Canada Post - do we really need them?

[Slegr]

Apparently, they’ve been on strike for a couple of weeks - keeping with their tradition of only striking during the time of year some may actually use them. 
Has anyone noticed, 

Canada Post - do we really need them?

Edited Wednesday at 08:44 PM by Slegr

[forty9er]

I'm still waiting on an important cheque so I've noticed. 

[Coconuts]

[Ghostsof1915]

Yes, because there are people who they still use it. It is an essential service. It's also an option for businesses to ship packages. 

And as much as I hate flyers, and junk mail. There is businesses who still send promotions etc. via mail. 

 

I could say real estate can be done without real estate agents, or car companies don't need salespeople. Yet they exist. 

 

What should be done is what the Posties suggested decades ago. Link the post office to a national bank. So you can have banking, lotto tickets, mail and business services all at one location. 

[inane2.0]

Privatize everything cause that always lowers prices. 

[King Heffy]

I much prefer to have my online orders shipped via Canada Post to prevent porch pirates.

Edited Wednesday at 06:00 PM by King Heffy
I clearly need more coffee

[Mando27]

We need this guy sorting the mail.

 

[112]

Yes, it's impacting my household. As in, costing us money. I support unions and labour, and obviously their right to strike, but this is highly unfortunate.

[nux_win]

I live in a small town in northern BC and I rely on Canada Post for a lot of things.  I want Canada Post employees to be happy because they work hard and provide an important service but I also think that they are well paid already.  Their union is far too greedy and aggressive, constantly biting the hand that feeds them.  It's a tough ethical position for me because I need Canada Post and I respect the workers but I don't think that they deserve any more money.  And I don't like the way they go about getting it (i.e. inconveniencing as many people as possible).  GCG!

[bishopshodan]

They look cold out there on the picket line.

 

I give them a honk.

[Maninthebox]

Durn those porch pilots eh.

 

About once a month I take all the flyers out of the mail and throw them in the recycling. I haven't used Canada Post in roughly nine years, but I would assume 'we' still need the option.

[kingoftheriffraff]

29 minutes ago, nux_win said:

I live in a small town in northern BC and I rely on Canada Post for a lot of things.  I want Canada Post employees to be happy because they work hard and provide an important service but I also think that they are well paid already.  Their union is far too greedy and aggressive, constantly biting the hand that feeds them.  It's a tough ethical position for me because I need Canada Post and I respect the workers but I don't think that they deserve any more money.  And I don't like the way they go about getting it (i.e. inconveniencing as many people as possible).  GCG!

 

If private industry didn't have to complete with subsidized Canada post, they would likely ship you packages. Not being subsidized, it would be more expensive. Or you might have to do a monthly or weekly trip to get it at a different location.

 

When I lived in a small town, that was part of the deal. A quarterly trip to Kamloops to hit up Costco and literally fill a canopied pick up truck was standard operating procedure for a lot of people back in the day, much to the dismay of local merchants.

 

You can live without.

[NewbieCanuckFan]

1 hour ago, King Heffy said:

I much prefer to have my online orders shipped via Canada Post to prevent porch pilots.

I have my more valuable stuff delivered to a postal outlet if possible to prevent that 

[kingoftheriffraff]

1 hour ago, inane2.0 said:

Privatize everything cause that always lowers prices. 

 

LOL nope.

 

But taxpayers have been subsidizing Canada post for years. In this day and age I fail to see how it counts as "essential" as is widely touted. Anything essential is likely already delivered by a third party that requires a signature.

[kingoftheriffraff]

1 hour ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Yes, because there are people who they still use it. It is an essential service. It's also an option for businesses to ship packages. 

And as much as I hate flyers, and junk mail. There is businesses who still send promotions etc. via mail. 

 

I could say real estate can be done without real estate agents, or car companies don't need salespeople. Yet they exist. 

 

What should be done is what the Posties suggested decades ago. Link the post office to a national bank. So you can have banking, lotto tickets, mail and business services all at one location. 

