Thank you.
I reviewed the report submitted by the Canada Post review task force, which consists of Ms. Bertrand and three other people. I understand that mail is a very important service for the public and for businesses. The report also clearly states that the satisfaction rate is very high as a result of the service's reliability. I am one of those people who receives all bills online. I use Canada Post's epost, which is becoming larger and larger. More and more people are using the service.
The options presented by the group are quite good.
Community mailboxes are a very realistic option, and they must be maintained. However, we must take into account that they can't be installed in certain locations. I fail to see how clients who have little or no mobility could travel to pick up their mail. I also fail to see how community mailboxes could be placed in the downtown areas of Canada's largest cities. There is already an ongoing traffic problem that I don't think will improve.
I completely agree with converting the highest volume post offices to franchise outlets. However, the offices in rural regions must be maintained. I've lived in Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City and Sherbrooke, and I have been living in Gaspésie for eight years. I've toured the regions. I've also lived in Lac-Brome. As a result of my work, I have a slightly different view.
In Gaspésie, where I've been working for the past eight years, there are mailboxes and the franchise outlet is very important for the population. People go there every day. The doors are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As a chamber of commerce, we use the direct mail service to reach businesses. It's much easier and less expensive. I think these services should be maintained and these jobs should be protected because the loss of 100 jobs is much more significant in the regions than in the major cities.
Concerning alternate day delivery, I would lean more toward two days a week, Tuesday and Friday. It would certainly save money. The board of directors discussed it. That's more or less the vision I want to share with you.
The further streamlining of processing operations is essential, in addition to the synergy with Purolator. Those are the two most frequently used services in rural and remote regions.
However, I see a problem with selling advertising in the retail network. The smallest businesses are already at a disadvantage compared to retail giants. I can't see how “Amazon” could appear on a Canada Post truck. In addition, there's a tax issue. No measures are taken to collect taxes when people purchase items from abroad.
Regarding the assessed and unquantified options, increasing prices as a strategy to offset increasing costs could be detrimental and would certainly result in more people using email to receive their bills. In any case, all our suppliers encourage us to use email and the Internet to receive our bills.
A review of labour costs was certainly conducted. You saw it in the recommendations. If not, that type of review is required. All businesses review labour costs each year.
Lastly, postal banking is not the way to go. There are already enough banking services in Canada, and competition is fierce. A number of jobs in the sector have already been eliminated and are continually being restructured.
I won't talk about the postal services in France, where I go regularly, except to say there is also a decrease in that area.
Thank you.