Government Operations committee  In the focus group, as you'll see when you do the consultation, people mentioned that it might be interesting, although they felt there would have to be higher interest rates for.... There were elements that they felt Canada Post, helped by the government, would bring to them, which would make it more interesting than what is offered by the banks or the credit unions or Desjardins.

Government Operations committee  At this stage, however, our role is to provide information so you can conduct a consultation with as much information as possible. We are not making any recommendations right now. We are presenting options.

Government Operations committee  What happened in 2011.... It has moved on since then. We looked at the five years. We say it is on average a period of no profit. The 2014-15 period is healthier, but it is healthier because of an increase that brought $200 million to the table. Our consideration is that we cannot go on regularly increasing the stamp prices.

Government Operations committee  We have not studied how it will be done at the operational level. We leave that up to the experts. It will eventually be up to Canada Post to determine that. The issue for us is the following. Mail and parcels are currently delivered through the same system. Your colleague was correct in referring to logistics.

Government Operations committee  We are not recommending anything.

Government Operations committee  Absolutely. That is an avenue that will have to be examined with a view to a future realignment. If the government wants that, it is certainly one of the options to consider. That is why we talked about a change in governance and the possibility of regulations. In other sectors, in Canada and elsewhere, when regulations are done in a smart way, that is, by setting out the broad principles without getting into too much detail, it gives all stakeholders the opportunity to share their views and expertise.

Government Operations committee  They're not ready to pay; that was clear in the polls. When you come with a price, when we looked at different alternatives, half of Canadians knew about the financial situation, but when we brought everybody to the same level and we asked if they were prepared for this or that, they were quite strong in saying they were not prepared to pay for it.

Government Operations committee  Canada Post is a crown corporation, and being a crown corporation it has the same obligations as any other crown corporation. VIA Rail and CBC have the same kind of framework. The solvency issue is the responsibility of all crown corporations. What makes it so huge, I'd say, is the number.

Government Operations committee  My friend here can take the question. We've offered a few options to address the solvency issue, but it requires change, such as a regulatory one.

Government Operations committee  It is to be shared first with the department, and then it is for the department to decide how to share. For us, what we had to make public through the department was the discussion paper.

Government Operations committee  No. That's why we've said there are short- and mid-term options that can bring savings and some revenues. From our perspective and from the facts we've gathered, mid- and long-term a realignment has to be prepared because it went from mail to parcels, so the universal service obligation and the rural moratorium cannot be defined exactly as they used to be.

Government Operations committee  Of course, it's our mandate. Yours might be another way of looking at it.

Government Operations committee  As I've said—

Government Operations committee  There is no secret to Caramilk. That's why we're bringing to your attention some options that can bring savings and a bit of revenue that could do the bridging necessary before going into a more in-depth realignment of the institution. I think it's important for all to remember that Canadians don't want layoffs.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question. My friend here is all prepared to answer, because it's an important one.