Mr. Speaker, people are changing how they communicate, moving from letter to email and cheques to direct deposit. It is a seismic global shift, leaving postal agencies coping with massive losses.
Canada Post delivered 1.2 billion fewer letters in 2013 than in 2006. In the last 3 years, it lost millions, with losses forecast at a billion dollars per year by 2020.
Postal agencies in the EU are closing post offices, slashing carrier jobs by up to 40%, privatizing or ending daily mail, and hiking stamp prices to $1.40. By contrast, Canada Post's five-point plan proposes a return to viability without privatizing mail delivery, with lower stamp prices and job cuts of 11% to 13% by retirement, not by pink slip.
While the opposition and unions focus on maintaining the level of union dues under the guise of saving door-to-door delivery for just 33% of Canadians, Canada Post is fighting to save daily mail for 100% of Canadians.