Allow me to introduce myself. I am the director general of the Association acadienne et francophone des aînées et aînés du Nouveau-Brunswick.
Parliament's announcements about the changes in Canada Post services caused seniors a lot of worries. They are used to receiving services nearby. In the regions, there is home delivery for some services, while others are through the community mail boxes.
All of these issues and new technologies worry seniors because they can not always get about, depending on whether they live in a rural or urban area. In New Brunswick, there are three main urban centres, which are nevertheless not cities like Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa or Toronto. There are many rural communities in the rest of the province.
The whole issue relates to seniors and their concerns about services. Seniors are not always up on the latest technology. They are still used to relying on Canada Post services. Those services are so important to them because that is how they keep in touch with people close to them. Nowadays people are spread out all over the country, or even outside the country, and communicating with their children and grandchildren is important to seniors. Mail service is still essential to many people.
Of course the baby boomers reaching retirement age and the generation X and Y cohorts are and will remain much more comfortable with technology. So we want to talk about the transition between the two. This is important. How can the transition be managed in a gradual way, so that seniors do not feel vulnerable about their habits and their traditional way of using Canada Post?