I could go on.
Evidence of meeting #46 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was rural.
Evidence of meeting #46 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was rural.
12:25 p.m.
President, Saskatoon Local, Canadian Union of Postal Workers
I could go on.
12:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski
I know. Time is precious, but the time is fleeting.
Madam Shanahan may give you that opportunity.
Madam Shanahan, five minutes please.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC
Yes, I am intrigued, and I'm a former banker as well. I'm intrigued by the history of postal banking with Canada Post. I'm intrigued by the parcel business. We did have a chance to visit the Surrey sorting centre, and was amazed what people are sending through Canada Post, tires and all kinds of things internationally and locally. There's lots of business there.
I'm always intrigued by what people need and how nimble the corporate entity is in meeting those needs, especially when we're talking about a crown corporation. Please go on and share some more thoughts with us, Ms. Sanderson.
12:25 p.m.
President, Saskatoon Local, Canadian Union of Postal Workers
Canada Post is most definitely in a position. We have people that are trained in how to do this work. We have a vast infrastructure and ability to maintain and continue to provide those services.
In terms of parcels and small packets, we've seen tremendous increases in the volume of small packets and parcels. One of the issues we have with community mailboxes is that letter carriers are now carrying satchels that weigh up to 35 pounds, and they have flyers in them or as Canada Post likes to call them, what do they call them now?
12:25 p.m.
President, Saskatoon Local, Canadian Union of Postal Workers
It's ad mail, neighbourhood mail. Thank you very much.
Carriers are carrying those satchels, and they're quite heavy. They're given parcels and packets on top of that. These people are skilled in what they're doing. I can't see Canada Post ever being in a situation where getting rid of those services would benefit the public or—
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC
In fact, we heard the testimony earlier this week that there is something to be said about those boots on the ground, that last bastion of service and presence of the federal government.
Do you see other services that could be offered by letter carriers or postal workers in general?
12:25 p.m.
President, Saskatoon Local, Canadian Union of Postal Workers
For sure. When I first started as a letter carrier back in 1997, we had letter carrier alerts. Letter carriers out on the street would be delivering to, say, an elderly couple that lived in a home, and sometimes we'd see their mail pile up. We would talk to them every single day, but they would never mention when they were going out of town, and you would see their mail pile up.
We had letter carrier alerts. We would come in and say to our supervisor, “Hey, Annie, so and so has not picked up the mail. The mail is piling up in her box.” The supervisor would then contact the city police department or the fire department and go there.
I have myself personally experienced where somebody's grandmother spent three days in a bathtub full of freezing water. Fortunately, she had access to a hot tap, but she was in a bathtub full of freezing water with a broken hip and unable to get out. The letter carrier notified the fire department, and she was helped.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC
Excellent. Thank you very much.
In general, for anyone on the panel, another common theme is whether its door-to-door delivery, the community mailbox, or travelling to get your mail, it seems like it's not one-size-fits-all. There are different solutions for different folks.
What would you say would be the key factor for citizens receiving mail or for employees in ensuring that it's the best possible fit with the demand and the service?
Maybe start with Mr. McGregor or Ms. Friars.
12:25 p.m.
President, Moose Jaw & District Senior Association
As a senior, I don't know whether it was noticeable or not, but there are a few of us around here that hold that position.
My biggest concern is that the advertising has told us, through the government, that the best way to look after seniors is to keep them in their homes as long as you can. That to me tells the whole story. If we're going to keep the seniors in their homes, we must have accessibility to the mail for as many reasons as Lori and Canada Post gave us. There are too many.
I have concerns. I could go through many of them. For instance, the postal boxes are being situated right on a junction, a T in the highway. You turn around in the middle of the street, the back of the street, kids are going to the playground, it just makes no sense. The placement of the boxes was brought up before. It's just safety in general.
12:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski
I will cut it off at this point.
I want to thank all the panellists for being here, particularly Ms. Krahenbil and Ms. Sanderson. Thank you for taking the opportunity to present this afternoon. I'm glad we were able to get you to the table.
If there is additional information that you think would be of benefit to our committee as we conduct our deliberations, then I encourage you to make those submissions directly to our clerk. You can get the coordinates from Ms. Massicotte later, before you leave, and I would ask that if you're going to make additional submissions, then do that within the next 10 days or so, since we hope to be tabling our final report to Parliament by around the end of November.
Once again, thank you for all your testimony. It's been very well received.
The meeting is adjourned.