Canada Post making changes

[GrooveTunes]

Technically factual but hardly convincing that the CEO of Canada post is going to strong arm auditors let alone intelligent debate. Anyone can use google to find a few sound bites to support any twisted notion. Vixen, you best not ever visit a male dentist again because you will be groped. I know this to be a possible outcome because I googled it and found a number of dentists who were convicted. Is that not truthful and factual information vixen? Of course it is but I would hardly expect you to call it intelligent debate.

So when the Conference Board of Canada (the CEO of Canada Post sits on the board) released their report (that CP hired them to do) which they used as the basis of their cost cutting needs, they reported a loss in 2012 of 152 million. But that was not the case, they ended up with a reported 90 million? profit in their annual report for 2012. The report was wrong?? or doctored?

So speculating a reported loss of billions in the future is just nonsense but raising prices to extreme will definitely help their cause. The pension woes brought on by CP by taking a holiday (thanks Harper) and low interest rates is fully funded with no problems paying out the present retirees. If CP was to shut down tomorrow then that's where the problem lays with it. I don't think the plan is to shut down tomorrow considering in the last 18 years the taxpayer has pocketed about 1 billion in profits. But then again we are talking the CONS here and their promise to make their friends rich through privatization.

What CP needs is a CEO with a vision of more then Harpers backside.

[twobits]

If CP was to shut down tomorrow then that's where the problem lays with it. I don't think the plan is to shut down tomorrow considering in the last 18 years the taxpayer has pocketed about 1 billion in profits.

Manufacturing buggy whips used to make money too. To make it clear for you, horses were then what current letter carriers are today....old technology.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

we pay for the rcmp to ride horses, i think letter carriers on horses is a great idea.

i wouldn't be surprised if enderby carriers might choose to go horseback on their routes given the communities horse friendly position.

[NotNorthAnymore]

we pay for the rcmp to ride horses, i think letter carriers on horses is a great idea.

i wouldn't be surprised if enderby carriers might choose to go horseback on their routes given the communities horse friendly position.

Are there letter carriers in Enderby?

I was under the impression there is a post office and the boxes like 2/3 of the country has.
What makes Enderby so special that they have carriers hand delivering the mail?

Please confirm the statement you have made - I think you may be wrong - a picture of a carrier in Enderby actually delivering the mail would be appreciated.

A_Britishcolumbian ...

Be very aware that "THEY" have you under surveillance..........
The letter carrier is a goverment employee (So that is how they are keeping surveillance on you!)....
IMO - I would have to surmise from your posts and comments that you need to be under surveillance.....

[A_Britishcolumbian]

no home delivery in enderby it seems, indeed no lcr designations for that community.

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpc2/addrm/hh/ ... rV0E-e.asp

[Donald G]

Yep, Old "Johnny with the Walker" from down the block shuffled by here on his way to pick up his mail yesterday. He should be home by tomorrow. Even today if he gets a ride.

[hobbyguy]

Bearing in mind the bias, this is still an interesting article about the privatization of postal services: http://www.globalresearch.ca/deregulating-and-privatizing-postal-services-in-europe/5363277

Their conclusion is that the winners are:

1. Big corporate customers
2. Big corporate delivery services (the UPS and Fedex types)

Their conclusion is that the losers are:

1. The public, especially those in rural areas
2. Workers who face declining wages, loss of benefits, and loss of job stability

Prices did NOT go down (except for big corporate customers like banks).
Service did NOT improve, in fact it has declined significantly - especially for customers outside of major urban enters.
Competition did NOT go up, in fact the services have been concentrated in the hands of a few major corporate players.

That analysis would lead to a prediction: the corporatist government of Harper will try very hard to privatize Canada Post - not because it is good for Canadians, but because it is good for corporate interests.

[LoneWolf_53]

What about Purolator? They're basically Canada Post are they not?

[NotNorthAnymore]

What about Purolator? They're basically Canada Post are they not?

Yes they are - and they are more cost effective than using UPS/Fedex or DHL.
As a small business I have accounts with all of them and on average I now prefer Purolator and Canada Post over the rest.

Purolator is the designated carrier for UPS and in some areas Fedex.
Fedex also has had an agreement with Canada Post for more than 5 years, to do postal delivery of Fedex packages.

UPS usually adds $30 for delivery outside of what they call the "Brown Area" - any area not serviced by UPS branded trucks.
Plus if UPS is bringing in a package from the US or overseas they gouge you on the brokerage charges - I have had bills of up to $80 just for the brokerage and then the delivery adder on top of that.

Canada Post charges you $9.95 for brokerage and handling and delivers to your door.
Only extra is GST/PST which you have to pay anyway.
For packages I am trying to stick with the post office - 2nd choice is Purolator.

Hobby_Guy mentions that the banks are one of the big winners in the postal system.

You may not have noticed, but you pay an extra $2 or more per month for the banks to mail you a statement.
Online statements are generally free.
The banks are "winning" by getting everyone to go to online and then they can eliminate the envelope stuffers and that entire department.

I do everything I can to avoid using cheques - by the time you are done with cheque - envelope - stamp - bank fees for processing the cheque and the time and gas to take it to the post office - it costs around $5.00 or more to send a cheque.
Interact Etransfer cost $1 to $1.50 and whomever you are paying has in in their account normally in under 1 hour (depending on the bank).
I am not positive, but I believe that some of the credit unions have lower fees for Etransfer - but I will have to investigate later on.

