A Canada Post worker fills his truck with mail in Montreal on Tuesday, Dec.17, 2024.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
With less than a week before another potential Canada Post strike, a new report warns that the Crown corporation is “effectively insolvent, or bankrupt,” and calls for sweeping changes to ensure its survival – including phasing out individual door-to-door mail delivery.
The industrial inquiry commission report, led by labour negotiator and former law professor William Kaplan, outlines several recommendations aimed at breaking the deadlock between Canada Post and its unionized workers, and preserving it as a “national institution.”
Among the recommendations are allowing Canada Post to close more rural post offices, expand community mailboxes, and give the postal service flexibility to hire part-time workers for weekend parcel delivery.
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Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have until May 22 to reach a new collective agreement. Without a deal, more than 55,000 workers could legally strike again, after walking off the job for 32 days over November and December of last year.
In December, the federal labour relations board ordered postal workers back on the job after a request by then-labour minister Steven MacKinnon. That decision extended the existing collective agreement and triggered the formation of the industrial inquiry commission to figure out why talks have repeatedly failed.
Hearings for the inquiry took place in Ottawa in January and February, with participation from both Canada Post and CUPW. The report was delivered to the federal government on Thursday and made public on Friday.
Doug Ettinger, president and chief executive officer of Canada Post, praised it.
“This report provides Canada Post, CUPW, our employees and all Canadians with a frank and straightforward assessment of the challenges we face,” he said in a statement. “It comes at a critical time as our efforts to respond to the changing delivery needs of the country have taken on greater urgency as Canada works to strengthen its economy in response to U.S. threats.”
Earlier this week, Canada Post told workers it was taking a "temporary pause" in negotiating, citing a lack of progress. CUPW condemned the move as “reprehensible” and said Tuesday it expects new proposals from Canada Post “immediately” after the report’s release.
The report painted a bleak picture of Canada Post’s financial health: “Without thoughtful, measured, staged, but immediate changes, its fiscal situation will continue to deteriorate.”
While the report said that CUPW attributed Canada Post’s financial challenges to the Crown corporation’s bad business decisions, the commission didn’t fully agree.
“I am not persuaded by CUPW’s assertion that Canada Post’s mismanagement and incompetence are the reasons for the current financial situation,” Mr. Kaplan wrote. The report attributes the financial losses primarily to the decline of letter mail and increased competition.
Canada Post has lost at least $3-billion since 2018, driven by a drop in letter-mail volume. In January, it received a $1.034-billion loan from the federal government to help cover operations this year.
In its latest annual report, Canada Post said that “at least $1-billion will also be needed in 2026 and each year afterward to maintain operations and meet our employee obligations.”
Stephanie Ross, an associate professor of labour studies at McMaster University, said the report is largely a win for Canada Post. She said the union is being told it has to accept more flexible work and faces possible job losses with the phasing out of services such as door-to-door delivery.
But there was a bright spot for workers, she said. The report said part-time employment during the week and on weekends should be “good jobs” under the collective agreement, with access to pensions and other benefits, rather than being treated as gig work.
Still, she said, “There are not a lot of bones being thrown to the union here at all.”
CUPW did not respond to a request for comment on the report.