Cost of Postage stamps to increase 35%.
Home delivery to end; stamps to cost $1
OTTAWA — Canada Post’s abrupt announcement Wednesday that it will be ending door-to-door delivery in urban centres and charging $1 for an individual stamp has alarmed opposition MPs and postal workers who say the new plan is bad news for Canadians.
The plan — released the day after the House of Commons started its Christmas break — caught parliamentarians by surprise.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said the timing of the announcement “is a demonstration of a tremendous level of cynicism.
“This is the government trying to minimize what they know is bad news,” he said, adding that more robust discussion was needed before the Crown corporation scrapped “an important service.”
The NDP slammed Canada Post’s new business plan, with Transport Critic Olivia Chow saying the “short-sighted service cuts” will have huge impacts on seniors and people with disabilities.
Conservative MPs weren’t on the Hill Wednesday, but Transport Minister Lisa Raitt supported the plan in an emailed statement.
“The Government of Canada supports Canada Post in its efforts to fulfil its mandate of operating on a selfsustaining financial basis in order to protect taxpayers ...” “…while modernizing its business and aligning postal services with the choices of Canadians,” her email said.
The move from door-todoor delivery to community mailboxes will be rolled out over the next five years, starting in the second half of 2014. About one-third of Canadian households will be affected. Mail delivery to rural households will not change.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said it was “alarmed” by the “shortsighted and foolish” plan.
“If this happens, it would be the end of an era for Canada Post,” union president Denis Lemelin said. “We recognize that Canada Post needs to change, but this is not the way.” The union has advocated for postal service expansion, including introduction of postal banking.
But David Stewart-Patterson, an executive at the Conference Board of Canada who this spring predicted Canada Post could lose nearly $1 billion annually by 2020 if it didn’t change how it operates, said the new business plan will generate “very significant results” in terms of the corporation’s financial sustainability.
The cost of a stamp will also jump from $0.63 to $0.85 for bulk purchase of stamps, or $1 for individual stamps. That change comes into effect March 31, 2014.
Canada Post said it also plans to scale down its labour force by between 6,000 and 8,000 people, although it maintains it can do so through attrition, as about 15,000 employees are set to retire in the coming years.
The moves are intended to help offset growing financial losses as more Canadians are using online services instead of snail mail.
Home delivery to end; stamps to cost $1
OTTAWA — Canada Post’s abrupt announcement Wednesday that it will be ending door-to-door delivery in urban centres and charging $1 for an individual stamp has alarmed opposition MPs and postal workers who say the new plan is bad news for Canadians.
The plan — released the day after the House of Commons started its Christmas break — caught parliamentarians by surprise.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said the timing of the announcement “is a demonstration of a tremendous level of cynicism.
“This is the government trying to minimize what they know is bad news,” he said, adding that more robust discussion was needed before the Crown corporation scrapped “an important service.”
The NDP slammed Canada Post’s new business plan, with Transport Critic Olivia Chow saying the “short-sighted service cuts” will have huge impacts on seniors and people with disabilities.
Conservative MPs weren’t on the Hill Wednesday, but Transport Minister Lisa Raitt supported the plan in an emailed statement.
“The Government of Canada supports Canada Post in its efforts to fulfil its mandate of operating on a selfsustaining financial basis in order to protect taxpayers ...” “…while modernizing its business and aligning postal services with the choices of Canadians,” her email said.
The move from door-todoor delivery to community mailboxes will be rolled out over the next five years, starting in the second half of 2014. About one-third of Canadian households will be affected. Mail delivery to rural households will not change.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said it was “alarmed” by the “shortsighted and foolish” plan.
“If this happens, it would be the end of an era for Canada Post,” union president Denis Lemelin said. “We recognize that Canada Post needs to change, but this is not the way.” The union has advocated for postal service expansion, including introduction of postal banking.
But David Stewart-Patterson, an executive at the Conference Board of Canada who this spring predicted Canada Post could lose nearly $1 billion annually by 2020 if it didn’t change how it operates, said the new business plan will generate “very significant results” in terms of the corporation’s financial sustainability.
The cost of a stamp will also jump from $0.63 to $0.85 for bulk purchase of stamps, or $1 for individual stamps. That change comes into effect March 31, 2014.
Canada Post said it also plans to scale down its labour force by between 6,000 and 8,000 people, although it maintains it can do so through attrition, as about 15,000 employees are set to retire in the coming years.
The moves are intended to help offset growing financial losses as more Canadians are using online services instead of snail mail.