Watery grave along HIghway 93/95
At least four weeks ago, a travel trailer ended up in the watery ditch along Highway 93/95 at Prairie Road and Thunderhoof Ranch near Wasa.
The RCMP attended and strung yellow police tape on the wreckage.
Since that time, I have heard from several concerned Wasa residents who contact the RCMP, Mainroad, RDEK, MOE and MOTI.
All of these agencies have declined to remove the wreckage.
This trailer is large enough to have a toilet, which means black waste has been sitting in the water, which is connected to the local aquifer. Not only that, but there are other types of toxins in trailers like propane, grease and oil, gray-water, AC refrigerant and whatever else inside the trailer.
How can local authorities allow this to continue for a month, and counting? How can they disavow responsibility and then point the finger at another agency, who also denies responsibility? How can none of these people pick up a phone and get this garbage removed from the water?
When there is EK- wide concern over water availability and quality, and there is nothing done to clean-up this toxic watery mess, it smacks of neglect for Wasa resident concerns.
Nowell Berg
Wasa
CUPW workers deserve better than executive excess
I am writing to express our full support for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) in their ongoing negotiations with Canada Post Corporation. This struggle is about more than fair wages—it’s about basic equity, holding public institutions accountable, and respect for the people who keep our public postal system functioning every day.
The Canada Post Group includes workers employed by Canada Post itself and others who work for Purolator. According to their 2024 financial report, they have approximately 84,000 employees overall. 54,000 of these employees work for Canada Post, and 11,000 work for Purolator These 65,000 employees are covered by collective agreements that set the terms and conditions of their work.
Canada Post claims to be in a “critical financial situation,” with warnings of unsustainable losses and declining revenues. In their 2023 financial report, Canada Post recorded a loss before tax of $748 million and uses those finances as a key point in their negotiations. They fail to mention that in 2023, the corporation spent $470 million on the new Albert Jackson Processing Centre in Scarborough Ontario—a major capital investment.
Canada Post says the $1.034 billion of repayable funding granted to Canada Post by the Federal Government in early January 2025, will allow operations to continue, though the funds won’t help structural issues. At the same time, it continues to pay executive salaries that are wildly out of step with conditions faced by frontline employees.
While their operating costs in 2024 declined by 5.3 % due to the labour strike, their 2024 financial report shows their Labour costs increased compared to 2023. In 2023, they spent $15 million on the Board of Directors and Senior Executive salaries, in 2024 they spent $16 million on those same salaries.
Executives make up roughly 5% of Canada Post’s entire workforce—a surprisingly large share for an organization that claims to be under financial strain. This means that a group of over 4,000 highly paid individuals are drawing significant resources while the workers are told to tighten their belts.
The CEO of Canada Post earns between $506,800 and $596,200 annually. Meanwhile, CUPW members—the people delivering mail in freezing winters and scorching summers—earn a starting wage as low as just over $41,000 annually for full-time work. Many are part-time or on-call workers and earn even less and lack full benefits. It’s indefensible that Canada Post executives continue to draw such high compensation while frontline employees are told to accept less because of alleged financial constraints.
Postal workers have carried the system through pandemics, rising parcel volumes, and increasing public demand. Their dedication should be met with fair compensation and job security—not deepening inequality and corporate double standards.
If Canada Post can find nearly half a billion dollars for infrastructure and continue to fund executive salaries at the top, then it can certainly afford to provide fair wages and better conditions for the people who actually make the service work.
In solidarity with CUPW,
Krista Napl
President, East Kootenay District Labour Council
