Customers of Canada Post in Powell River will soon see changes in their mail delivery as the corporation looks for new ways to save money in light of recent losses.
Beginning March 18, letters sent from Powell River will be taken to Vancouver for mechanical sorting.
“Local to local letters account for 20 per cent of mail at the post office in Powell River and currently they are sorted manually,” said Canada Post spokesperson Anick Losier.
The changes will bring some savings because a 20 per cent reduction in first class mail over the past five years has resulted in sorting machines across Canada being used less, she said.
This reduction in first class mail led to a $327-million loss in revenue last year.
Trucks that transport mail daily between Powell River and Vancouver have extra space in them to accommodate first class mail, according to Canada Post, and the mechanical sorting machines in Vancouver have extra capacity.
But the changes mean that a letter mailed in Powell River to someone in Powell River will be sent to Vancouver for processing and then sent back. The changes will not affect local parcel delivery.
“That will delay delivery by at least a day,” said John Bail, national director for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) Pacific region, which represents approximately 45 postal workers in Powell River and thousands across the country.
Bail said the union thinks this isn’t the best solution because the corporation is “being governed by the machinery they invested in,” instead of focusing on providing a service for rural communities.
Losier insists that the only change Canada Post customers will see is a change in the physical mailbox as the current double mailboxes are replaced with one. She said the corporation is committed to its local delivery standards.
“We have contingency plans in place,” said Losier. “There’s always a plan B, C and D.”
She said the corporation has a commitment to be as efficient as possible, continue the service and make sure the corporation repositions itself to make enough money to cover its operating expenses. Financial losses become the taxpayers’ burden, she added.
No layoffs of postal workers will occur with this change because of job security provisions in the CUPW collective agreement, although positions will not be refilled if employees transfer or retire.
For CUPW this move is an attack on postal service in rural communities. “If you send a letter now in Powell River, it’s delivered the next day,” said Bail. “With this system it’s three days.”
