Throughout COVID and earlier this year, I understand that we experienced situations in which some local post offices were impacted due to staffing issues. Those were in pockets and not necessarily across our network. They were short-term, localized situations. I don't have specific numbers about any particular area, but we understand that it is a relatively small number overall. However, it is unfortunate that it happens. Every impact to service is very important to us.
With a national network of over 6,000 post offices, local staffing issues can occur for myriad reasons. We are therefore experienced at responding and providing services, and we have contingency plans in place. We often look to ensure that we are providing the service that the particular community needs. I'm very well aware that the retail team works very hard to ensure that we can maintain services to communities when they are impacted by staffing.
We are therefore regularly hiring. We undertake a constant hiring process to ensure that we have the proper staffing levels, but let's not kid ourselves: We are facing the same challenges as every other employer in Canada. We are doing our best to mitigate any negative impact that this could have on service. If you have a particular area of concern in mind, please let us know. We'll be happy to follow up with specific details.