Canada Post has cracked down on a loophole that saw some Nunavut residents get free Amazon shipping up north.
Amanda Eecherk from Rankin Inlet says she is bracing for a significant increase in grocery expenses following Canada Post’s decision to close a loophole that allowed Nunavut residents to receive free shipping on Amazon Prime. The closure affects a community already grappling with some of Canada’s highest food costs.
Eecherk previously changed her postal code at checkout to benefit from Amazon’s free shipping, despite the official policy excluding most Nunavut communities. “Amazon provided the relief that we needed,” Eecherk stated, highlighting how a can of tomatoes costs $10 locally, but through Amazon, she could order ten cans for the same price using the postal code trick.
For example, a local postal code X0C 0G0 was changed to a fake one—X0C 0G1. This allowed for free Prime shipping to the Rankin Inlet post office, located on the northwestern side of Hudson’s Bay.
This method has become a necessity in a region where a cucumber price has jumped from $2.79 to $5.99 in recent years. “Saving that money, then you knew you had money in the bank account for the gas…not luxury items, but fresh produce,” she explained.
However, the workaround ended when Canada Post clamped down its enforcement on items with the wrong address, causing delays and additional processing.
“When considerable numbers of parcels arrive with the incorrect address, working to determine where each one is supposed to go means more time trying to sort through the pile and less time serving customers,” said Lisa Liu from Canada Post media relations to Global News.
According to Eecherk, she says $100 in groceries will now cost an extra $167 in Amazon shipping costs.
Some residents such as Krista Matthews from Cambridge Bay, has started a petition urging Amazon Prime to extend its free shipping to all northern communities. She was also leveraging the loophole for free shipping. “I wish we could just show them the realities of the North, so they could maybe find some kind of heart,” said Matthews.
Canada Post lost $748 million before tax in 2023 according to its latest annual report.
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Oh Canada post. Garanteeing the most expensive shipping and that your package will be delivered on time, 60% of the time.
It is shameful that anybody in Canada has to resort to cheating in order to feed themselves at the prices, while reduced by exploiting that loophole, that are still shockingly higher than anyplace else in Canada and still far from affordable. People should not be lying so they can afford basic necessities like food, Amazon as a private company shouldn’t be expected to subsidize the astronomical cost of the groceries in the North and Canada Post shouldn’t be forced to eat up the loss.
This is what the government is for, to ensure people have at least some semblance of fair and equal treatment and basic opportunities no matter where they live in this country. If they work, pay the taxes and contribute to the society they should not be pushed into indignity of not being able to feed themselves and their children and having to do underhanded things so they can.