Request for Support to Save Canada Post
A letter and fact sheet from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers asking the town to oppose cuts to postal services.
January 15, 2015
Mr. David Screech Mayor Town of View Royal 45 View Royal Ave Victoria, BC V9B 1A6
Dear Mr. Screech,
Re: Request for Support to Save Canada Post
Over a year ago, Canada Post Corporation announced a plan to change public postal service as we know it, and the government endorsed this plan. As a result, the corporation has dramatically hiked postage rates and is planning on eliminating door-to-door delivery, closing and downsizing post offices, reducing post office hours, and destroying thousands of decent jobs in communities throughout our country.
These major changes will be bad for seniors, people with mobility issues, charities, small businesses and many other people who rely on public postal service.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers wants the federal government to reverse the Canada Post plan, and to look instead for ways to increase service and revenues in areas like postal banking, as other postal administrations have done. At the very least, we think the government should properly consult with the public about what kind of postal service they need before allowing Canada Post to make such major changes.
CUPW has attached a fact sheet with more information about Canada Post’s plan.
The union has also attached a resolution that it would like your municipality to consider passing. To date, over 400 municipalities and municipal organizations have passed resolutions opposing Canada Post plan for cuts, or calling for a halt to door-to-door delivery cuts until there is proper consultation. CUPW hopes you will think about joining and building on these efforts by passing our or your own resolution.
Thank you very much for considering this request. Thanks as well if your municipality passed an earlier resolution in support of postal banking or improving the Canadian Postal Service Charter. If you would like an electronic version of the resolution, please contact Brigitte Klassen at bklassen@cupw-sttp.org. Please call me at 613-236-7238 if you have any questions or concerns.
In solidarity,
Denis Lemelin National President
Encl.
c.c. National Executive Committee, Regional Executive Committees, National Union Representatives, Regional Union Representatives, Specialists
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SAVE CANADA POST - STOP THE CUTS
WHEREAS Canada Post and the Conservatives are taking an axe to long-treasured postal services – killing good jobs, eliminating door-to-door delivery, drastically increasing postage rates and closing, downsizing and reducing hours at post offices:
WHEREAS Canada Post did not properly consult on these changes, effectively eliminating any opportunity for input from the people who will be most affected; and
WHEREAS closing and downsizing post offices, reducing post office hours, and eliminating door-to-door delivery will reduce service and eliminate thousands of jobs in communities throughout our country.
WHEREAS Canada Post offers a public service that needs to be protected;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the (name of municipality) write a letter to the Minister responsible for Canada Post that calls on the government to reverse the changes to services announced by Canada Post, and to look instead for ways to increase service and revenues in areas such as postal banking.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT (name of municipality) ask the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to request that the federal government consult with the public about what kind of postal service they need before allowing Canada Post to make such major changes to public postal service.
MAILING INFORMATION
Please send your resolution to: Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, Place de Ville, Tower C, 29th Floor, 330 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N5.
Please send copies of your resolution to: Denis Lemelin, President, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, 377 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 1Y3
Your Member of Parliament. You can get your MP’s name, phone number and address by calling 1-800 463-6868 (at no charge) or going to the Parliament of Canada website: http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/index.asp?Language=E.
Brad Woodside, President, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, 24 Clarence St, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5P3
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Save Canada Post
Canada Post has announced a plan to:
1. Attack the public postal network.
Canada Post plans to use more private post offices while streamlining the public postal network. This means closing and downsizing public post offices, as well as reducing their hours. Canada Post has closed about 40 urban and 75 rural post offices since 2012. This is the largest number of closures we have seen since the Conservatives closed about 1,500 rural and urban post offices in the eighties and nineties. More closures are expected. The corporation is also reviewing all urban offices to see if they can be made smaller and operated with fewer workers. In addition, it is dramatically reducing hours of service in rural communities.
2. Introduce huge postage rate hikes.
On March 31, 2014, the price of buying one stamp increased by 59% while the price of buying a book or coil of stamps increased by 35%. The price for pre-sorted and incentive letters increased by 15% and metred mail increased by 19%. These sudden and dramatic increases are unfair, unreasonable and bad for the corporation’s business. It would have been wiser and more reasonable for Canada Post to adopt gradual increases to keep up with rising costs.
3. Make our country the first in the world to eliminate door-to-door delivery.
Canada Post plans on taking away door-to-door delivery from over five million Canadian households and replacing it with community mailbox (CMB) delivery. There is a great deal of opposition to this plan, which will create huge problems for many Canadians, especially seniors and people with mobility issues. According to a recent poll, sixty per cent of people oppose the delivery cuts. In spite of this, Canada Post is determined to wipe out home mail delivery within a five year period. So far, Canada Post has announced its plans to convert more than a million households. The bulk of conversions will occur after the 2015 federal election. The federal government fully supports this major cut to public postal service.
4. Destroy 6000 to 8000 decent jobs.
Canada Post would need fewer employees if it goes to community mailbox delivery. It expects to eliminate 6000 to 8000 positions. Closing and downsizing post offices and reducing post office hours will also reduce the number of jobs in communities throughout the country. Our communities and our economy cannot afford to lose thousands of decent paying jobs.
The future of Canada Post
Canada Post and the Conservatives should consult on their plan to change public postal service as we know it. The public owns Canada Post. They have a right to input. This has not really happened in any meaningful way. Canada Post engaged in some discussions, but they were completely inadequate. The corporation held invite-only meetings in 46 communities and conducted a largely online public consultation on its future, focusing on cut. Since this time, over 400 municipalities and municipal organizations have passed resolutions or sent letters protesting the cuts or asking for a halt until there is meaningful consultation. Moreover, many thousands of Canadians have signed petitions and sent messages to their Members of Parliament (MPs). People have asked their federal representatives to tell Canada Post to stop the cuts and consider alternatives such as postal banking. Cutting might help Canada Post with its money problems in the short-term but it is not a good long-term strategy and it certainly won't improve the future of postal service in our country. The corporation should be following the lead of other postal administrations by innovating and introducing new revenue-generating services.
Postal banking
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) believes that our country needs improved financial and banking services and that Canada Post is well placed to fulfill this need. Moreover, the union thinks that adding financial and banking services at Canada Post will help the corporation preserve public postal service and generate revenue. CUPW is not alone. Close to two-thirds of Canadians support Canada Post expanding revenue-generating services like bill payments, insurance and banking, according to a poll from April 2014. Many municipalities like the idea too. About 600 municipalities have passed resolutions endorsing the addition of financial and banking services at our public post office. Not only that, three former Canada Post Presidents have spoken favourably about the corporation getting more involved in financial services (i.e. Michael Warren, Andre Ouellet and Moya Greene). In recent years, Canada Post has even conducted studies on postal banking that appear to indicate that getting into financial services would be “a win-win strategy” and a “proven money-maker” for the corporation. This positive assessment was obtained through an Access to Information (ATI) request. Unfortunately, 701 of 811 pages of the ATI request were redacted. To date, Canada Post President Deepak Chopra has refused to release the 811 pages in their entirety.
Learn more. Check out Why Canada Needs Postal Banking at https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/why-canada-needs-postal-banking
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