Boxes on a conveyor belt during a tour of the Amazon fulfillment centre in Aurora, Colo., on May 3, 2018. Canada Post is cracking down on a loophole people in Nunavut used to get free shipping with Amazon Prime. THE CANADIAN PRESS
Amanda Eecherk is concerned about the surge in her grocery expenses following the closure of a loophole by Canada Post, impacting Nunavut residents who relied on it to access free shipping through Amazon Prime.
Eecherk, a 42-year-old mother, highlights the significant price disparities in essential items. For instance, a can of tomatoes costs $10 in Rankin Inlet, where she resides.
Through a simple alteration to her postal code when ordering from Amazon, Eecherk could have nearly ten cans delivered to her location for the same cost. This workaround provided much-needed relief, she emphasized.
Amazon Prime typically offers free delivery for online purchases across Canada, with the exception of remote regions. However, excluding all Nunavut communities except Iqaluit from this offer exacerbates the challenges faced by residents in one of Canada's highest-cost regions for food and one plagued by food insecurity.
Statistics Canada data from 2020 reveals that 57 percent of households in Nunavut experienced food insecurity in 2017-18, with food prices in the territory often double those in Ottawa.
Inflation compounds these challenges, with the cost of basic items like cucumbers almost doubling over the years.
Eecherk managed to mitigate some of these expenses using the postal code adjustment during Amazon checkout. By changing the local postal code from X0C 0G0 to X0C 0G1, she could obtain free shipping for her purchases.
However, Canada Post's intensified enforcement of its policy to return items with incorrect addresses in Nunavut closed this loophole. The postal service explained that dealing with parcels with incorrect addresses requires additional manual processing, straining resources and slowing down the system.
Despite facing financial difficulties, Canada Post charges shipping fees either to users or to online retailers who decide whether to pass on the costs to customers.
Nunavummiut, like Eecherk, are not demanding free shipping but rather reasonable pricing. However, the absence of such measures significantly impacts their ability to afford essential goods.
Krista Matthews initiated an online petition urging Amazon Prime to extend free shipping services to all northern communities. As a mental health and crisis response coordinator in Cambridge Bay, Matthews underscores the importance of accessible goods irrespective of geography.
While Amazon did not respond to queries regarding the petition or the possibility of expanding free shipping, Matthews hopes that a firsthand understanding of the region's realities might prompt a reconsideration.
She emphasizes the human aspect often overlooked in business decisions, urging corporations like Amazon to recognize the essential need for affordable shipping in remote areas.