IMO
Post office, actual paper newspapers, printed magazines, printed books and similar products are in a steep usage decline.
Our children will probably only see these printed items as museum pieces and wonder why we all clung so hard to keep them around.

At least with the digital editions of everything I just hit the delete button to dispose of.
No need to buy a blue box and risk damage to my back hauling it out to the curb.

(edit to fix a misteak)

[Donald G]

In Canada we afford what we can afford and eliminate that that we can not afford. IMO that is sound financial thinking. It is such thinking that has made Canada the envy of most of the other countries of the world. And one of the reasons that Canada is at the top of those countries in which most people from across the world would like to live.

[twobits]

Prices did NOT go down (except for big corporate customers like banks).

Don't expect prices to go down. Just want to slow and minimize future increases that would result from having to pay for letter carriers whose service does not generate sufficient revenue to cover their wages

Service did NOT improve, in fact it has declined significantly - especially for customers outside of major urban enters.

I do not require an improved service. Receiving what little snail mail I still get once a week would be perfectly acceptable to me. If that is not fast enough for the occasional time sensitive hard copy, premium service for a fee is readily available.

Competition did NOT go up, in fact the services have been concentrated in the hands of a few major corporate players.

Really no need for increased competition as there are already adequate players. Enough that there is competition and not so many that there is inadequate volume that might require a taxpayer subsidy. I don't think anyone is saying "shut down Canada Post". They can continue to deliver snail mail but at a service level that reflects actual demand for the service and they can continue with profitable parcel delivery. I am gobsmacked by you and your like defending an antiquated revenue model based solely on some past romantic nostalgia of the mailman instead of changing realities. It would seem that you could also make an argument for the return of the milkman as well and believe it to be true.

[hobbyguy]

Well in fact twobits, prices for postal services went way up under privatized services. The "cooking" that appears to be going on by Deepak Chopra, who we know believes that CP should be privatized is a fairly obvious game.

1. Make the public service look bad by making dire predictions (not facts, predictions). Done.
2. Jack up the prices and mess up the service to get people upset. At the same time condition people so that they will expect poor service for lower prices. That makes a good opportunity for the corporate players, cut costs and jack up the prices while making it look like it was the public service, not the corporations that did this. Done.
3. Start the drumbeat for privatization and contracting out. Done.
4. Get other players to jump on that bandwagon. The C.D. Howe "institute" (corporate cheerleaders, largely funded by corporations) releases a "report" (published in today's paper) concluding that the only way to "fix" CP is to bring in private contractors. Done.

That is why I say that it is ideological and part of the Harper corporatist agenda to go to privatization of Canada Post. Bear in mind that the Harper government has, for political purposes, been a participant in suppressing Canada Post's ability to apply appropriate price increases in the past.

There are a lot of other ways to deal with Canad Post financial issues. For starters, how about looking at the situation where the corporate players (UPS, Fedex et al) are using Canada Post as a contractor to make their deliveries. First off, recognize that if those corporate players were "more efficient", then they wouldn't be using CP. In other words, the public service is more competitive. It would stand to reason then that Canada Post can afford to raise the rates for contracted deliveries for these corporate players.

I do agree that "snail mail" is becoming a bit obsolete. There are applications where it makes sense, but increasingly those are season and/or uncommon. That's why I agree with the discontinuance of home delivery.

In fact, if Canada Post really wanted to continue to the push to the future (parcels) that they already started (before Deepak Chopra came upon the scene), they could redesign the super boxes to be even more parcel friendly (and more secure at the same time).

Most private customers would accept a reduced number of deliveries. There would likely be no actual decrease in service level if deliveries were dropped to 3 times a week. Business customers, where volumes are generally more economic, could stay on 5 day delivery.

That said, I still predict that the proposed "solution" coming from the Harper corporatist government will be to privatize.

Beware of that, if proposed, "you can't go home again". We would lose a highly competitive service that is important to the average citizen and small business. Internet shopping is keeping retailers honest, if CP goes private, the ease and low cost of receiving packages will erode, to the benefit of? The big US based corporate retailers. To the detriment of? The average citizen and small businesses who rely on the very competitive rates of Canada Post.

[LoneWolf_53]

So your argument is Canada Post should be raising rates?

Compared to the USA, they are already astronomical, for comparable packages being shipped.

Perhaps you should try shipping a few packages to Ontario, then buy some comparable product from the southern USA and compare the vast difference in shipping cost.

If the US Postal Service can offer decent rates, there's little reason as to why Canada Post can't, or are overly generous wages and benefits dragging them down like so many other Canadian entities?

Maybe we can blame China for that too.

[westbankkid]

I ordered an electronic part from Hong Kong...94 cents with free shipping to my door.....

[hobbyguy]

The Republicans have hamstrung the USPS so that it i losing huge amounts of money. http://www.ibtimes.com/usps-deficit-five-problems-plaguing-americas-postal-service-303682 The Congress is also refusing to allow the USPS to raise rates.

In other words, best not to compare to the USPS, as their rates are a massive losing discount at the moment. If you compare to other postal services that are at or close to profitability, the USPS is dirt cheap, but losing on the order $8 billion per year.

By the way, the reason that stuff out of China gets here so cheaply is that the Chinese government heavily subsidizes postage, including (and especially) export postage for small business. The typical rate for a small packet from China to the US is 1/4 of the rate from the US to China - and as noted above the USPS is already dirt cheap due to forced losses.

China Post is just one more way that the Communist government is gaming the system to poach jobs/economic activity from other countries. So you can't really make comparisons there either.