Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank the members of the committee for inviting us today. I have with me our chief financial officer, Mr. Wayne Cheeseman, and Madam Susan Margles, our vice-president of government relations and policy.
I have a few remarks, and then we'll open it up for questions.
I want to thank the independent task force for its thoughtful report. The members of the task force clearly understand the significance of this national institution. They based their analysis and options on a solid understanding of the size, scope, and complexities of the postal system and its importance to Canadians. They have provided Canadians and this committee with a report that is comprehensive, well researched, and thoughtful. It is a frank report in its assessment and bold in its analysis. The task force has also provided us with indisputable facts upon which any discussion on the future of the postal system should be based.
First, the report has left no doubt that there is an urgent need to transform the business. With every passing year, there is less mail to deliver and more addresses for us to deliver to. Second, Canadians like their postal service and they want it to remain strong, but not subsidized with their tax dollars. Third, parcels are the future of the company because that's the service that Canadians want and need. Mail will always be important to Canadians, but they are using Canada Post more to deliver the items they buy online. We're growing our parcel business because we're not only delivering more and more products from Canadian and global companies, we are also opening global markets for Canadian businesses. The benefits go far beyond Canada Post.
Fourth, there are no easy solutions. The good news is that Canadians clearly understand that. They understand that the postal system needs to change, and they aren't afraid of what's required to do it. They know that mail isn't coming back, but they don't want the postal system to disappear. In fact, they want to know that this important institution is secure for generations to come.
That makes the work of this committee incredibly important, not just to the future of the postal system, but for the Canadian economy. As chief executive officer of Canada Post, I understand the tremendous responsibility that has been placed on this committee, on the government, as well as on all of us charged with leading this organization. We must get this right. This is about much more than mail and parcels, or even a nostalgic attachment to a 250-year-old institution. It's about people's livelihoods and their dependence on a strong and vibrant national postal system.
There are 50,000 people who work at Canada Post, with families, mortgages, and commitments, who depend on the company they helped to build. They want to see Canada Post evolve and grow as well. On a larger scale are the countless Canadians whose livelihoods depend on a strong and reliable postal system. Canadian small businesses still regularly use the mail to conduct their operations: cheques, invoices, statements, and special customer offers. They send and receive these envelopes every day.
Our direct mail business is also incredibly important to Canadians, which is why it still generates $1.2 billion in revenues. It helps small businesses reach their customers in their local neighbourhoods. Direct mail is used extensively and successfully by charities to raise much-needed funds. It is also widely used at all levels of government to communicate information to their citizens. In our parcel business, the dependence on a postal system is becoming even stronger. Our parcel volumes are growing because the Canadian retail industry is going through a huge, disruptive change as Canadians do more and more of their shopping online.
The Canadian retail industry is a significant contributor to the Canadian economy. According to the Retail Council of Canada, total Canadian retail sales in 2015 were roughly $516 billion.
We're doing everything we can to help Canadian retailers, large and small, in our biggest cities and in our smallest communities, including the north, to evolve, prosper, and grow, but they need a strong and vibrant postal system to do it.
We deliver two out of three parcels that Canadians order online. We are deeply embedded in the new Canadian retail economy.
We work closely with Canadians who have risked it all to start a small business, often out of their garage. Their investors are their friends and relatives, who pitch in because they believe so strongly in what they're doing. We do more than deliver the parcels they pack themselves. We help them to innovate and grow. After all, the more successful they are, the more successful we are.
As they grow, we help them transition beyond the start-up phase so they can focus on hiring more people and expanding. We have helped some owner-operator small start-ups become multi-million dollar enterprises with large staffs and strong futures.
As well, you can name virtually any large retailer in Canada, and chances are we're working with them to help them adapt to the changing face of retail. Many Canadians depend on these large retail companies making a successful transition into e-commerce.
I know first-hand that change isn't easy, but the task force has reaffirmed the path that we were taking was moving us in the right direction. They have also detailed the challenges that are driving the need for change at Canada Post.
Over the past decade, mail volumes have declined by 32%, or 1.6 billion pieces. That's almost a billion dollars in revenues. This is a trend that will continue. We must embrace change and keep going.
The report clearly shows that Canadians support making the changes necessary to secure the future of postal service. They also expect the postal service to evolve, learn, adapt, and improve, not just in the way we serve them, but in the way we implement change. At Canada Post, that is also what we expect of ourselves.
Much has been said about the changes we were making to secure the future of the postal service over the last three years. Less well known is how we were able to learn, adapt, and improve our approach and processes as we progressed. That's why we are pleased to see customer satisfaction numbers in the task force report remaining as high as 91%. The focus on constant improvement will continue at Canada Post.
I would like to conclude by saying to all of the committee members that our challenges are large. The solutions to them must match the enormity of the challenges. There are some people who will tell you that the postal system should never change and should remain in the good old days. That is not an option. There is simply too much at stake.
I would encourage you to move forward knowing what the task force found, which is that many Canadians are counting on all of us to get this right and secure a strong future for Canada's postal system.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
