Affordable Universal Postal Service Threatened

Help protect our postal service from Harper's Conservatives.

The Harper Conservative government has set up another of their 'pet' review panels to look into how Canada Post operates. This one, like so many others, seems to have received their final report along with their letters of appointment.

How do we know the outcome of this 'review' could be predicted in advance. Well, for one thing, Dr. Robert Campbell, the Chair of the Review Panel is already on public record as favouring deregulation of postal services. He has published a book on the topic of deregulating postal services called The Politics of Postal Transformation: Modernizing Postal Systems in the Technological and Global Worlds (2002). Sounds like an open minded approach to a review, now doesn’t it?

Canadian Union of Postal Workers now work for a CEO named Moya Greene. That's the same Moya Greene who helped with deregulating the airline industry, privatizing CN rail and the destruction of the Unemployment Insurance system.

Most Canadians are not even aware that democracy’s biggest fan, the Prime Minister, is packing one of our most valuable crown corporations into the trunk of the getaway car. And they’re not aware of this because it's the summer's best-kept secret. No public hearings, no national advertising campaign, no debate in parliament (because it's in recess) and the deadline for public submissions is coming up fast - Tuesday September 2.

This so-called review is not good for democracy - not good for Canadians and it sure isn’t good for Canada Post. This panel's work has the potential to have a profound affect on Canadians, especially small businesses, people in rural and northern communities, and people on fixed incomes.

Deregulation of the post office could result in significant price breaks to the 200 biggest corporations that the Conservatives see as the post office's favoured customers. It would give away the best source of postal income - big city mail service - to multinational companies, leaving Canada Post to deliver to everyone else at much higher rates.

It is clear that the Harper Conservatives are trying to piece off the post office to their friends through deregulation that would slowly strangle the financial ability of Canada Post to provide affordable universal service to Canadians. To help offset this lack of public consultation, the postal workers are asking friends of Canada Post to submit their views on why we need a publicly owned postal service to the Review Panel. If you need some basic information to help you write a short submission to the panel, it's available at www.cupw.ca/strategicreview. Submissions can be mailed to Canada Post Strategic Review, 330 Sparks Street (HCCR), Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N5 - emailed to info@cpcsr-esscp.gc.ca - faxed to 1-613-990-9033,or submited directly from Canada Post Corporation Strategic Review web site.