GD's Political Animal: Canada Post

Showing posts with label Canada Post. Show all posts

Monday, December 9, 2024

Postal strike puts pressure on couriers to deliver

The ongoing Canada Post strike has left private couriers struggling to cope with backlogs caused by demand surges, severe weather conditions, and (in at least one case) striking postal workers blockading their delivery trucks.

Purolator, UPS pause shipments from couriers amid backlog from Canada Post strike | CBC News | Alexandra Mae Jones:

December 6, 2024 - "Amid an influx of packages that would normally be sent through Canada Post, Purolator and UPS have paused shipments from some courier companies in order to catch up. Purolator told CBC News on Thursday that severe weather and a surge in package volumes prompted it to freeze service for some partners.... Couriers such as eShipper act as middlemen between smaller e-commerce businesses and large carriers. But now eShipper is among the outfits temporarily barred from sending packages through UPS and the Canada Post-owned Purolator.

"In a notice sent to clients on Thursday and obtained by CBC News, eShipper stated that 'no shipments will be processed or moved by these carriers' for 48 hours, starting Wednesday [January 11]. In a statement Friday, Purolator said that the timeframe didn't come from it and that 'this is a temporary measure that will be removed as soon as possible.' UPS did not respond to requests for comment....

"FedEx is also experiencing 'increased volume demands' amid the ongoing Canada Post strike, spokesperson James Anderson told CBC News in a statement Friday. To manage this, 'a temporary limit of five packages per drop-off has been introduced at FedEx retail locations,' he said."

Purolator, UPS freeze courier shipments as Canada Post strike drags on | CBC News: The National | December 6, 2024:

Striking posties blocking Christmas deliveries from Purolator plant | Western Stanard | Dave Naylor:

December 7, 2024 - "It looks like striking postal workers are doing their best to ruin Christmas for as many Canadians as they can. Posties have been pictured at a Purolator plant delaying trucks as they tried to get out.... The postal workers would block each departing van for several minutes before allowing it to pass. Purolator is owned by Canada Post.

"'Striking mail-monkeys from Canada Post are now trying to hinder Purolator from getting Christmas packages delivered. They sure know how to win public sympathy. Looking forward to their careers as fry-cooks,' said Western Standard columnist Cory Morgan about the photo.

"Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon criticized Canada Post management and workers Wedneday.... 'We are at a dead end in negotiations,' MacKinnon told reporters, expressing frustration over the stalled talks between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and Canada Post management.... Blacklock's Reporter said he criticized the lack of progress, despite the involvement of federal mediators who withdrew earlier this week after contract negotiations collapsed.... However, he ruled out government intervention at this time, stating, 'We are not considering any intervention. Binding arbitration is not in the cards.'

"The strike, which began November 15, comes during Canada Post’s busiest season for holiday mail and parcel deliveries. A similar dispute in 2018 lasted 35 days before the government passed back-to-work legislation. At the time, Canada Post estimated rotating strikes cost the corporation $110 million.... The last strike to resolve without government intervention occurred in 1975 and lasted 43 days."

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

It's time to privatize Canada Post

Canada Post's request for a 25% increase in the price of stamps puts the question of privatization back on the table.

Time to finally privatize Canada Post | Fraser Institute | Vincent Geloso, Assistant Professor of Economics, George Mason University"

September 25, 2024 - "Canada Post wants to increase the price of a stamp by 25 cents to $1.24 to keep up with inflation and rising costs. But Canada Post has often relied on this reasoning for previous price increases since it stopped being a government department and became a Crown corporation in 1981. Since then, it’s jacked up prices every time it’s had 'financial difficulties.' The source of these difficulties has changed over time.... The answer is, however, always the same. Prices must increase. Indeed, since 1981 stamp prices have increased 98 per cent (after adjusting for inflation). In other words, the price for stamps have increased far beyond the rate of inflation.

Canada Post LLV, 2010. Photo by Kristoferb.

CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.

"Why does Canada Post keep getting away with this? Because it has a monopoly over most of the letter market in Canada. And while it competes with private companies ... in the parcel market, Canada Post can borrow money at much lower costs than its rivals because it is a Crown corporation ultimately backed by taxpayers....

"Normally, a company facing losses and declining demand would innovate and reduce costs.... However, due to its monopoly over most of the letter market, Canada Post lacks this incentive. In can simply pass the burden onto consumers by raising prices, which is exactly what it has done since the 1980s. And as a Crown corporation, it cannot be purchased by another company without express approval from Ottawa. So, what’s the solution?

"In Europe, due to a directive from the European Commission, all letters regardless of weight have been open to competition since 2013. The directive does not mandate the privatization of state-owned postal companies; it simply ends postal monopolies. Combined with local liberalization efforts before 2013, this directive has forced state-owned postal service providers to better control costs because they cannot turn to taxpayers (for subsidies) or consumers (by raising prices) to bail them out.

