Don’t buy this study – privatization will cost us

Despite its many inaccuracies, the recent report of the Montreal Economic Institute (Canada Post: Opening Up to Competition) is accurate in one respect. The study confirms that public ownership of Canada Post continues to provide Canadians with postage rates that are much lower than those charged by the few privatized post offices in Europe.

The report fails to mention the actual postage rates in the privatized post offices it selects for comparison – Germany, Austria and the Netherlands - so let’s do some easy math. In Canada we pay 59 cents to mail a standard letter. Compare this rate to Germany ($0.77 Can), Austria ($0.77 Can, set to go up soon) and the Netherlands ( $0.64 Can). Our public post office wins hands down.

Canada Post has been consistently turning a profit for the past 16 years and this money flows back to the government – to us - in taxes and dividends. So what is this report’s “productivity problem”?

The authors of this study are using a jumble of bogus comparisons to try to justify their bias towards deregulation, privatization and anti-union measures. Don’t buy this shoddy argument. It will end up costing all of us.

Denis Lemelin, national president, Canadian Union of Postal Workers

For a detailed critique of the report please contact CUPW at 613-236-7238.