Canada Post's phasing out of home mail delivery

[rocketphish]

Canada Post to phase out urban home mail delivery

Up to 8,000 jobs will be cut, while cost of stamps is going up

CBC News Posted: Dec 11, 2013 9:37 AM ET Last Updated: Dec 11, 2013 10:02 PM ET

Canada Post is phasing out door-to-door delivery of regular mail to urban residents and increasing the cost of postage in a major move to try to reduce significant, regular losses.

The Crown corporation announced its plans Wednesday, saying urban home delivery will be phased out over the next five years.

Starting March 31, the cost of a stamp to mail a standard-size first-class letter will increase to 85 cents if bought in a pack, up from 63 cents. Individual stamps will cost a dollar.

Canada Post said that over the next five years, it will eliminate 6,000 to 8,000 positions, but it expects 15,000 workers will leave the company or retire within that period.

"With the increasing use of digital communication and the historic decline of letter mail volumes, Canada Post has begun to post significant financial losses," the corporation said in a news release.

"If left unchecked, continued losses would soon jeopardize its financial self-sufficiency and become a significant burden on taxpayers and customers."

The first communities that will switch to community mailboxes will be announced in the second half of 2014, according to the release.

Government supports plan

Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said in September the idea of cutting door-to-door delivery in urban areas was worth considering in the face of $104 million in losses in the second quarter.

Her office issued a news release Wednesday saying she looks forward to seeing progress because of this plan.

"The government of Canada supports Canada Post in its efforts to fulfil its mandate of operating on a self-sustaining financial basis in order to protect taxpayers, while modernizing its business and aligning postal services with the choices of Canadians," she said in the release.

Raitt's office added that mail volumes have dropped almost 25 per cent per household in the last five years.

NDP MP Peter Julian accused the Conservative government of being disrespectful by making the announcement the day after Parliament took its annual Christmas break.

“I’m thinking about the loss of service to Canadians, what will happen with senior citizens who won’t be getting service over the winter months,” he said.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau also slammed the timing of the announcement.

"This is a government trying to minimize what they know is bad news," Trudeau said. "As they announced it, Stephen Harper is offering less postal services for more money from consumers in the coming years."

Facing $1B deficit by 2020

​​Canada Post's revenue dropped $20 million in the first three quarters of 2013 compared with the same time frame last year.

Here are some other numbers, from Canada Post:

• 5,094,694 people get door-to-door delivery in Canada.
• Average cost per address is $269.
• 3,804,574 get mail through group mail boxes.
• Average cost per box is $117.

A Conference Board of Canada report released in April said two-thirds of Canadians already do without door-to-door regular mail service, whether through rural mailboxes, group mailboxes, delivery facilities or "centralized mail points."

The report said mail volumes are expected to drop another 25 per cent in the next seven years, with parcels the only growth area thanks to e-commerce.

It said stopping door-to-door delivery of mail to urban Canadians and replacing it with community mailboxes would have the largest financial impact on a projected $1-billion Canada Post deficit by 2020.

Canada Post said this plan will help return it to "financial stability" by 2019.

It said the numbers do not include savings through pension changes or labour costs, since those two aspects will be worked out through collective bargaining.

Community mailboxes have been around since the 1980s, with the rise of new home developments, where they are now standard.
Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton said community mailboxes make more sense as more personal information and valuable packages are transported through the postal service.

"It just makes more sense to have it in a locked box ... than in an unlocked box waiting until you get home," he said.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi pointed out that cities across the country will have to negotiate with Canada Post about where the community mailboxes will go.

"Obviously we’re going to have to find space. In newer communities they’re built with the … mailbox stations in place. So, in older neighbourhoods, over time, we’re just going to figure out where to put them,” said Nenshi.

Wednesday's announcement was made two weeks before Christmas, during one of the busiest delivery periods of the year.

Postal workers union fires back

The national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) in an afternoon news conference Wednesday said that the changes would be the "end of an era."

Denis Lemelin said he's calling for people who like the postal service the way it is, including seniors and people with disabilities, to join together and fight the move.

“Where many postal operators are responding to a changing postal business with innovation, Canada Post is relying on cuts and rate increases,” he said in a news release.

“We recognize that Canada Post needs to change, but this is not the way!”

Lemelin said at the news conference that he doesn't know of any other developed country that has taken away door-to-door mail delivery. He also said the increase in the price of stamps will make the postal service inaccessible for many.
The seniors advocacy group CARP said in a statement that the changes will create a barrier for elderly residents, particularly those with mobility issues.