"Some countries such as the Netherlands, Austria and Germany [and Britain when still in the European Union - gd] went further and privatized their postal operators.... In the 10 years following privatization, prices for stamps and other postal services fell by 11 per cent in Austria, 15 per cent in the Netherlands and 17 per cent in Germany (adjusted for inflation). All these countries now have lower postal prices than the European average.

"Predictably, postal service providers in these countries found new methods of organizing their activities, tying multiple services together to generate economies of scale, and moved fast in adopting new information and logistical technologies. Due to the incentives of competition, providers focused their efforts on controlling costs — a focus Canada Post will never achieve as long as it’s a Crown corporation with a monopoly....

"Policymakers in Ottawa should finally put postal liberalization and privatization on the table. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before a new problem emerges, which Canada Post will use to justify another price increase."

Why We Should Privatize the Postal Service | ReasonTV | October 6, 2017:

Saturday, August 31, 2024

$748 million loss posted by Canada Post in 2023

Canada Post lost $748 million in 2023, up from $548 million the year before, and another $76 million in the first quarter of 2024, bringing the Crown Corporation's losses to almost $3 Billion in six years.

Canada Post reports $748-million loss before tax for 2023 | Canada Post (news release):

May 3, 32024 - "Canada Post recorded a loss before tax of $748 million in 2023. Results were negatively impacted by the post-pandemic surge in parcel delivery competition, the ongoing erosion of Transaction Mail, and continued growth in addresses and delivery costs....

"In the post-pandemic parcel delivery landscape, competition has accelerated at a pace not seen in the company’s history. Canada Post’s estimated parcel delivery market share has eroded from 62 per cent prior to the pandemic to 29 per cent in 2023. At the same time, Transaction Mail continues to decline in both volume and as a revenue source. In 2006, Canadian households received an average of seven letters per week; in 2023, they received two. Delivering fewer letters to a growing number of addresses is compounding the financial pressures on the Corporation.

"In 2023, revenue fell by $240 million, or 3.3 per cent, compared to the prior year, dropping across all three lines of business – Parcels, Transaction Mail and Direct Marketing. The 2023 loss before tax widened by $200 million from a loss before tax of $548 million in 2022. The cost of operations in 2023 rose by $11 million, or 0.1 per cent, compared to 2022....

"Under the Canada Post Corporation Act, the postal service has an obligation to serve all Canadians in a financially self-sustaining manner based on revenue generated by the sale of postal products and services, not taxpayer dollars. Over the last 20 years, the amount of mail Canadians receive has declined by more than 50 per cent, while the number of addresses has increased by more than three million. This has resulted in lower revenues and higher costs.... Without changes to align the postal service to the needs of Canadians today, Canada Post projects larger, unsustainable losses in future years."

How Canada Post lost $3B in six years | About That | CBC News | May 23, 2024:

Canada Post reports $76-million loss before tax in first quarter | Canada Post (news release):

May 24, 2024 - "Canada Post recorded a loss before tax of $76 million in the first quarter of 2024 as revenue for Parcels and Transaction Mail declined and Direct Marketing picked up. The segment’s loss before tax improved compared to the same period of the prior year due to the receipt of non-recurring dividends partly related to the divestiture of SCI Group Inc. (SCI). Without these dividends, Canada Post’s loss before tax would have been approximately $224 million, compared to a loss before tax of $107 million in the first quarter of 2023.

"In the first quarter, Canada Post’s revenue declined by $56 million, or 1.5 per cent, compared to the same quarter of the prior year. Parcels results continued to be negatively impacted by the competitive environment, while Transaction Mail volumes continued to erode. In Direct Marketing, Canada Post Neighbourhood Mail service benefited from new business and higher sales.

"Canada Post’s loss from operations in the first quarter was $221 million, expanding by $109 million compared to the $112-million loss from operations it had recorded in the first quarter of 2023. The cost of operations increased by 2.8 per cent in the first quarter compared to the same period a year earlier.... Parcels revenue declined by $59 million, or 5.4 per cent, while volumes fell by 2 million pieces, or 1.1 per cent, compared to the same period in 2023. A crowded and competitive parcel delivery market continued to negatively affect results for the line of business.... Transaction Mail revenue fell by $20 million, or 1.3 per cent, as volumes declined by 16 million pieces, or 1.1 per cent, compared to the same period a year earlier. Transaction Mail revenue and volumes declined as consumers and mailers continued to shift to digital channels.

"The company maintained its regulated stamp prices at 2020 levels through the first quarter of 2024. In May, Canada Post raised its regulated postage rates after receiving Governor-in-Council approval of its proposed increase. For stamps purchased in a booklet, coil or pane, which represent most stamp sales, the rate has increased by seven cents, to 99 cents per stamp. The stamp price increase took effect on May 6, 2024, and did not impact first quarter results."

