Canada Post submits service changes proposal to government

Canada Post delivered its plan to the federal government to remake the Crown corporation. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

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Canada Post has submitted a proposal to the federal government detailing changes to the postal service.

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On Sept. 25, the Crown corporation was instructed by Joël Lightbound, the minister of government transformation, public services and procurement, to submit its plan for review within 45 days. Canada Post said it completed this on Friday.

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“While our situation requires that we act with urgency, we will be thoughtful and respectful in our approach and responsive to feedback,” Canada Post chief executive Doug Ettinger said in a press release on Monday.

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The plan “details the decisive action the corporation is prepared to take to deliver the services Canadians need in a way that is financially sustainable,” it said.

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When asked about specifics, the company said in an email to the Financial Post that it won’t be providing further details on the proposal while it works through the review process with the government.

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In an effort to “stabilize” Canada Post’s financial situation after it reported hundreds of millions in losses, Lightbound instructed Canada Post to ease its delivery standards, including phasing out door-to-door mail service and adjusting weekly mail delivery to two or three days. At present, mail is delivered to nearly every address five days a week.

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Other changes include converting the remaining households to community mailboxes, modernizing its network of post offices, amending service standards for letter mail and reducing overhead costs.

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Canada Post said the government’s directive to implement the changes “removed long-standing barriers to reform.”

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Since Oct. 30, Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), which represents the corporations 55,000 employees, have been back at the bargaining table trying to move the negotiations forward with the help of federal mediators.

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CUPW had previously described some of the recommendations in Lightbound’s Sept. 25 announcement as “devastating cuts” that “will harm communities and businesses,” especially people in rural, remote and Indigenous areas, as well as seniors and persons with disabilities.

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On Oct. 28, Canada Post said it was eliminating some managerial positions and laying off employees in what it called “corporate-wide restructuring efforts” as the labour dispute with its postal workers drags on.

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Meanwhile, rotating strikes are still underway, following the end of a two-week national strike in mid-October.

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