Letter to the editor of the Financial Post regarding Terence Corcoran’s opinion piece Canada Post’s monopoly grab

Editor
Financial Post
1450 Don Mills Road, Suite 300
Don Mills, Ontario   M3B 3R5

To the editor:

Subject:  Terence, the devil is in the detail

Terence Corcoran’s opinion piece (Canada Post’s monopoly grab, December 11, 2007) portrays the union’s concerns with international mailers as a struggle between good and evil, between truth and falsehood and much more. While I appreciate hyperbole as much as the next person, I do take exception to the inattention to detail in Mr. Corcoran’s piece.
 
Corcoran:  “For more than 20 years, apparently, it has been legal for private international mailers to transfer mail sent by Canadian corporations to destinations outside of Canada.”
 
Details:International remailers have been violating the law for years. The federal government has proposed legislation (Bill C-14) to change the law to allow remailers to handle international letters, but not domestic letters.
 
Corcoran: “The federal government, however, decided that the original intent of the postal law was to allow bulk shipment of mail destined for foreign markets via private interests. It was not part of Canada Post's monopoly.”
 
Details:The courts of this land would beg to differ. Even the federal government expressed concern about eroding Canada Post’s exclusive privilege or partial monopoly at one point. A letter from Minister Lawrence Cannon’s office indicated  the government understood the problems that would be created by removing international letters from Canada Post’s exclusive privilege to collect, transmit and deliver letters. The letter stated, “The activities of international remailers cost Canada Post millions of dollars each year and erodes the Corporation's ability to maintain a healthy national postal service and provide universal service to all Canadians.”
 
Corcoran:“It's a fight, moreover, in which Mr. Dion and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are on the same side.”
 

Details: The Liberal Party’s position on Bill C-14 is not entirely clear. Earlier this year, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion stated that it is the Liberal Party’s “intent to support the continued operations of international re-mailers within Canada” but that “the Liberal Party does not support the deregulation and privatization of Canada Post.” CUPW is hoping that Mr. Dion will continue to take a strong stand against deregulation and oppose Bill C-14 because it would, if passed, partially deregulate Canada Post.
 
Corcoran:“C-14 is a one-sentence bill that changes nothing in current practice. So why would Ms. Bourque and Canada Post mount this campaign? Mostly, it seems, because there are political points to be scored with some constituents.”
 
Details:I don’t speak or campaign for Canada Post. Speaking for the union, yes, we are concerned about Bill C-14 because it would erode Canada Post’s exclusive privilege. The corporation has an exclusive privilege to handle letters, including international letters, in order to finance the post office's universal service obligation.
 
Funding and providing universal service in the second largest country in the world is difficult at the best of times. It is even harder with one of the lowest standard postage rates in the industrial world.
 
We truly believe it will become increasingly difficult for our public post office to provide affordable service to everyone, no matter where they live, if the federal government erodes the very mechanism that funds universal postal service – the exclusive privilege.
 
Finally, we don’t think it makes sense to change something as fundamental as the exclusive privilege without a comprehensive and public review. To date, there has been no real inquiry into the international mail issue that caused the government to introduce Bill C-14. There are many unanswered questions. Before this bill proceeds, we need answers. We need details.

Yours truly,

Deborah Bourque
National President

c.c.  National Executive Committee, Regional Executive Committees, National Union Representatives, Regional Union Representatives, Specialists, All locals