Friday, October 29, 2021

Canada's lockdown of the unvaccinated

‘It’s absolutely appalling’: Unvaccinated Canadians become social outcasts and the new persecuted minority | RT - Eva Bartlett:

October 21, 2021 - "In Canada, the supposedly benevolent country that prides itself on inclusivity, Covid totalitarianism has become unavoidably apparent, with its decision that soon only the fully vaccinated can travel. Vaccine mandates have also been imposed on healthcare workers, municipal employees and [some] federal public servants. Basically, as part of what PM Justin Trudeau called one of the world’s strictest vaccine-mandate policies, unjabbed Canadians are being increasingly restricted/excluded not only from work, but from social life as well....

"Under some of the world’s longest lockdowns, Canadians had their businesses shuttered, were deprived of contact with their elderly, were prevented from worshipping and holding holiday gatherings (while Canadian leadership steadfastly ignored the rules) and, more seriously, were deprived of critical medical care—all in the name of public health.

"Already, Canadians with natural immunity say they have been told that’s not enough to enter the country. Starting from October 30, only the Covid-jabbed can travel by plane or train in Canada. While huge numbers of Canadians have got the shots, many others have legitimate concerns about the safety of vaccines, with good reason. When Dr. Byram Bridle, associate professor of viral immunology — a well-recognized expert in vaccinology — refused vaccination due to his natural immunity, he was derided by media and banned from his University of Guelph campus....

"[A]lthough I already realized it is unlikely that I'll see my family in Canada in person again, the newest ‘no jab, no travel’ dictates seal the deal for me. But, for people within Canada, it is more than just the matter of being able to see loved ones again. For some, these new dictates might mean a matter of life or death: whether they can get vital medical care and whether they can earn a living. One such person is an Italian researcher living in Canada since 2001, who was in that year diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I recently spoke with Valentina Capurri about how the vaccine mandates will affect her.

"She explained that, following her MS diagnosis, she was offered to participate in a trial program for a new medication. Although a risky decision, she accepted for different reasons, including the health care and medication it would ensure her as a then-lone international student. She described the importance of the trial, which lasted twelve years. 'Lots of people who had severe effects of MS would have benefitted from the medication. And yet they were not able to access the medication for a reason: because you cannot give a medication whose effect – if everything goes wrong – can be worse than the cure.... And none of this has been done in this particular case'....

"Over the past year and a half, she says, she has not been allowed to see her neurologist, all medical appointments at her Toronto hospital were suspended and replaced with phone consultations. No physical visits, no MRIs, just phone calls. 'In 2003, when we had SARS, I used to go once a month to the hospital. Despite the fact that SARS in 2003 had a much higher mortality rate than Covid, we still were allowed to enter the hospital on a regular basis. None of our visits were cancelled back then as they are now.'

"Since neither she nor her Canadian husband will take the jab, they will lose their jobs, and thus won't be able to pay for her expensive MS medication. 'You are forcing me to lose my job, to lose my ability to support myself, just because I am exerting my right not to have an experimental medical procedure done on me. This is worse than fascism, this is absolutely appalling.'

"On top of this, now, those needing organ transplants face being denied care if they do not consent to mandatory jabs.

"Among other Canadians suspended without pay for their refusal to be jabbed are hundreds of hospital workers, including nurses.... And, in August, emergency room and family practice physician, Dr. Rochagné Kilian resigned over the unethical and coercive pressuring of Canadians to be jabbed.

"While medical workers and average Canadians are being forced out of work, denied medical care, ostracized from society, the government has made clear the rules for thee but not for me adage still applies. PM Trudeau said all federal workers would be compelled to get fully vaccinated but, as it turns out, that’s not the case. According to an article in the Toronto Sun, roughly 70% of the federal workforce will be exempt from getting vaccines, including: federal judges, meat inspectors, park wardens, postal workers, tax auditors, Commons and Senate staff, soldiers, sailors and air force personnel, and Canada Post employees, among others.

"Canada doesn’t even pretend to follow logic any longer. Just full-on medical fascism for the majority of Canadians. With the introduction of vaccine mandates, it is only a matter of time before Canada reaches Lithuanian-level totalitarianism where the non-jabbed are almost fully excluded from all aspects of society."

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Canadian government employees exempted from vaccine mandates

Look closely, Trudeau's 'mandatory' vax policy isn't what it seems | Toronto Sun - Lorne Gunter:

October 9, 2021 - "Back on Sept. 28, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said all federal workers would be compelled to get fully vaccinated. 'We are going to ensure the federal public service is vaccinated,' he said. 'There is a clear requirement for vaccination for anyone who works for the federal government.' Except that when Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the vax policy on Wednesday, there were gaps in it you could drive a semi through....

