Watch the video above: Canada Post chief in the hot seat over cuts
The head of Canada Post was grilled by MPs in Ottawa on Wednesday, facing tough questions about recently proposed service cuts at an emergency session of the House of Commons transport committee.
In defending the corporation’s proposed service cuts and price hikes, Canada Post president and CEO Deepak Chopra said the changes are necessary in order for the carrier to survive.
“If the mail is changing its shape and size, don’t we think the mailbox should change its shape and size too?” Chopra asked.
“So what we’re trying to do is adapt (to) the changing needs of Canadians.”
It was the first time Chopra spoke publicly since last Wednesday’s announcement that Canada Post plans to phase out door-to-door mail delivery in urban centres.
READ MORE: 7 things to know about Canada Post’s plan to axe home delivery
Instead, mail would be delivered to communal neighbourhood “superboxes.”
Under the proposal, the cost of stamps who also rise sharply, by more than 50 per cent.
Criticism of Canada’s Post planned cuts
Canada Post’s plan has drawn sharp criticism from politicians, union workers and residents.
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A new survey found that Canadians are generally not in favour of service changes.
READ MORE: Majority of Canadians oppose Canada Post service changes
The Angus Reid survey released to Global News found that, overall, 58 per cent of Canadians surveyed did not support the changes while 38 per cent said they favoured the end of door-to-door service in urban changes.
MPs have also raised concern over how the proposed cuts will impact anyone with mobility issues.
Liberal MP David McGuinty warned that the elderly and disabled will face difficulties retrieving mail once door-to-door delivery ends.
READ MORE: How Canada Post’s home delivery cuts could affect seniors and the disabled
But Chopra said the agency had consulted with Canadians for months, and has been mindful of seniors’ concerns in putting together its reform proposals.
Numerous politicians have argued that the decision was made without meaningful consultation.
“Sir, most Canadians had no clue,” said NDP MP Paul Dewar to Chopra on Wednesday.
Watch the video below: MP says Canada Post chief has failed Canadians
Post office union vows to fight
The corporation’s union has vowed to fight the plan to the last breath.
On Wednesday, Chopra cited a recent report that warned, without significant changes, Canada Post could be losing $1 billion a year by 2020.
The union, however, questioned that assessment, and also asked why Canada Post hasn’t tried more aggressively to expand its revenue base.
“We accept the fact that things are changing,” said Denis Lemelin, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
“However, we cannot understand why Canada Post will not follow the example of post offices in the U.K., in France, in Italy, in Switzerland and in many other countries which are currently either beginning a banking service or expanding their existing services.”
Lemelin vowed that CUPW would do everything in its power to reverse the proposed service cuts.
In protest, thousands of letters and postcards from postal workers were delivered to Transportation Minister Lisa Raitt’s office in Milton, Ont., on Wednesday.
“There’s no reason why they should be doing this,” said Darryl Ellis, CUPW Toronto Local President. “It’s premature, it doesn’t make any sense, it’s totally irrational, and they have to rethink the whole thing.”
Despite the sharp criticism, the plan has the full endorsement of the federal government. Raitt’s office told Global News she stands by her original statement, one that said she supports the changes.
Watch the video below: MP asks if Canada Post sustainable in its current form
U.S. lawmaker celebrates
Meanwhile, the announced demise of home mail delivery in Canada has prompted a celebratory reaction from one U.S. lawmaker, who longs to see his own country adopt a similar reform to end residential postal service.
Last week’s news had Republican congressman Darrell Issa issuing a statement saying he “applauded” Canada for applying a principle found in his own bill to overhaul the United States Postal Service.
“As technology advances, the Canadian people are changing the way they use paper mail. Canada Post has recognized this reality and responded to it. The Canadian government is supportive of its decision to modernize,” said the California representative.
“The American people have also changed the way they use paper mail and the cash-strapped United States Postal Service must respond accordingly.”
Americans are grappling, like their neighbours to the north and more distant nations around the planet, with ways to reform the post office in an era of technology-driven disruption of traditional business models.
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