I would be absolutely thrilled with joy and amazement if every crown corporation did as much for Canadians as Canada Post does, and operated at a loss of only 1 Billion per year.
Canada Post loses money because they have to serve every household in Canada, no matter how far away. If someone lives at the northern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada Post is required to treat them much in the same way as they do a condo owner who lives in downtown toronto, even though the condo owner is much easier for Canada Post to serve.
If we allowed Canada Post to adjust their rates based upon delivery distant the way UPS and Fedex commonly do, then our postal service would be making Billions a year in profits, not losing money. Canada Post has to apply for price increases and they can only increase those prices by a moderate amount within a ridgid framework.
Many decades ago, it was Canada Post that allowed our remote communities and territorial sovereignty to be expanded and/or maintained. If Canada Post is dissolved, we will lose far away communities throughout Canada and run the risk of losing territory as a country. If no one lives in these remote places because they can't get deliveries or mail or communication, they will move and those remote places will be abandoned. Then, others - as in foreign countries - could possibly take over and claim our abandoned lands for themselves. If that were to happen, $1 Billion per year in losses will seem like pennies.
Anyways, I love Canada Post. Without them, I would have never been able to start my business. When I first thought about selling on Ebay, it was Canada Post that offered me the opportunity to send packages to every part of our country for less than $5. UPS and Fedex wanted 8 to 10 times more money for a relatively similar service. Without Canada Post, we will see thousands of small business close and thousands of small businesses that never start up in the first place, and those economic losses will far surpass any current loses that Canada Post is producing.
Notice all the sellers on Ebay that have shut their stores down due to the Canada Post strike. That is 100% proof that Canada Post is worth a ton of money to the Canadian economy. The government is so short-sighted to not reach a deal with Posties. Ironically, Posties are just asking for wage increases that keep pace with inflation. Inflation is 5% per year, the government reports it as 2% per year, and then each year Posties slip further and futher away from maintaining an affordable lifestyle. Most posties can't even buy a home nowadays because their incomes have rarely ever kept up with the real rate of inflation. Then, when they go on strike, people think they are selfish. It's really unfair to the Posties.
