Government Operations committee  In terms of banking services, I don't see it as competition with private banks, because the banking system marginalizes a segment of the population. People are left behind by the banking system. With $35 billion in profits, I don't think that any of the six banks will go bankrupt in the next year because Canada Post introduced a postal bank.

Government Operations committee  Those are not our numbers, but Canada Post's. As for Ernst & Young, I would like to be able to say that the figures they used are accurate, but I don't know. I asked to see the report, but my request was denied. Usually, when there is a mandate review, we have access to the documents the committee or the task force used.

Government Operations committee  You are talking about the five-point plan. To me, it is clear that we have to reject it. First, it is based on inaccurate figures from the Conference Board of Canada. I don't have them in my hands, but the fact remains that a deficit of $200 million or $300 million was expected for 2014.

Government Operations committee  I would like to add something.

Government Operations committee  We have been repeatedly hearing that communication is almost non-existent at Canada Post. When we, at the Syndicat des travailleurs et travailleuses des postes, find out something, it is through the media like everyone else. Some misinformation has circulated since the action plan was announced.

Government Operations committee  Let me explain. A number of postal carrier positions and routes have been eliminated. This means that people left and have not been replaced. Those are job losses. No one has been fired so far because section 53 of the collective agreement on job security is our safeguard. However, at the last round of negotiations, Canada Post wanted to first tackle section 53 of the collective agreement.

Government Operations committee  Thank you. As I have very little time, I am going to go right to the point and talk to you about a solution that the task force seems to have discarded, the idea of a postal bank. Unlike the major banks, a postal bank has a much more social purpose and can reinvest its profits into its communities.