On Thursday, October 23, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) held its first hearing to examine the situation at Canada Post.

Joël Lightbound, the Minister responsible for Canada Post presented first and reiterated that the only way to save Canada Post is to implement drastic service cuts. The Minister continued to relay Canada Post’s messaging to justify the Government’s plans to gut the public post office. CUPW is furious that the Minister excluded the information that we provided to him and his office during our meetings over the last two weeks that supported other ways for Canada Post to grow and become sustainable without resorting to cuts to services and jobs.

Ian Lee’s Past Predictions Off by $2 Billion

The Committee also heard from “expert” witness Professor Ian Lee. Professor Lee has become a constant presence in the media where he has established himself as the leading champion for postal service cutbacks.

In truth, it’s unclear why he continues to be treated as an expert when his predictions have repeatedly missed the mark. In his testimony, he said that had Canada Post implemented his proposed cuts in 2015, it wouldn’t find itself in its current financial predicament.

However, in 2015, Lee claimed, “By 2025, there won’t be any more letters.” He was off by 2 billion pieces. In his testimony yesterday, he changed his tune, now saying lettermail will be dead in 10 years. Whenever his forecasts miss the mark, he seems to just add another decade instead of admitting he was wrong.

He also claimed Canadians don’t care about the public post office anymore, citing the lack of backlash during our 2024 strike. Yet within two days of our strike, the public was demanding the Government force us back to work; proof that the post office is anything but irrelevant.

The Union is baffled that Canada Post and the Government continue to base major decisions about the public post office on the opinions of one man, whose past predictions have repeatedly been proven wrong, instead of listening to workers who are on the ground, doing work that Professor Lee has never done. 

Revenue Generating Problem

Professor Lee and fellow witness, Professor Marvin Ryder, agreed that Canada Post needs to grow its parcel business immediately to bring in new revenue. Professor Ryder even talked about the necessity of weekend delivery and suggested that this work could be carried out by current full-time staff, which echoes the Union’s plans in our global offers.

While Minister Lightbound and committee members agreed that Canada Post plays a vital role in Canadians’ lives, most seemed ready to accept deep cuts. When we present to the OGGO next Tuesday, October 28, we’ll share our vision and show what the post office can achieve with support, not cutbacks.

 

In solidarity,