Evidence of meeting #41 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 39th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was post.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
I'm asking Madam Howell, for the association. You must have a sense of the size of the business of your association today. No?
Executive Director, Canadian International Mail Association
Today it would be, I believe, about $70 million for international.
Executive Director, Canadian International Mail Association
It was just beginning 20 years ago.
Executive Director, Canadian International Mail Association
It was next to nothing.
Liberal
Executive Director, Canadian International Mail Association
I would say that it would be more in the middle. It has dropped off since these court battles started.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Would that be an indication as to why, perhaps, Canada Post is paying more attention to you than it did in the past?
Executive Director, Canadian International Mail Association
It could very well be, yes. They saw how profitable they were becoming. But at the same time, Canada Post was becoming profitable.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Thank you.
I want to make sure I understand the business, because we were talking about it here a moment ago. The remailers collect mail, bring it across the border, I presume to the States, because that's the cheapest—
Executive Director, Canadian International Mail Association
In some cases, yes.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
—and then mail it from there to clients in the States. Or is it mailed back to Canada?
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
It is just to clients in the States or elsewhere around the world.
Executive Director, Canadian International Mail Association
It is mailed to clients in the U.S. or internationally, yes.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Fair enough. That's what I thought it was. I'm glad that's cleared up.
Now, if a corporation or a government does not follow closely certain things for a number of years--and this relates strictly to property rights, I believe--you acquire squatters' rights. Have you looked at that angle?
Executive Director, Canadian International Mail Association
No, we have not.
Liberal
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
It's too late now, anyhow.
In 1890 the Government of Manitoba passed a law that was declared unconstitutional 90 years later. So there are instances when the laws are not enforced, and then something triggers them, perhaps the growth of your business, and then they become enforced. My sense is that this is what has happened. And we can confirm that with Madam Greene in a few minutes. I just wanted to get a good sense of that.
Is there a reverse business into Canada?
Executive Director, Canadian International Mail Association
Very often we will have clients--and Gordon, perhaps you can speak to the other side of the industry--who want the Canadian look to their mail, foreign clients who want a Canadian look to their mail. So they then want it brought into Canada and mailed through Canada Post.
I know that some of these companies have approached Canada Post about a means of doing this, but they've been told by Canada Post that Canada Post will only deal with the owner of the mail, who in this case is in a foreign country.
General Manager, Kirk Integrated Marketing Services Ltd., Canadian International Mail Association
And in fact Canada Post solicits business south of the border in the United States. They attend the trade shows. They look to get American companies to bring their mail into Canada. It's part of what they do to expand their revenue base.
Robert Carrier Bloc Alfred-Pellan, QC
Mr. Chairman, I have a question for Ms. Bourque.
Good afternoon. I was reading in your presentation that the remailing businesses, through their operations, cause Canada Post to lose millions of dollars. This is one of your arguments supporting Canada Post taking back these activities.
I was wondering what the argument or reason is for your union requesting this change. Is it simply so that Canada Post can make more millions of dollars, or do you have a more specific reason?
