Thank you for the question.
Just to make things a little more specific, I spoke about the risk of a new renewed NAFTA-like challenge under the TPP. Of course, the TPP now continues investor state, so that's a possibility. The rules have changed. They have been enhanced in a number of areas.
If you happen to have the opportunity to look at the express delivery services annex of the TPP, I encourage you to do so. It's very short, just eight bullets and under a page, but I think you may be surprised to see an annex of that kind in a general trade agreement. It's quite clear that it serves industry's interests. The efforts of the express delivery and courier industry to influence trade rules are well documented and, frankly, they have been quite successful. Our view is that an annex like this has no place in a general trade agreement. It poses risks of another lawsuit, and even if we're successful, do we really want to go down that road again?
It is also highly relevant as Canada Post is considering all of these options entering into other areas, so it poses a risk to the current line of business. The way Canada Post currently gets by is by also delivering by courier. The view of companies like UPS is that this very involvement in those competitive markets is problematic. They call it cross-subsidization. Now, the jury is out on what exactly cross-subsidization means. It hasn't fully been litigated. The NAFTA case didn't go there, but it may well be litigated under the TPP, and the result could be highly problematic to the survival of Canada Post, which is not to mention lines of business besides courier.
You're a member of the Canada Post review, and obviously Canada Post is looking at a number of other ways to revitalize its services drawing on international models. There are untold consequences throughout the TPP and potential for renewed challenges threatening Canada Post's ability to really deliver on its mandate of universal service, which is particularly hard in a country like Canada.
We heard from some friends about the natural advantages that Canada has in a number of industries. In postal delivery, Canada is at a disadvantage. The geography is vast, there are underserved communities, and we're concerned about new threats that the TPP poses.