Re: Canada Post’s problems deeper than funding woes (Letters, Jan. 29)
I agree with Doreen Marion Gee that delivery problems are a serious issue at Canada Post not only in Victoria, but across this country.
It seems Canada Post management deliberately set up the Crown corporation to fail, to justify eventually privatizing it. They are more concerned with profits than quality service, having moved processing of all Island mail to Vancouver last year.
Canada Post made $94 million in 2012 despite the Conference Board of Canada’s projection of a net loss of almost $250 million by the end of 2012. Incidentally, Canada Post is relying on the Conference Board report to justify the drastic cuts now.
Since 1995, Canada Post has paid more than $1.5 billion to the federal government in the form of dividends and income taxes. I feel we were fed misinformation and excuses to justify these drastic cuts.
I have seen it take up to a week to receive a letter mailed in Greater Victoria. Can you imagine how long a letter must take to be delivered within Salt Spring Island with four ferry trips involved?
This slow erosion of service is further driving customers to find alternative delivery options. This poor delivery standard must surely impact small businesses that rely on mail and bill payments to manage their business. Raising the price of a single stamp to one dollar will only compound this situation.
Eliminating door-to-door service will not improve delivery. It will create new problems, such as theft, litter, traffic, devaluation of property values and increased municipal taxes to cover policing and planning.
There are better ways to fix problems. Canada Post can increase services to the public like postal administrations do in other countries with the concept of postal banking.
Canada Post had a five-year plan which cost $2 billion to implement and was supposed to lower the cost of delivery. By dramatically raising postage rates and reducing service, they are destroying the business and taking away a good service to the customer. They are also wasting their investment in modernization, which was to deal with the gradual decrease in letters.
We need improvements, not cuts.
Janet Barney, president
Victoria Local 850, CUPW
