Postal workers in Canada face disciplinary action for their refusal to deliver a news sheet they view as offensive.

The publication, Your Ward News, became a subject of controversy within the postal service when a Jewish worker objected to its content on religious grounds. The sheet is a vehicle for the unregistered New Constitution Party, which uses Your Ward News to attack mainstream politicians in very strong terms. One article referred to former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau as a “neo-Nazi fascist, anti-Semite and Quebec separatist”.

Once the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) became involved in the Jewish worker’s case, the dispute over Your Ward News spread, with the union now calling on the Canada Post to “ to respect the carrier’s religious rights and those that found it offensive”. The union is also urging postal service management to offer a conscience clause to workers who may not wish to deliver items they object to.

For its part, the Canada Post has said the responsibility for the sheet’s contents lies with the New Constitution Party. However, a spokesperson for the newspaper added that it “does not have the right to refuse a mail item because we or our employees object to its content.”

Responding to the row, the head of the New Constitution Party, James Sears, has threatened legal action against the Canada Post if it reneges on its agreed contract to distribute his news sheet.

“There is nothing illegal in those papers,” he insisted. “Just because a small number of over-sensitised workers’ feelings are hurt is no reason to go to court over the matter, and I would hope that Canada Post keeps a calm head.”