WHEREAS the Canada Postal network connects communities, particularly small rural communities, and plays a key role in the social and economic life of these communities by providing jobs and infrastructure that allows communities to thrive and businesses to grow; AND WHEREAS the Canada Postal infrastructure is critical to the healthy well being of communities and thus of Canada itself: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities petition the federal government, requiring Canada Post to consult with local governments and the communities they represent when considering the closure of mail processing plants and community Canada Post facilities and take steps to maintain, expand and improve the public postal network.
MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITIES The Government recognizes that rural post offices play an important role in communities across Canada and is committed to maintaining the moratorium on rural post office closures. Circumstances such as retirement, illness, death, fire, termination of a lease or a property sale do unexpectedly arise in small rural post offices. These events invariably impact the post offices operations in a rural community. In such instances, Canada Post consults with the affected communities to explore available options to meet their ongoing needs. Minister Cannon will be advised of the results of all community consultations and the arrangements that have been made for continuing postal service to the community.
CANADA POST At the outset, I wish to assure you of our commitment to provide all Canadians with efficient and reliable postal service. In particular, we recognize the importance of accessible postal service to rural Canadians, and we continue to respect the moratorium on rural post office closures. It is our responsibility to ensure quality postal services are provided to a community, especially when unavoidable circumstances affect the operations of its post office, leaving few options for service. Should this happen, we will consult with community leaders through our Community Outreach approach to find practical solutions for service, always keeping in mind community needs. Like any large organization, we regularly review our operations and initiate efficiency improvements where possible. However, we are conscious of the impact change has on our employees and customers. For this reason, decisions about our operations are not made hastily or taken lightly. We have always communicated with our unions and associations as per the provisions of our various Collective Agreements. We have also ensured employees are kept informed of imminent changes within our company and that this information is relayed to the Canadian public as appropriate. Finally, I have noted your comments about our public policy role. Canada post is a commercial Crown corporation charged with managing its operations in a fiscally responsive manner, while maintaining a profitable balance of business with a high level of service. our mandate is to provide universal and affordable postal service to all Canadians. We are also mandated to ensure our operations are not funded with taxpayers dollars, which we have done successfully since 1989. We must generate profits that allow us to reinvest our profits to improve our operations and the services we provide Canadians, and to evolve as a modern Post while remaining financially self-sustaining. This will enable us to secure Canada Posts future and jobs for our employees. FEDERATION OF CANADIAN MUNICIPALITIES The Board reviewed resolutions submitted for the FCM Annual Conference at its March meeting. Resolution MISC07.2.01 - Canada Post - Plant and Post Office Closures was referred to staff for further analysis.