Another Canada Post Strike

It hasn't even been a year since the last one. Technically, postal workers here have been on strike for several months but their actions were not having an impact on letter mail. But that changed yesterday after the Canadian government recommended changes to the way Canada Post operates in order to remain solvent. One of the changes is to permit Canada Post to phase out door-to-door delivery. Doing that would mean reducing the workforce and that's a non-starter for the union. So... back to the picket line they go.

The last strike in 2024 was never really resolved. The employees have been working without a collective agreement for nearly two years now. It's hard to imagine when this current strike action will end. The last work stoppage was closer to Christmas and they only returned to work after the government intervened. 

Since it doesn't seem right to post something without including an image or two, here are stamps from the most recent issue featuring mushrooms found in Canada. I like these and I wish Canada Post would put out more flora and fauna stamps. I had a chance to use them on a batch of circuits that I sent out last week which hopefully made it out of the country before the strike action started.

A big one from Brazil

From the Brazilian city of Caxias do Sul. The block at the top from 2001 is a WWF issue showcasing Brazil's endemic parrots. And the block below that also from 2001 features old Brazilian automobiles. The little 2005 definitive on the left depicts a showshiner.

Wacken Open Air 2025

From Germany with a nice "Wacken" postmark. Wacken Open Air (W:O:A) is a large annual heavy metal music festival held in the town of Wacken in northern Germany. It typically averages around 85,000 attendees and 2025 was another sold-out year featuring (I believe) 180 bands. The stamp from 2022 features a fire salamander. It's a semi-postal with the added value going to children's benefits.

More stamps from Israel

This time there are postmarks but I can't quite make them out. The three stamps along the top are from 1999 and show sites along the pilgrimage to Jerusalem: Mary's Well, the River Jordan and the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Below those are a 1996 stamp commemorating the Jewish holiday Sukkot and a 1997 stamp featuring the traditional costume of Jewish women in Ethiopia. And on the right is a 1999 stamp commemorating 17th century rabbi and poet Shalem Shabazi.

The Beautiful Biodiversity of the Scattered Islands, Île Europa

This is from Europa Island: the largest of the TAAF Scattered Islands. It is a 28 sqkm atoll that sits in the Mozambique channel between Madagascar and the African coast. The stamps from 2025 showcase the beautiful biodiversity of the Scattered Islands.

The Serbian Spruce

This is from the municipality of Bačka Topola in the Serbian province of Vojvodina. The stamp on the right from 2025 commemorates 150 years since the discovery of the Serbian spruce by Serbian botanist Josif Pančić. This specific tree grows only in a very small region in the Balkins and every single tree is protected. The pair of stamps on the left are definitives with raspberries from 2022 on the left and grapes from 2024 on the right.

More Freshwater Fish from Guyana

These are the other two stamps from a 2005 set showing freshwater fish that I used on a cover from Guyana last year. On the left is a red belly piranha and on the right is a velvet cichlid or oscar.

Australia's Sustainable Future

This is from the Canberra suburb of Hawker. The three stamps on the left are a 2023 set that present "three aspects of environmental sustainability that are key to a sustainable future": renewable energy, biodiversity and Indigenous land management. And the stamp on the right is a rose coneflower from a 2015 set the showcases Australian wildflowers.

Nobeyama Radio Observatory, Japan

In the red postmark is the 45m radio telescope at the Nobeyama Radio Observatory in Minamimaki in Nagano prefecture. The site is open to the public for self-guided tours around the grounds and there is a small museum and interpretive center there also. The stamps are from the 2024 letter writing day issue showing a typewritter on the right and a Gower Bell telephone on the left.

Tribute to the Real Plan, Rio de Janeiro

From left to right on this cover from Rio are a 2003 stamp depicting the Marcantonio Vilaça Cultural Space in Brasília which is the headquarters of Brazil's Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU): their federal audit office, a 2021 Christmas stamp, and a 2024 souvenir sheet commemorating the monetary reforms of 1994 which stabilized Brazil's economy.

Montreal, Canada

On this postmark is the new REM train (Réseau Express Métropolitain): an automated light rail system covering the greater Montreal area. In the background is the city of Montreal. Only one line is currently operational and it passes through Montreal's central train station which is also the location of the Montreal B Post Office that applied this postmark. The stamp commemorates the 1977 raid on Montreal's gay bar Truxx. The resulting public outrage and support led to the first laws in Canada aimed at preventing  discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Small collection of stamps from Israel

No postmark on this one. From left to right is a 2017 stamp commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the occupation of Jerusalem, a 1991 stamp commemorating the 14th Hapoei games with karate on the top and table tennis underneath, and a 1990 Memorial Day stamp depicting the artillery corps monument in Zikhron Yaaqov. And then there's the triangle shaped stamp in the bottom corner. That is one quarter of a sheet that was issued in 1957 for TABIL: an international stamp exhibition held in Tel Aviv in September of that year.