Five to 10 centimetres of heavy snow was expected to fall on the capital region Wednesday night, tapering off Thursday morning.
Environment Canada’s snowfall warning for the south coast of B.C. includes Greater Victoria, eastern Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands.
B.C. Transit issued an advisory warning of potential delays and detours due to the forecast snow and freezing rain over the next several days.
Canada Post suspended delivery of mail in Nanaimo, Ladysmith and on Gabriola Island Wednesday due to snow. The corporation sent out a red alert saying heavy snowfall had made it unsafe for its workers and it would not be sending out its delivery agents. It did not say when delivery services would resume.
Canada Post spokesman Phil Legault said delivery service alerts are often triggered when roads and sidewalks are rated as difficult to impossible to navigate. “We also take our direction from local authorities and weather specialists if they are expecting conditions to be severe, and we also get feedback from our employees as well.”
Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for much of the east coast of Vancouver Island — from Goldstream Provincial Park to the Comox Valley.
Greater Victoria postal delivery is not expected to be affected. The union representing postal workers in the region, Local 850 of CUPW, said there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to Canada Post determining service interruptions in the region.
Brian Jamieson, president of Local 850, said Canada Post provides guidelines for when it’s safe for its employees to work, rather than setting thresholds for temperature or snowfall level that determine when service is to be cancelled.
Jamieson said while he would prefer hard and fast rules for when not to deliver mail, he understands in places like the south Island, which has several microclimates, it’s impossible to have a one-size-fits-all solution.
Jamieson said on days when there is five to 10 centimetres of snow in the forecast, as it appears will happen this week, it’s left to supervisors to make the call if mail trucks will run.
“And we encourage posties approaching a house that hasn’t been shovelled or looks icy to use their better judgment,” he said. “We want our members to be realistic and sensible when it comes to their safety. And the corporation is very good about giving their full support [on those decisions].”
Jamieson reminded residents that it helps when they clear the snow and ice from their walkways, stairs and driveways to ensure safe access to the front door.
— With a file from Cindy E. Harnett
