Thank you to the task force for returning to speak with us. Thank you for your report. It provided an excellent guide to start a conversation.
I found that the discussion paper was highly focused on costs rather than opportunities for revenue and the desire of Canadians for higher service. When I was listening to Canadians, I heard that they prioritized the service requirements they needed for what they wanted to expect from Canada Post, as well as opportunities for revenue growth, and that they didn't necessarily see that the cost battle was quite as dire.
We heard, over and over, from the unions that mechanisms exist in the collective agreement to help manage costs with declining mail volumes, so the corporation already has the tools it needs in its existing collective agreement to manage those costs. Yet, we didn't see, in the financial analysis presented in the discussion paper, a reflection of the fact that those labour costs would be reduced with the mail volumes. Maybe they were baked in.
My first question would be for whichever one of you worked most closely on that aspect of the financial modelling. Did you take into account the fact that labour force reductions would be allowed to be undertaken in association with the decline of mail volumes and build that into your financial analysis?