"The Treasury Board claims that Ottawa employs the equivalent of 300,540 full-time civil servants. About 212,000 of them will be exempt from getting vaccines ... nearly 70% of the federal workforce that won’t be covered.... According to Blacklock’s Reporter: 'Exempted employees include (federal) call centre operators, federal judges, meat inspectors, park wardens, postal workers, tax auditors, Commons and Senate staff,' and members of the armed forces.

"Mounties, Canada Border Services agents and federal prison guards must be fully vaccinated by the end of October or face being placed on unpaid leave by mid-November. But soldiers, sailors and air force personnel are exempt.

"Also excluded from the mandate are any federal employees who work for Crown corporations, such as Canada Post. Right, why should they be vaccinated? They only visit about 40% of the homes in the country and touch the mail of every Canadian who uses a superbox or postal office to pick up their letters and parcels.

"Tax processors and auditors at the Canada Revenue Agency are exempt, as are federal employees who deal directly with the public or employees of departments that are deemed short-staffed by the Trudeau government, so cannot afford to lose any more workers. According to Blacklock’s, that includes call centre operators who process E.I. claims and veterans’ benefits.

"For me, here’s the kicker: The unlucky saps who aren’t exempt, don’t have to provide proof of vaccine. They merely have to fill out an online form claiming to be fully vaccinated or claiming a religious or medical exemption. Canadians not employed by the federal government who want to dine out without a mask or attend a hockey game or live theatre have to provide more rigorous proof of their vaccination status.

"Furthermore, because the Trudeau government wants to look tough, it has said it will not allow unvaccinated civil servants to provide negative test results as an alternative. In practice, though, that means a large portion of Ottawa’s workforce will be neither vaccinated nor regularly tested for COVID-19.

"The worst of both worlds. This is consistent, however, with other alleged 'zero-tolerance' COVID-19 policies from Trudeau. His government’s policy to require all travellers arriving by air to spend at least three days in quarantine (now ended), exempted anyone arriving by private plane or charter, whether vaccinated or not. It exempted students and people claiming to be essential workers. And others could get around the quarantine by paying a fine or by landing at a U.S. airport near the border and taking a taxi across.

"The Trudeau government merely wants to appear and sound serious about tackling COVID-19. It doesn’t really want to do anything."

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Globe and Mail on Bernier's 'darker vision'

Maxime Bernier goes to a dark place - The Globe and Mail - Jeffrey Ibbitson:

November 12, 2018 - "In a speech on Saturday at a conference hosted by the right-wing Rebel Media in Calgary, the leader of the new People’s Party of Canada questioned the science of climate change, pilloried the United Nations and insisted immigrants to Canada must embrace 'Western civilization values'....'

"The party, which the Beauce, Que., MP founded in September after deciding Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives had become too centrist, is making good progress.... Mr. Bernier claims to already have signed up 33,000 supporters with PPC riding associations organizing across the country.

"In some ways, Mr. Bernier is simply a Conservative in a hurry, with his proposals to lower taxes, eliminate corporate subsidies, deregulate the telecom sector, cut funding to the CBC and privatize Canada Post. But in front of a friendly crowd, his vision grows darker.

"First, he pledged, 'I am the only politician in Ottawa who promises to take Canada out of the Paris accord' to fight global warming.... Climate-change deniers will feel very much at home in the People’s Party.

"Second, Mr. Bernier is committed to 'abolishing foreign aid and saving the $5-billion that we spend every year to help Canadians instead'.... Even Mr. Trump hasn’t proposed completely eliminating foreign aid, although he would doubtless warm to the idea if he thought he could get away with it.

"Third, and darkest, 'our immigration policy should not aim to forcibly change the cultural character and social fabric of our country,' he told the audience. Immigration levels should be reduced, and immigrants must 'adopt widely shared Canadian values, Western civilization values,' he maintained.

“'On issues such as immigration, multiculturalism, diversity, [the Conservatives] are simply not willing to push back against the dominant left-wing narrative,' Mr. Bernier declared, 'and they are afraid to create controversies. I’m not afraid.'

"And if there were any doubt about the buttons Mr. Bernier intends to push in the months ahead, on Sunday, he tweeted a video of crowds in Pakistan protesting the release of Asia Bibi, a Christian who had been convicted of blasphemy. 'Radical multiculturalism is the misguided belief that all values and cultures can coexist in one society,' he tweeted. 'They cannot. We must protect our society against this kind of barbarism.'”

"No credible voice in this country seeks to undermine the values and beliefs embedded in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and in the fabric of Canadian society. Immigrants and refugees come here in search of a future protected by those values and beliefs. Mr. Bernier is simply stoking irrational fears of a threat that does not exist. It is pure Trumpism."

Read more: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-maxime-bernier-goes-to-a-dark-place/
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