Rural post offices getting closed down
By Deborah Bourque
Many people think the battle to save public post offices has been fought and won. The bad news is that the battle is again upon us.
Over a decade ago, Canada Post closed 1,442 rural and 93 urban post offices. A moratorium announced by the Liberal federal government in 1994 promised to safeguard small town post offices. But Canada Post is once again closing offices, reducing services and cutting jobs.
Canada Post has admitted it is currently reviewing its national network. Approximately 50 rural post offices have been closed since 2001, in spite of supposedly being protected by the moratorium, and the Crown corporation has announced its intention to close a processing plant in Quebec City, eliminating 302 jobs.
But the battle this time around seems to be even larger than saving certain post offices and plants, important though they undoubtedly are.
John McCallum, Minister Responsible for Canada Post, is calling into question the very role of the public post office and the relevance of letter mail.
Minster McCallum recently claimed that, “physical mail is becoming a thing of the past.” He said “Even grandmothers send birthday messages electronically.”
No mention was made of how these same grandmothers would send presents without post offices, not to mention the thousands of companies, large and small, which count on a secure, public postal service to conduct their business.
Interestingly, Canada Post’s own figures contradict McCallum’s claims about the demise of mail. The Crown corporation’s last annual report showed the volume of letter mail actually increased.
It is perhaps not surprising the minister made a mistake. He is repeating the message Canada Post wants us to believe. A press release accompanying the Crown corporation’s last annual report said letter mail volumes were declining and the report itself stated that 64 costs are rising higher than our revenues”. But the figures contained in the report disprove both claims.
In fact, Canada Post has enjoyed extremely healthy profits for the past IO years, earning $923 million in net profits and paying $381 million in dividends to the Government of Canada during the same period of time. In 2004 alone, our public post office made $147 million in net profits, and paid $93 million in taxes and $63 million in dividends to the federal government.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is worried about the messages being promoted by Canada Post and the minister responsible for the corporation. They would have the public believe their post office - which provides fast, affordable service to everyone, regardless of where they live - is less than efficient, economically fragile, and fast becoming irrelevant.
That’s why it’s difficult to be convinced of Minister McCallum’s claim that he wants to protect rural post offices and the rural mail service.
The minister has already stated that the retirement of postmasters, the destruction of a post office by fire or the termination of a lease could present opportunities to review the status of an office. Now he is adding the conversion of grandmothers to email to the list of nails in the public post office coffin.
Is the path being paved for further closures and perhaps the deregulation or privatization of our postal service? It certainly looks like that. We would all do well to sit up, pay attention and fight for the public service we deserve.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers’ 54,000 members in urban and rural offices know we live in a dynamic world and that postal services also change. But we believe the people of this vast land are best served by a public post office that follows its legislated mandate to Provide an equitable, affordable service regardless of where people live, while seeking financial self-sufficiency. We believe that when profits are earned they should be re-invested in maintaining, expanding and improving services. We believe that any changes in postal facilities should not be made without full and democratic consultation with the public, postal unions and elected members of Parliament.
A critical battle is shaping up. Let your M.P. and your municipality know you want to protect and improve public post offices.
Deborah Bourque
National President
Canadian Union of Postal Workers
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