloFresh Canada CEO Ian Brooks.
“We knew immediately we wanted to donate the boxes. When we got in touch with the folks at CFB Gagetown, who said they could give them to the New Brunswick-based families of military service people deployed to Newfoundland, we immediately jumped at the chance.”
Twitter: @juanitamercer_