What you need to know about the Canada Post strike with City of Ottawa services, Hydro Ottawa, passports

A mail box is seen outside a Canada Post office in Halifax on Wednesday, July 6, 2016. Canada Post has issued a lockout notice to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), possibly triggering a work stoppage by Friday, July 8. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Water bills, construction notices and traffic tickets will not be arriving in mailboxes during the strike by Canada Post workers.

The City of Ottawa says the delivery of paper billing and invoices, including water bills and traffic-related infractions, will be disrupted by the strike.

Here is a look at what you need to know about the Canada Post strike and its impacts on the City of Ottawa, Hydro Ottawa and the Passport Office.

Parking tickets and provincial offence fines

The City of Ottawa says speeding tickets, bylaw infractions and other offences can be paid online, in person or by drop box at a Provincial Offences Court office.

Parking tickets can also be paid in-person at any Client Service Centre and drop boxes, or online through ottawa.ca/poa and ottawa.ca/tickets.

Property tax and water utility bills

The City of Ottawa says water utility bills will continue to be issued and the payment due date will remain unchanged during the Canada Post strike.

Residents who receive their bills by mail are being asked to sign up for paperless billing.

To enroll in paperless billing with the City of Ottawa, you can create or log in to your My ServiceOttawa account, navigate to view your Water Utility Bill or Property Tax account and select paperless as your preferred billing method.

You can also pay your property tax bill and water utility bill through a financial institution, online by credit card, pre-authorized debit or in-person at a City of Ottawa Client Service Centre.

Accounts Payable

The city suggests to mitigate disruptions and receive payments as normal, vendors should take advantage of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments.

Social Assistance Overpayments

Social Assistance Overpayments can be paid online, through your financial institution, by visiting select Canada Post locations, or at 100 Constellation Drive. Payment due dates remain unchanged.

OC Transpo

OC Transpo says mail delivery of Presto cards will be unavailable during the postal service strike.

Presto cards can be purchased at ticket machines, the Rideau Centre Customer Service Centre and participating Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws, No Frills and Real Canadian Superstore locations.

Employment and Social Services

Ontario Works clients who normally receive their cheques by mail must pick up their cheques at an Employment and Social Service Centre, according to the city.

Rent Supplement and Housing Allowance programs

The City of Ottawa says the Rent Supplement and Housing Allowance payments will not be mailed out during the Canada Post strike.

You can pick up the cheque in person. For more information, visit ottawa.ca – mail delivery for Rent Supplement and Housing Allowance programs.

City of Ottawa construction projects

Information about construction and infrastructure projects will continue to be available on the city’s upcoming traffic impacts page, the interactive traffic map and incident report tool.

You can also call 3-1-1 for updates about when and where construction is happening.

Hydro Ottawa

Hydro Ottawa says customers who receive their monthly bills by mail could be affected by the Canada Post strike.

Customers are urged to sign up for online billing. Visit the customer online portal, MyAccount, for information.

You can call 613-738-6400 and speak to a customer service agent.

Passports

The federal government says Passport Canada will still process applications during the labour disruptions at Canada Post.

Officials say if you’ve already applied and need your passport urgently, you can call 1-800-567-6868 or visit any Service Canada location to ask for your file to be transferred for pickup.

If you applied for a passport and did not pay for pickup service, the government says it is using an alternate courier to deliver passports.