 

My tax dollars aren't subsidizing  real estate agents or car salesmen. As rightly maligned as they are, they do contribute taxes.....

[King Heffy]

4 minutes ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

I have my more valuable stuff delivered to a postal outlet if possible to prevent that 

I do so for everything now.  Flex delivery is great and free.

[Taphouse Canuck]

Actually Canada Post is not subsidized by taxpayers which is probably why they are losing so much money. They are now pretty much reliant on parcel delivery.

 

I stopped using them years ago when my bank statements and credit card statements failed to arrive. All my other bills got delivered but those didn't, so I concluded that someone at Canada Post was stealing them. I reported it but nothing go done. 

 

I still send birthday/Christmas cards but that's about it.

[inane2.0]

10 minutes ago, kingoftheriffraff said:

 

LOL nope.

 

But taxpayers have been subsidizing Canada post for years. In this day and age I fail to see how it counts as "essential" as is widely touted. Anything essential is likely already delivered by a third party that requires a signature.

 

essential does not mean expensive.

[Gurn]

1 thing I do wonder about is real estate value.

How many buildings does Canada Post own, and If if they sold them, how much money could be raised?

[inane2.0]

4 minutes ago, Gurn said:

1 thing I do wonder about is real estate value.

How many buildings does Canada Post own, and If if they sold them, how much money could be raised?

A lot. But a one time cash infusion doesn't solve the problem. If there even is a problem.

Canada post is a service, not a business. It's not designed to make money. Just like transit or health care or other public goods. We need to stop thinking that they are or else the solution is to just privatize everything. 

[RupertKBD]

1 hour ago, King Heffy said:

I much prefer to have my online orders shipped via Canada Post to prevent porch pirates.

 

No worries about porch pirates for me.....anyone who tries will have to deal with the wrath of (super) Nova....

 

Spoiler

 

Don't let her looks fool you.....she's a killer....

 

[Toni Zamboni]

yes

[nux_win]

51 minutes ago, kingoftheriffraff said:

 

If private industry didn't have to complete with subsidized Canada post, they would likely ship you packages. Not being subsidized, it would be more expensive. Or you might have to do a monthly or weekly trip to get it at a different location.

 

When I lived in a small town, that was part of the deal. A quarterly trip to Kamloops to hit up Costco and literally fill a canopied pick up truck was standard operating procedure for a lot of people back in the day, much to the dismay of local merchants.

 

You can live without.

Yeah, I could live without Canada Post, but I don't want to.  I do go to Prince George once or twice a year to stock up on stuff but I don't want to have to do that on a regular basis (especially in winter).  For good or bad we've already spent the money on Canada Post's infrastructure so we might as well use it.  We just have to figure out what's fair for the employees and the taxpayers.  I don't really know what's going on behind the scenes but I get the sense that the union is just trying to get as much as they can get away with and I don't support that kind of thinking.  I don't mind if Canada Post employees get a decent wage but I think that they already do so I don't support the current strike.  However, I don't think that we should axe the whole thing just because some people are being greedy.  GCG!

[Spur1]

Where I live I have to travel 10 mins on the highway to get to the nearest post office. There is no delivery in my area. Fed ex just started delivering in the area.  Canada Post is very much essential in my area. 
As for the wage increase CP offered I think it was an insult. 11% over 4 years is less than 3% a year which doesn’t come close to covering the recent inflation. 

[Curmudgeon]

Privatizing anything usually has two distinct results: 1) Level of service generally declines, and 2) costs of using the services increase. Canada Post also serves a vital role in delivery of pension payments, notices of assessment, income tax refunds, passports, immigration notifications, and election notifications. Without that nice little notice from Elections Canada, fewer people would vote because fewer people would be clear on where they were to cast their ballot. Finally, love them or hate them, Canada Post uses the same procedures and practices from coast to coast to coast and are closely regulated. A private service provider is unlikely to be as diligent in following postal law.