Passage of the federal government’s budget implementation bill within the next two weeks could have dire implications for rural postal service, warns a rural opposition MP.A small part of the massive bill that the Conservatives are trying to force through Parliament in June would end the Canada Post monopoly on international mail service.The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has warned that this will reduce Canada Post revenues and jeopardize its money losing rural operations.In the House of Commons June 3, New Democratic Party agriculture critic Alex Atamanenko picked up on the point.“Passing Part 15 of the bill is likely to accelerate Canada Post’s loss of letter mail volumes and revenues to for-profit remailers,” he said.“This is revenue that our post offices can ill afford to lose. And any further revenue loss will damage service for rural Canadians.”Atamanenko said rural post offices are the backbone of rural communities.“If we shut down or transfer these services to a large major community or urban community, it makes it difficult for these (rural) communities to survive.”Atamanenko promised to support Saskatchewan Liberal senator Bob Peterson, who last week introduced a private member’s bill to roll back rural post office closings since Sept. 1, 2005.He also wants to create a Canada Post ombudsman to hear complaints and require that the corporation do a better job consulting with rural residents before a post office is closed.The Conservatives insist there is a moratorium on rural postal closures, and last year Rob Merrifield, junior minister responsible for Canada Post, announced a postal charter of rights that guarantees continued service.When he introduced his bill in the Senate, Peterson said the facts belie that promise. Since February 2006, when the Conservatives took office, 42 rural post offices and 55,000 rural mailboxes have been closed.He said further rural closures are inevitable without a policy to stop it.“In their haste to cut spending and reduce the scope of the federal government, the Tories are leaving millions of rural Canadians in their wake,” he said in a statement read into the House of Commons record by Atamanenko.“The government needs to understand that shutting down a post office means taking away a piece of the community. It goes beyond line items to the very core of rural life.”Private bills in the Senate are rarely approved, but Peterson’s bill could spark a debate.“I look forward to meeting with him to see how I can support him in his position and how we can work together to ensure that our rural quality of life is maintained with a strong Canadian postal system,” Atamanenko said in the Commons.
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