"People who do not have family or caregivers will be denied access to necessary communications — whether bills or more important to them, letters from family," the group said in a statement.

"Before instituting such wide-ranging changes, some provision must be made for those who actually still value the postal service and rely on it heavily."

Meanwhile, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said it is "alarmed" by the postage hikes put forward in Canada Post's plan.

"Introducing massive letter mail price hikes for residential and business consumers is not the way to rescue a failing government entity," said CFIB president Dan Kelly in a statement. "These hikes will have a significant impact on many small businesses that use the mail to connect with customers or invoice and pay suppliers."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...very-1.2459618

[rocketphish]

Union urges Canadians to help stop Canada Post’s ‘downward spiral’

By Kathryn May, OTTAWA CITIZEN December 11, 2013

OTTAWA — The union representing postal workers issued a call to Canadians to fight to save door-to-door mail delivery, thousands of jobs and prevent what it predicts will be Canada Post’s “downward spiral.”

Denis Lemelin, national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, said he’s confident that Canadians will join the union’s campaign to stop Canada Post from phasing out home delivery and encourage the crown corporation to invest in new services to offset the steady decline of mail volumes.

“If this happens, it would be the end of an era for Canada Post,” said Lemelin. “We recognize that Canada Post needs to change, but this is not the way. CUPW has consistently advocated for innovation and service expansion to create a financially viable and service-oriented postal service for the future.

“We are sure we are not alone in disagreeing with Canada Post’s plan,” said Lemelin. “CUPW will stand with those people who resist the elimination of door-to-door delivery.”

Lemelin said the union was stunned Wednesday when Canada Post unveiled a business strategy that will phase out door-to-door mail delivery in urban centres, wiping out up to 8,000 jobs, and dramatically increase the price of stamps. He called the move short-sighted, and said it could lead to losses for Canada Post.

The union has been pushing the idea of bringing back postal banking in Canada, which was discontinued in 1968, and points to other countries where postal services offer a range of financial services that could fill the gap for many Canadians who live in rural areas or small towns that traditional banks no longer serve.

“We are extremely concerned that these changes will send Canada Post into a downward spiral,” he said.

“Furthermore, the skyrocketing stamp prices will make the postal service inaccessible to many people.”

Canada Post employs 68,000 people. The union expects most of the labour savings from the overhaul will be borne by the 24,000 letter carriers.

The crown corporation estimates the changes will eliminate between 6,000 and 8,000 jobs which it expects to manage largely by attrition. It noted the average age of employees is 48 and about 15,000 workers are projected to leave or retire over the next five years as the changes are rolled out. Employees have strong job-security provisions in their contracts which make layoffs difficult.

Union officials say the job reductions could be higher because Canada Post already planned for reductions from declining mail volumes and new technology to streamline mail delivery.

The union, however, was pleased the government was giving Canada Post a four-year break from making special payments, as well as solvency payments, for its employee pension plan, which would have further eaten into operations.

The pension plan has a pension solvency deficit, which means it is facing a $6-billion shortfall if the plan was wound up and it had to meet all its pension obligations.

The move, however, will increase pressure on politicians to rein in the growing cost of public sector pension plans. In a statement, Canada Post said it plans to “act with urgency” to restructure the pension plan during the four-year reprieve and signalled plans to take further steps to reduce its labour costs, including at the bargaining table.

“With its current labour costs, Canada Post has a much higher cost structure than its competitors in the private sector have. This is simply not sustainable. The company will continue to bring the cost of labour in line with its competitors through attrition and collective bargaining over time.”

The Conservative government gave itself greater powers in the last omnibus budget bill to set the mandate for how crown corporations negotiate with employees, including the power to order a Treasury Board official to sit in on collective bargaining. At the time, Treasury Board President Tony Clement singled out crown corporations with financial issues, such as Canada Post, Via Rail and CBC, as reasons for the change.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/busines...205/story.html

[rocketphish]

Protesters deliver strong message on Canada Post cuts

By Rachel Aiello, Ottawa Citizen January 26, 2014

OTTAWA — Hundreds of postal workers, labour union members and supporters took to the Ottawa streets Sunday to fight Canada Post changes that will end home mail delivery and eliminate jobs.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers organized the event to demand the reversal of cuts it says will mean layoffs for as many as 8,000 employees.

