As tens of thousands of Canada Post workers demonstrated on the picket line Friday morning, Waterloo Region and other local municipalities are warning people it will impact daily operations.

Waterloo Region said all incoming and outgoing mail will be affected, including fines and speeding tickets.

However, the due dates for property taxes and water bills have not changed. Instead of sending their payments by mail, residents should use other options, such as making payments online or using telephone banking. People can also visit local municipal offices in person.

The region says that for MobilityPlus users, products will be delivered by courier. EasyGO fare cards will not be able to be ordered online and people must visit a GRT customer service point or ATM to obtain one.

Canada Post workers went on strike Friday morning after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with their employer, exactly one year after negotiations began.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) says about 55,000 workers in its Urban, Rural and Suburban Letter Carrier (RSMC) bargaining units are on strike, saying little progress has been made in the bargaining process .

The union and company have agreed that benefit checks will still be mailed during the strike, including for the Canada Child Benefit, Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan.

Impact on the busy holiday season

The strike comes ahead of Black Friday and the start of the holiday season, when Canadians rely on the postal service to send and receive gifts, packages and cards.

• What impact does the Canada Post strike have on you? What should be done about this? Leave your story, questions and opinions here and you could be featured on Cross country resultsThe November 17 broadcast.

Local business owners say they are concerned about how the strike will impact them, including Jacqueline O’Neill, owner and designer of ButterPot Designs.

“I don’t think they understand how many individuals and small businesses they’re impacting with these decisions,” O’Neill said.

Her Etsy store relies heavily on delivery of small and large packages. She told CBC News that there are significant price differences when changing companies from Canada Post to another courier company, so prices for customers can increase at a time when almost everything people shop online.

“It’s a lot harder to attract them with the rates we’re going to have to charge,” O’Neill said.

“I don’t think they understand how many of these small businesses and individuals won’t come back to Canada Post if they go to another party.”

Kristy Miller, owner of Guelph-based The Scented Market, is concerned about being able to distribute her candles to customers in a timely manner.

“We are investigating alternative options and implementing them immediately because we absolutely cannot leave packages stranded in transit,” Miller said.

She said they ship 100 packages a day through their online website. She worries about declining sales because customers won’t be able to count on on-time delivery just before the gifting season begins. According to her, the loss of income could be astronomical.

“It really feels like a dark cloud is looming over us.”

Once operations resume, Canada Post said, mail and packages will be delivered on a first-come, first-served basis, but “a national strike, regardless of its duration, will impact service to Canadians well after the end of the strike.