Thank you.
I have two questions and other comments to make.
My constituents are very upset, as am I. In our part of Ontario, in southwestern Ontario, we do not have much federal government presence. As a matter of fact, we have almost no federal government presence except for Canada Post, and Canada Post is failing in its obligation to deliver mail to rural mailboxes.
It's the sole presence of the Government of Canada, and we can't get it done. Frankly, it is an embarrassment. It is one of the most basic elements of a civilization, and I'm not one who's lent to hyperbole. The ability to carry messages from point A to point B efficiently and accurately has been the hallmark of civilizations for millennia, and we can't seem to do it.
I would also remind you that I hear all this talk of profit and the like, and having come from the private sector, I will tell you that you are not a for-profit private corporation. I really don't care about EBITDA. You have a single shareholder--that is the Government of Canada--and you have a monopoly. You have a sacred trust. The government has given you a monopoly--Canada Post--and in return, we expect that services will be delivered on less profitable routes, on routes that are far-flung in this country, in places like Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and rural mailboxes. We expect universality, and we expect the rural mail to be delivered. But if you break that sacred trust, then frankly I'm not sure why we have a monopoly.
I am one of these parliamentarians who believe in public delivery of services. I believe that crown corporations and the public service have a role to play in delivering services that Canadians need. But frankly, when I see what's going on in my riding and in Mr. Tilson's riding and in members of the opposition's ridings, I lose my faith in the ability of your corporation to deliver the mail on the basis of that sacred trust. Frankly, if you can't deliver the mail to the lot line, then maybe it's time for somebody else to do it.
This is something that is very important to many Canadians, and it's a very important basic ingredient of what it means to live in a civilized society. So when I hear things like you're going to deliver the mail and restore it, I hear the proviso that it's to every safe mailbox, but maybe the problem is your definition of safe.
The other thing I'd add is about presenting statistics to the committee. My thoughts and heart go out to those employees affected, but when I hear things like 34 accidents and two fatalities, if I tell you that there were 34 accidents and two fatalities yesterday in this country involving Chevrolet Impalas, that doesn't tell me anything. I think there needs to be a little more forthrightness with this committee when it comes to stats like that and when it comes to telling the committee that you're going to restore mail delivery to every safe mailbox.
I've been hearing this for months now, and frankly I am one of these parliamentarians who are losing confidence in the ability of Canada Post to deliver what is an essential public service to hundreds of thousands of rural Canadians. In testimony in front of this committee, you said that 68% of the mailboxes assessed to date are safe. Therefore, 32% have failed. If that's the trend for the rest of the 840,000 mailboxes in this country, that means 240,000 Canadians are going to have their rural mail delivery removed. That is not something that, in my view, is acceptable.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