The union estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 people, many carrying signs and wearing their Canada Post uniforms, marched from Dundonald Park on Somerset Street to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office facing Parliament Hill.

“We’re here to send a message to the prime, minister that it’s unacceptable. There needs to be more discussion, more dialogue with residents and communities like in the City of Ottawa,” said Sean McKenny, president of the Ottawa District Labour Council.

“We’ve heard that Canada Post has targeted Orléans and Kanata as a couple of the first spots where they’re going to implement these community mailboxes, but our city council isn’t even aware of it.”

Although Canada Post is expected to foot the bill for the installation of community mailboxes, residents aren’t sold.

Worries of litter, vandalism and theft at the boxes, as well as concerns about the day-to-day independence for seniors and people with disabilities, were all issues raised by attendees.

“It’s not just the letter carriers’ job losses, it’s going cause significant strain on a lot of folks, for something that’s not necessary. It is possible to maintain door-to door delivery and still maintain a very viable Canada Post,” said McKenney.

Letter carrier Joanne Bertand said she has been delivering mail to community boxes, long in place in many suburbs, since she started at Canada Post 20 years ago. While they can be efficient, oversized parcels or mail that requires signatures still require post workers to go to the door. She’s not sure how that process will be modified following the latest announcement.

She wasn’t the only postal worker in attendance who felt the corporation hasn’t effectively communicated to its employees what on-the-ground changes will look like. Some, like Ryan Claire — who drove in from Peterborough for the protest — are worried these changes will result in a move toward privatization.

However, Canada Post chief executive Deepak Chopra has said that privatizing the postal service is not on the agenda.

Union representatives say they are meeting with MPs and holding public forums, and have heard concerns across the country about the cost to municipalities of maintaining the mailbox sites when the boxes are in place.

“It’s cutting service and demanding that people pay more for postage, for less. I think that’s the wrong way to go,” said George Floresco, a national vice-president for CUPW.

“The government is endorsing this plan and I think they should be putting a hold on it, take a step back to hear from the public.”

Similar demonstrations were scheduled for other cities Sunday.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/busines...100/story.html

[rocketphish]

Canada Post will phase out home delivery in smaller cities and suburbs first

BARRIE McKENNA
OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Jan. 29 2014, 1:23 PM EST
Last updated Wednesday, Jan. 29 2014, 2:59 PM EST

Canada Post will initially avoid densely populated urban neighbourhoods as it begins the phase out of door-to-door delivery to roughly five million Canadian homes.

Facing a backlash from many urban mayors, the postal service said Wednesday that the first areas to be shifted to centralized community mail boxes will be in the suburbs.

“Canada Post recognizes that dense urban cores in our larger cities, with older neighbourhoods and smaller lots, present different challenges for locating community mailboxes than suburban areas,” the federal Crown Corporation said in a statement.

The first areas to lose service will be announced in the next two weeks and conversion will likely take place in September or October, said Mary Traversy, senior vice-president of business transformation. She said “at least several thousand” households will be affected this year.

“We wanted to reassure Canadians and municipal leaders that we are going to work closely with municipalities on the placement of community mail boxes,” she added.

“We are going to start in suburban areas – areas where we already have community mail boxes.”

Dense city centres will be converted last.

Retailers, including drug store chains, have expressed interest in installing community boxes as a way to drive traffic, according to Ms. Traversy. The post office is also looking at redesigning its boxes so they can be installed on the walls of commercial buildings, rather in the ground, or near coffee shops and convenience stores.

Canada Post may also have to offer compensation to businesses at some locations, she said.

Facing a steady drop in letter volumes and mounting financial losses, Canada Post announced in December that it was ending door-to-door delivery over the next five years. It also plans to raise the price of stamps to 85 cents from 63 cents on March 31, cut 6,000 to 8,000 jobs and franchise more postal stations.

But it’s the end of home delivery that has stirred the most controversy, angering seniors and many urban mayors. Ottawa mayor Jim Watson, for example, has raised concerns about where the boxes will go, whether cities will be paid for taking the boxes and about garbage around sites.

The post office currently delivers mail and parcels to 15.3 million households and businesses. A third of those, or 5.1 million, that now get door-to-door delivery, will lose the service over the next five years. The rest of Canadians get their mail either at group mailboxes, apartment lobby boxes, post offices or on rural roads, and they will be unaffected.

