In December of 2013, Canada Post announced a five point plan to return to profitability. That plan included eliminating door-to-door delivery and replacing it with community postal boxes, as well as increasing stamp prices. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers does not believe this is a solution that is appropriate for Canadians, and recently held an event to tell people about the changes and garner support to save door-to-door in the country.
Gloria Spilak with the CUPW in Yorkton says that the event was put together in order to get the public aware of what is happening with the postal service in this country, and get their support and names on petitions to show government that they want to keep that service.
"We're here to let the public be aware, because the shareholders of CanadaPost are the citizens of Canada."
She says that this is not the first blow to the Yorkton area due to cutbacks, noting that this is coming after all Yorkton mail was directed through Regina. The impact of that change has been a loss of jobs, she notes, as well as a loss of service.
"We want to service the citizens here." There has been support from both private citizens and business, Spilak says, with people being concerned about what the changes will mean for them. Spilak notes that this is an especially big issue for seniors and those with mobility issues, as they rely on mail service but will find difficulty being able to actually use community boxes. She also criticizes Canada Post CEO Deepak Chopra for his attitude towards the concerns of seniors and those with mobility issues. She notes that he was quoted as saying that seniors would appreciate the exercise, and she feels that is disrespectful to the seniors of the country.
While she recognizes that Canada Post needs to take steps to return to profitability, she says that reducing service is not a solution that makes sense, because it would encourage people to look outside of letter mail for their home or business. She says that postal banking is a possible new revenue stream, especially given the number of small communities with a post office but no bank.
It will be a fight to keep door to door, she says, and they will need people on board in order to actually accomplish their goal and save door-to-door in Canada. However she believes that with enough support they will be able to prove to the government that door-to-door service is not something Canadians want to lose.
She encourages people to contact Lisa Raitt, MP in charge of Canada Post, Deepak Chopra, CEO of Canada Post, as well as local politicians to let them know that they want to keep postal service in Canada.
