Thank you for the opportunity.
My name is Shelly Krahenbil. I'm the president of the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association here in Saskatchewan. Nationally, CPAA represents postmasters and assistants in 3,229 rural post offices, with approximately 8,700 members across Canada and over 1,300 here in Saskatchewan.
According to Canada Post's own reports, rural and corporate post offices are the most cost-effective method of mail delivery. If this is the most cost-effective method of delivery, I question why Canada Post is recommending that 800 of the most profitable corporate offices be replaced with franchises. Is this the beginning of the end of corporate offices and the path to privatization?
We are part of the largest distribution network in Canada, a fact that Canada Post proudly points out to its customers. In spite of these facts, Canada Post has been reducing rural postal service and closing down its delivery network since the moratorium, even before it announced the five-point action plan.
In many cases in rural Saskatchewan the postmaster in these small communities is actually subsidizing Canada Post through supply of the premises and their wage structure. In some situations the postmaster is paid less than minimum wage for a portion of their hours in a day. With this in mind, reduction of hours in these offices makes a position unattractive, resulting in resignations. The vacant positions are then difficult to staff and the offices close, therefore reducing postal service.
According to a study commissioned by CPAA and conducted by Anderson Consulting, over 55% of franchises created by Canada Post that replaced corporate offices closed, making it necessary for the customers to travel longer and longer distances. We have communities where the commute to the post office to collect a parcel is greater than 75 kilometres. This presents a hardship, especially to our seniors, but also the community as a whole.
The franchise post office does not, in our opinion, give Canadians the same service as the corporate post office. In rural Canada the franchise employees' first loyalty would be to the franchise's host business. Canada Post provides training to only one employee and the rest is trickle-down training. Franchisees often ignore new products and services, hours of operation, and other commitments because the business is more complex than they bargained for. The franchise model uses rural and suburban mail carriers and community mailboxes to achieve delivery, which costs much more than the centralized rural post office.
When Canada Post closes rural post offices, it contributes to the demise of the business district of the town. With the rural post office the residents have to come to town, and typically will spend money in other businesses in town. When forced to go to a nearby community to do their postal business, there is more incentive to shop in that community, not their own.
We strongly feel the study produced by the review committee dismisses several money-making initiatives that would improve Canada Post's financial position without further eroding postal service to rural Canadians. Canada Post prepared its own study, which called the postal banking initiative a win-win situation. There are over 1,200 communities in Canada that have corporate post offices but no bank. By using our current network we could provide these services to the community, once again enabling a vibrant rural community.
Using our current network to expand government services such as those offered in Service Canada outlets, at little cost to the government, would improve viability. We could use our current network to explore green initiatives such as recharging stations for electric vehicles, and Internet services in rural Canada, where it is often lacking.
We respectfully submit that there are ways for Canada Post to achieve its financial goals without the current trend of eroding service to rural Canadians. Please widen the discussion to take into account rural Canada and its potential demise. Thank you.