Montreal-area Mayors join lawsuit against Canada Post

Support continues to grow for continued door-to-door postal delivery.

Montreal (19 May 2015) — In Montreal, the opposition to the cuts to home delivery by Canada Post has not waned. Several public consultations have been held asking whether people support continued home mail delivery. The overwhelming answer was yes. 

Now, three Montreal-area Mayors are taking the public's wishes a step further: adding their support to a lawsuit against Canada Post. 

Cutting door-to-door delivery will cause undue hardship for seniors and people with disabilities

The lawsuit, originally filed by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), now has the support of Denis Coderre, mayor of Montreal, Caroline St-Hilaire, mayor of Longueuil and Marc Demers, mayor of Laval. At a press conference held on May 14, the Mayors said that they are joining the lawsuit because Canada Post's decision was made without consulting municipalities and will negatively impact a large number of seniors and people with disabilities. 

Yet, despite legal action and vocal opposition from the public, business owners and advocacy groups, Canada Post is continuing with its plans to reduce mail delivery and install community mail boxes across the country. 

Revenue up at Canada Post

Canada Post contends that mail delivery must be eliminated due to a drop in letter volume and growing costs. But according to reports, Canada Post postal service accounted for 77.5 per cent of the postal group’s (Canada Post and Purolator) total revenue or $6.214 billion last year — up $331 million or 5.6 per cent from $5.883 billion in 2013.  In fact, letters, bills and the other transactional pieces of mail generated $3.2 billion for the postal service's revenue last year. Canada Post said it had $238 million more revenue from transaction mail last year, mostly because of new pricing that took effect in March 2014.

"Resistance to this move is not futile," says James Clancy, National President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). "Postal service in Canada is a valued public service, relied on by people in every community. Cutting the door-to-door delivery will create undue stress and hardship for Canada's growing seniors population and people with disabilities."

"I applaud these Mayors for joining the fight to reverse the decision to eliminate door-to-door delivery," Clancy said. "We all need to keep the fight going against the privatization of one of our most important public services."

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NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE