OTTAWA — Canada Post must begin phasing out daily door-to-door mail delivery for individual households to survive its growing financial crisis, according to a stark new report from an industrial inquiry commission that warns the national mail carrier is “effectively insolvent.”
The report, authored by Commissioner William Kaplan, outlines seven key recommendations aimed at averting a potential strike and reviving the ailing Crown corporation without the need for continuous government bailouts. With a labour disruption deadline looming on May 22, the report sets the stage for critical negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).
Kaplan’s report calls for a major overhaul of Canada Post’s service model. While maintaining that the promise of delivery to every Canadian address is “worth preserving,” he argues that individual door-to-door service should end, replaced by community mailboxes “wherever practicable.” Daily delivery would remain in place only for businesses.
“Canada Post is facing an existential crisis. It cannot continue to meet impossible-to-sustain delivery standards,” Kaplan wrote. “If the corporation is to remain viable without permanent subsidies, we must take a hard-headed, practical approach.”
Among other notable proposals are lifting the moratorium on urban post office closures, while continuing protections for rural post offices, and granting Canada Post greater operational flexibility in staffing and route design. The report urges changes to collective agreements that would allow hiring part-time and weekend parcel delivery workers and enable daily route adjustments to match volume, avoiding excessive overtime.
Canada Post’s President and CEO Doug Ettinger welcomed the report’s “frank and straightforward assessment,” calling it a timely intervention.
“This comes at a critical juncture,” Ettinger said in an email. “As we adapt to the country’s changing delivery needs, these recommendations help lay the foundation for a modern, sustainable postal service.”
Union Holds Fire, But Talks Loom
CUPW has yet to formally respond in full, but acknowledged receipt of the report in a brief statement Thursday, noting it is under review. The union plans to meet Friday with Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu and Secretary of State for Labour John Zerucelli, and has called on Canada Post to resume stalled negotiations. Earlier this week, the corporation announced a temporary pause in bargaining to prepare new proposals.
The inquiry was initiated after federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon declared an impasse following 30 days of stalled talks between Canada Post and CUPW. MacKinnon tasked the Canada Industrial Relations Board with preparing to order workers back on the job if necessary and commissioned Kaplan to examine the root causes of the deadlock.
The union’s main concerns include pay equity, the use of temporary workers, weekend delivery conditions, pensions, and benefits, all amid fears that Canada Post may be heading “the route of Blockbuster” if urgent reforms are not implemented.
Kaplan’s recommendations are likely to spark strong reactions on both sides, particularly around service cuts and workforce flexibility. But he remains firm in his conclusion:
“The choice is clear: adapt to survive — or fade into irrelevance.”
As the clock ticks down to May 22, the future of Canada’s postal service hangs in the balance — with this report now the focal point of negotiations that could shape its survival.