Canada Post said the “vast majority” of business will continue to get delivery of mail and parcels to their doors, particularly those on main streets and large-volume customers.

Canada Post also said it is developing “alternative approaches” to get mail to seniors and the disabled who have “mobility challenges.”

Canada Post chief executive Deepak Chopra caused a stir in December when he awkwardly suggested ending home delivery would encourage seniors to get more exercise. “The seniors are telling me, ‘I want to be healthy. I want to be active in my life,’” he said.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...ticle16571504/

[J.OT13]

A better option would have been to reduce home deliveries to 3 or 4 days a week, as Rick Mercer mentioned a few weeks back.

[middeljohn]

I haven't actually mailed anything in about three years. Seems like a logical move to me.

[Dado]

The argument was lost three decades ago when Canada Post ceased to extend home delivery into new suburbs.

If it had been made on a density basis, i.e. if a suburban block meets some minimum density, it gets home delivery, then there'd be a case. But it wasn't: it was all suburban developments, regardless of design or density.

So why should urban areas be treated any different?

They just set themselves up for an eventual tipping point to be reached all those years ago: with continued suburban population growth, eventually a significant majority of the population would be without home delivery, thus making it easier to eliminate the service from those who still had it.

Which is where we are today.

One can't but admire the long term, if cynical, thinking and planning involved in it all.

[rocketphish]

Of particular interest to the urban planners in the group will be how these community mailboxes will be integrated within the older parts of our cities.

Originally Posted by rocketphish

Canada Post will phase out home delivery in smaller cities and suburbs first

BARRIE McKENNA
OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Jan. 29 2014, 1:23 PM EST
Last updated Wednesday, Jan. 29 2014, 2:59 PM EST

Canada Post will initially avoid densely populated urban neighbourhoods as it begins the phase out of door-to-door delivery to roughly five million Canadian homes.

Facing a backlash from many urban mayors, the postal service said Wednesday that the first areas to be shifted to centralized community mail boxes will be in the suburbs.

“Canada Post recognizes that dense urban cores in our larger cities, with older neighbourhoods and smaller lots, present different challenges for locating community mailboxes than suburban areas,” the federal Crown Corporation said in a statement.

Retailers, including drug store chains, have expressed interest in installing community boxes as a way to drive traffic, according to Ms. Traversy. The post office is also looking at redesigning its boxes so they can be installed on the walls of commercial buildings, rather in the ground, or near coffee shops and convenience stores.

Canada Post may also have to offer compensation to businesses at some locations, she said.

<snip>

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...ticle16571504/

[J.OT13]

For those who agree with the end of home mail delivery, I recommend you watch this Rick Mercer rant. It's only 2 minutes long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbV_TkU0hoI

[rocketphish]

Canada Post to phase out home delivery in Kanata this fall

By Meghan Hurley, OTTAWA CITIZEN February 20, 2014 10:09 AM

OTTAWA — Transition from door-to-door mail delivery to community mailboxes will begin in the fall in 11 cities across Canada, including Ottawa.

Canada Post announced on Thursday the transition in Ottawa includes Kanata postal codes starting with K2K, K2L, K2M.

Canada Post said they chose those postal codes since they are near areas that already have community mailboxes.

There will be no change in delivery for apartment buildings, seniors buildings, condos, rural delivery and businesses.

The transition to community mailboxes has been met with much resistance.

Hundreds of postal workers, labour union members and supporters have protested the changes.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said the transition will mean layoffs for as many as 8,000 employees.

Canada Post, however, insists the reduction of between 6,000 and 8,000 employees will be done through attrition as workers retire or voluntarily leave the company.

Critics of the change worry about litter, vandalism and theft at the boxes.

Concerns about the ability of seniors and people with disabilities to get to the community mailboxes have also been raised.

But Canada Post said they may need to offer others solutions for people with mobility issues and will seek input from the community.

“Canada Post understands that some seniors and Canadians with disabilities may not be able to get to their community mailbox, and it is committed to ensuring that no one is left behind from accessing the mail service,” Canada Post wrote in a news release.

Canada Post announced on Dec. 11 the transition will take place over the next five years as part of a major overhaul aimed at stemming losses.

