Canada Post Review Submission

Here is my (very brief) submission to the first phase of the Canada Post Review Task Force consultation (which closes today) . . .

July 31, 2016

To the Members of the Canada Post Review Task Force:

Since the new government has a strong mandate to restore home mail delivery and expand public services, this consultation is particularly welcome and timely.

I am writing in support of the Delivering Community Power <http://www.deliveringcommunitypower.ca/> set of proposals because I believe that Canada Post must be reinvigorated and expanded, rather than weakened and dismantled. Unfortunately, the current management has adopted a series of proposals and has engaged in a set of practices that have been detrimental to the welfare of this crucial component of our public infrastructure.

Canada Post is well situated to expand its services to the public.  Not only is Canada Post the largest retail and logistical network in Canada, it has generally been very profitable.  Historically, the postal system has been a significant factor in building Canada’s national identity.  Like CBC/Radio Canada, Canada Post is an integral part of our nation’s information and communication infrastructure, and we should be thinking of ways to leverage its strengths to enhance services to all Canadians.  In addition to restoring home delivery, Canada Post should implement a public postal banking system, provide food delivery services, green the postal delivery fleet and provide additional services at postal outlets (including recharging stations and public wi-fi).

But the current management has done a lot of damage, and this must be repaired.

Since the adoption of the five point plan, Canada Post has not maintained good relations with its employees and with other levels of government. In the recent past we have seen increased hostility from Canada Post to municipalities who have been grappling with the financial, environmental and safety challenges posed by the hasty conversion to CMBs. Canada Post must try to repair its damaged relationship with local governments and this must be based on a recognition that cities have a great deal of expertise in managing their local infrastructures, especially with respect to their streets.  I have followed the events in Montreal, Hamilton and other cities very carefully and I have personally witnessed the manner in which Canada Post representatives have dealt with my home city (London, Ontario). A new approach is badly needed.

Thank you again for this chance to participate in your consultation and I hope that my input and that of the Delivering Community Power proposal will be taken seriously in your deliberations.

Samuel E. Trosow, Associate Professor
University of Western Ontario
Faculty of Law / Faculty of Information and Media Studies
<strosow@uwo.ca>