WHEREAS Canada Post plans on cutting thousands of jobs in hundreds of communities across the country by modernizing and reviewing its operations and privatizing philatelic and call centres; AND WHEREAS Canada Post is also cutting services by eliminating rural mail box delivery, closing post offices, removing street letter boxes and other means; AND WHEREAS the governments Canadian Postal Service Charter does not adequately protect the public interest or the public nature of our post office, especially when Canada Post is considering cuts to public postal service or privatizing part of its operations e.g. post offices, call centre, etc.: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM call on the federal government to: 1 instruct Canada Post to stop cutting public postal service and jobs; and 2 consult with the public, municipalities, members of Parliament, postal unions and other major stakeholders to dramatically improve the Canadian Postal Service Charter.
Canada Post I have noted the enclosed letter dated June 2010 from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers CUPW; this was a campaign initiated by the CUPW to create doubt with municipalities and the public about Canada Posts postal services. Please be assured that serving Canadians is our mission at Canada Post. As you know, in 2009, the Government established the Canadian Postal Service Charter. We publish the Service Charter and our performance results in our annual repot. Canada Post is not only committed to the Governments moratorium on rural post office closures, but also makes every effort to prevent disruptions to the operations of rural offices when exceptional circumstances occur, such as a postmasters death. Through our Community Outreach process, we consult with community leaders to find solutions that are satisfactory to the community. In urban areas, we consult with communities before a decision to close, move or amalgamate a corporate post office. Canada Posts commitment to rural Canadians has led to an investment of close to 230 million in rural communities since 2007. We are providing better service, upgrading delivery safety, and improving the security of the mail. We have ensured our delivery network remains as safe as possible for residents and our delivery staff. Under our Rural Mail Safety Review, we have preserved delivery to more than 90 of the rural mailboxes reviewed since 2007. Providing exceptional service to all Canadians is Canada Posts goal. Unfortunately, Canada Post is being challenged on many fronts. Our letter mail volumes have been declining for more than five years while the number of addresses we serve is increasing by about 200,000 annually. We are delivering less mail to more addresses each year. Canada Post is also facing increased competition in almost every aspect of its business. We must therefore find better ways to do what we do. We must increase efficiencies, save costs and replace obsolete equipment and facilities. We are doing that through our Postal Transformation initiative, a 2.1 billion investment program that we expect will bring about 250 million in annual savings by 2017. I would like to mention that as more Canadians embrace digital technologies, Canada Post is becoming the vital bridge that links online transactions with physical deliveries. Canada Post has been a trusted brand for 160 years in the physical delivery of letters, documents, and packages. We value this trust. Through its innovative and secure web-based offerings Canada Post will play an increasingly meaningful role in the digital lives of Canadians. Our company has had to make difficult decisions in the past years which will affect jobs at Canada Post. These decisions respect our collective agreements and will help us preserve service to Canadians. We are committed to remaining financially self-sustaining and operating without taxpayers funds. As a commercial Crown Corporation, Canada Posts mandate is to provide affordable and universal postal service to all Canadians. By maximizing its growth opportunities in both its core operations and competitive services, Canada Post will strengthen its ability to continue to provide a nation-wide postal service for all Canadians in to the future.