One of the major objectives put forward by Canada Post was to beat the competition. Delivery would therefore be spread over six days, potentially over seven, but using a part-time workforce since there was not yet enough work.
That is why the corporation considered the possibility of starting off with a temporary structure in order to earn revenue during weekends. We know that people are mainly at home on weekends, on Sundays, at least more often than during the week. We were therefore asked to build that structure, but also to include evening delivery. We know that same day delivery is good for contractors and that morning delivery of food products—which some countries do around the world—is as well. We agreed to open up the market and to go after a share of it. That is what we offered Canada Post.
Currently, if we compare operations over the first six months of the current year with those of the first six months of last year, there has been an 11% increase in parcel deliveries. That market will explode in the coming years. As you know, more and more people buy on the Internet.
We believe that this new structure will be extremely profitable for Canada Post, in addition to its admail service. We know that Canada Post has a very small market share in that sector. Newspapers and magazines make up a major share. However, the dimensions and weights that we negotiated will enable Canada Post to increase its share of that extremely lucrative market. We therefore expect these changes to be beneficial. The 2016 year will be profitable, and once these measures have been put in place, we know 2017 will be extremely profitable too.