The corporation faces a $1-billion deficit by 2020.

mhurley@ottawacitizen.com twitter.com/meghan_hurley
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/busines...451/story.html

[rocketphish]

Map of initial areas of Ottawa to be converted to community mailboxes:

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/abou...f/Ottawa_e.pdf

[rocketphish]

Imagine a wall of these at the end of every second street:

[rocketphish]

Group mailboxes have arrived in Kanata — and they'll be no returning to sender

Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: October 2, 2014, Last Updated: October 2, 2014 3:22 PM EDT

Oct. 20 is the day Canada Post makes a special delivery to 7,900 households in Kanata: the end of door-to-door mail.

Instead, about 500 community mailboxes have popped up, in clumps of three or four or five. They aren’t horrible looking things: the front typically has 16 slots, each corresponding to a municipal address, the top has a shed-style red roof, and the sides are a grey colour with some kind of swirly, leafy Mobius strip design.

Still, we know what will happen. People will love and hate them. They will be tagged by graffiti artists and squirted at by dogs. They will be listening posts and litter traps. They will be shovelled around and sworn at.

It is Canada Post, after all, where the daily mail is disappearing and all change is excruciating.

Gerry Warner, 74, is trying to stay positive about the transition. He lives in a neatly kept house at the corner of Ardagh Gate and Ballantrae Way, which sounds like the depths of Glasgow, but is actually in Glen Cairn.

His yard is so manicured and tidy it ought to have a white picket fence and, of course, it does, along a side yard. Between the fence and the road are three new boxes. He is slot 1-1.

“Why get all ticked off? It’s not going to change,” he said one day this week, after a compulsory tour of his new rear deck, which is lovely and rustic grey, by the way.

“We were joking about putting an easy chair out there and serving coffee and doughnuts.” Warner is lucky in the sense that, generally speaking, he doesn’t have to look at the boxes, as they are out of sight.

Doug Boyd, 59, a mechanical designer, is not so lucky. They are in plain view everytime he looks out his front door or window.

He’s upset the installation was done without much consultation with neighbours.

“Did they accidentally forget to talk to the people who matter?”

He said he read about the possible location in a local paper in May and immediately tried to object. But when he finally worked through a series of wrong numbers and phone trees, he said he was given a too-bad, so-sad, ain’t- moving kind of answer.

Warner also said he knew nothing about the group boxes until the surveyors showed up.

Boyd’s objections are reasonable and oft-repeated. He’s concerned about the lack of lighting, the absence of a kiosk or trash can, the positioning of the boxes close to an intersection, the likelihood of litter and the lack of accommodation for parking.

Unlike the boxes in new subdivisions, where they can be planned from scratch, these had to be worked in existing neighbourhoods, generally on city road allowances. In some spots, it looks to be a tight squeeze.

Boyd, a resident on Ballantrae since 1980, is concerned the boxes might create a traffic hazard as returning commuters quickly pull over to grab the mail on the way home. Throw in snow, ice and winter darkness and the problems are only compounded.

More than one of Boyd’s neighbours mentioned snow removal. We all know Ottawa is capable of having snow banks that resemble the Andes. Will Canada Post be able to clear a snowfall in time, then deal with the inevitable messing up by the city plow, hours later?

(The potential for problems along nearby Rothesay Drive, a busier street, looks greater. There is a clump of five boxes on the edge of Holy Redeemer Church, with no parking on one side, much more traffic and a OC Transpo bus route.)

Well, the Crown corporation says it’s all under control. A spokesman said community mailboxes have been set up in 219 locations in Kanata, usually with between two and four units.

Jon Hamilton responds that Canada Post made face-to-face contact with more than 300 households and, based on feedback, adjusted the location of 79 sites.

“In some cases, we weren’t able to make the changes requested as they would diminish safety or convenience for those served by the box.”

He also said that because Kanata residents expressed a preference for many smaller boxes, instead of a few big ones, it is expected most customers will walk to the new group mailbox.

Canada Post announced in December it would be phasing out home delivery in urban areas over the next five years, a move that will affect about five million households, or a third of its customer base.

So old Kanata, this is the future — every address gets a new number in the brave new world of get-less and more-fetch.

To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...ning-to-sender

[waterloowarrior]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...2015-1.2832506

The next wave of Ottawa neighbourhoods to lose door-to-door mail service in 2015 includes west of the downtown like Westboro, Carlington, Bel Air Heights and Bells Corners and south end neighbourhoods like Herongate and Greenboro.

