Good Morning.
I'm please to be here. I'm very pleased to welcome you to Edmonton and to thank you for the work you're dong. I think it's very important.
I'm Lynda Moffat. I'm here today speaking as the president and CEO of the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce.
For any of you who don't know, St. Albert is a city of approximately 65,000 people, located directly on the northwest boundary of the city of Edmonton.
We have a very vibrant and successful business community. The chamber of commerce represents over 970 members. In March 2016, we were pleased to send a letter to Canada Post concerning the proposed closure of the St. Albert post office. In preparation for writing this letter, we did a survey of our chamber of commerce members to ascertain their views on this potential closure. In the informal survey, we asked if they were located in the downtown, as the post office is, and whether this decision would impact their business. The results of the survey were very surprising to me, and mostly the passion that came with the answers was very surprising to me.
Overall, the businesses who use the post office on a regular basis for shipping and receiving are passionate about keeping the post office open. The very idea of having to drive into Edmonton or visit a post office kiosk in a retail setting is both unacceptable and difficult to understand for them. To quote a comment from just one response, “The post office is their own worst enemy, because closing this location will force us to look to the private sector for the shipment and receipt of goods”.
Another response included an indication that the business would move out of St. Albert if the post office was closed. The business owners genuinely appreciate the employees of Canada Post at this location, and they count on their professionalism and their knowledge to keep things running smoothly and efficiently. They receive very high praise from our business community.
Another group of people, whom we did not poll, are those living both in the downtown and in other areas of the city. We heard from many seniors who depend on the services of the post office, and particularly from those who do not have the freedom of transportation to visit the retail outlets. There are also post office box holders who value the address that they have and the convenience of receiving their mail there.
We first thought that we might hear more about the heritage of the post office and the symbolism of community and stability. Although we did hear some expressions in this direction, most of the input we received dealt with the functionality and great value that Canada Post provides. There was very little nostalgia involved in their views on saving that post office.
As a business where your product is being challenged, we would like to encourage Canada Post to look for new and innovative directions for providing services to Canadians, rather than eliminating the services that are so greatly valued.
I'm confident that your access to the brightest minds combined with your determination to be a great service provider can bring excellent results from your deliberations that will be met with overwhelming support from Canadians. The one thing businesses need to survive is stability. They need to know what's happening tomorrow. They need to know that the tools to prosper and to be profitable are there for them.
I'm willing to answer any questions that you have.