Thank you so much.
Hello. Bonjour. Thank you for the invitation to speak today on this important matter.
My name is Michael Aubie. I'm the manager of advocacy for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities, or FCM, is the national voice of municipal governments.
Our members include more than 2,000 municipalities of all sizes, from Canada's cities and rural towns to northern communities, and 18 provincial and territorial municipal associations.
I'm going to make two key points in my opening statement.
The first is that no changes should be made to Canada Post’s mandate or service charter without thorough public review, including meaningful engagement with local governments. Canada Post’s financial challenges present an opportunity to innovate, explore new sources of revenue and support housing and economic growth in rural communities.
FCM is most concerned about the future of Canada Post from the perspective of rural communities. Rural Canada is home to 6.3 million Canadians, or 15% of Canada’s population, and contributes to nearly a third of Canada’s GDP. Simply put, Canada can succeed only if rural Canada is thriving.
Currently, Canadians rely on over 3,000 rural postal offices. Rural postal services enable residents and businesses to receive government benefit payments, banking and insurance and to send and receive products from local businesses across Canada and around the world.
In addition, Canada Post offers services tailored to more vulnerable individuals, such as seniors.
Post offices and rural postal services are a lifeline for rural and remote communities. Municipal governments, like provincial and territorial governments and, in fact, the federal government, continue to rely on postal services to provide essential public services to Canadians. Tax collection and communication with property owners continue to be carried out by mail, and changes to postal services can impact municipal operations, as Mayor St-Amour mentioned. We have seen this with the disruption of recent municipal elections in Alberta, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.
FCM recognizes that Canada Post is facing significant financial pressures, and municipalities understand that Canada Post needs to modernize. FCM encourages the federal government to look for opportunities to modernize the corporation, diversify its revenue streams and, most importantly, leverage its national footprint to support housing and economic development in rural and remote communities. By reimagining Canada Post’s role, we can help to ensure its long-term sustainability while delivering real benefits to Canadians, especially those in regions that are too often underserved.
FCM encourages the federal government to look for ways that Canada Post can strengthen its role as a connector through a community hub model. A community hub model could support business and government services at post office locations, especially in rural, northern and underserved communities. Canada Post offices are often the only federal footprint in small and rural communities. They can be leveraged to increase the reach of federal programs and services, as well as other public and private services.
FCM also sees an opportunity for both Canada Post and communities with a shortage of affordable housing. Public lands should be leveraged to help provide affordable housing. Canada Post has over 5,700 post offices across Canada, of which many are one-storey sites, underutilized and located on main streets in rural Canada. Some of these locations offer an opportunity to meet additional housing needs in rural communities, including for affordable housing. As Canada Post works to improve its balance sheet, co-locating prefabricated affordable housing on suitable Canada Post sites could generate revenue for Canada Post, support the modular housing sector and help the federal government address its affordable housing objectives.
Budget 2024 announced the government’s intention to launch a new Canada Post housing program to support affordable housing providers to build on Canada Post properties. More recently, with the announcement of Build Canada Homes, the opportunity exists to address the urgent need for supportive, deeply affordable and non-profit housing. FCM fully supports these goals and encourages the federal government to pursue housing development as part of broader efforts to modernize Canada Post.
With that, I’ll close my opening statements. Thank you so much. Merci beaucoup.