Canada Post announced Wednesday community mailboxes will be coming to seven more Ottawa postal codes in the fall of 2015:

K1T (Blossom Park/Greenboro/Leitrim).
K1V (including Herongate, South Keys).
K1Z (Westboro, Carlington).
K2C (Bel Air Heights area).
K2E (Fisher Heights).
K2G (Davidson Heights).
K2H (Bells Corners/Arlington Woods).

[umbria27]

What's required now is an ability to opt out of Canada Post.

Canada post is essentially just creating a chore for me to clear out the superbox once a week. I'd rather do without Canada Post. Any mail sent to me should just be returned to sender.

Those people and companies who I want to contact me already have my email or my home address if they'd like to courier something.

[1overcosc]

I'm very much against that unless the private couriers actually become convienent. Right now, every time I ship something or have something shipped to me, I massively prefer Canada Post over UPS, Purolator, FedEx, etc. Because Canada Post delivers right in my neighbourhood, whereas the couriers, if I miss the delivery (which ALWAYS happens because they only ever try in the middle of the day on weekdays), make me go get the packages from some suburban depot in the middle of nowhere that takes me 2 hours to get to as I don't have a car. Oh, and I have to take time off work to go get them too because those depots are only open Monday-Friday 8-5. I'd support allowing them to compete with Canada Post ONLY if they were required by law:
-To have pickups on Saturday and at least one weekday evening
-To offer urban pickup locations

[HighwayStar]

Originally Posted by umbria27

Canada post is essentially just creating a chore for me to clear out the superbox once a week. I'd rather do without Canada Post. Any mail sent to me should just be returned to sender.

A year ago I put a "No Junk Mail" sticker on my mailbox and 80% of it stopped. My neighbors mailbox is constantly overflowing with flyers, etc... but I can go weeks without getting anything at all.

Anyone have experience doing that with the CMBs (Community Mailboxes) ??

[umbria27]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

I'm very much against that unless the private couriers actually become convienent. Right now, every time I ship something or have something shipped to me, I massively prefer Canada Post over UPS, Purolator, FedEx, etc. Because Canada Post delivers right in my neighbourhood, whereas the couriers, if I miss the delivery (which ALWAYS happens because they only ever try in the middle of the day on weekdays), make me go get the packages from some suburban depot in the middle of nowhere that takes me 2 hours to get to as I don't have a car. Oh, and I have to take time off work to go get them too because those depots are only open Monday-Friday 8-5. I'd support allowing them to compete with Canada Post ONLY if they were required by law:
-To have pickups on Saturday and at least one weekday evening
-To offer urban pickup locations

I too prefer Canada Post for parcel delivery, mostly because they are cheaper including generally having lower broker fees, but their advantage disappears as soon as they no longer deliver to my door.

You're right too about the remote depots if a courier misses you at home, but this is rarely a problem for me since my spouse and I both both work from home 80% of the time, so we rarely miss the courier.

If I'm not home for Canada Post, the parcel is kept at the local post office in the Shoppers. I walk there nearly every day anyway, so that's great. This network of local Post Offices is a fantastic competitive differentiation for them. If Canada Post can contrive to send me an email when mail arrives telling me the sender, I'd be happy to come to the post office to pick it up, but don't make me come every day to see if there's anything worth picking up.

[1overcosc]

I would support some sort of reform where the post office & mailbox network is removed from Canada Post and transferred to some new government agency. This new government agency would allow any licensed courier to access the network for a fee. These fees would ideally cover the cost of operating it but the government may step in with subsidies for it to fund rural deliveries and such if they wanted to. Canada Post itself could then be abolished or privitized.

I support a similar sort of arrangement for the telecoms--the national telecommunications network with all the wires and towers should be owned by some neutral government agency with companies accessing it. That would allow for a true competive market to emerge, as Bell & Rogers would lose their inherent advantage of owning all the infrastructure.

[c_speed3108]

The private couriers are terrible. I have had two co-workers tell me stories about staying home waiting for packages and the courier mark attempted delivery on the status but never actually tried. One co-worker was working on his front lawn all day and the other watched the drive drive by on his lobby watch channel, refreshed his browser and saw the status indicate attempted delivery.

I myself had one where I can not prove they didn't attempt delivery but I certainly never found the slip.

I really don't what the big deal is with super boxes. These have existed in many areas for decades without much in the way of issues and apartment buildings have always worked this way. I personally just loop past when I get home from work and empty what is there. Some stuff is important, some is flyers to stores I frequent and the rest goes into the recycling.