The president of the rural Canada Post employees association says rural Canadians must speak up if they want to retain their service.
Canada Post has launched a public consultation in the wake of a Conference Board of Canada report last month that predicted billion dollar deficits at the crown corporation by 2020 without service reductions and cost cutting.
Canada Post said it needs to make fundamental changes to avoid the financial crisis.
Leslie Schous, president of the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants’ Association representing rural postal workers, said last week rural service could be in line for cost cutting.
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She said rural service could be an easy target, even though it is one of the least expensive parts of the system.
The former Saskatchewan rural postal employee said it is important for rural residents, who already have seen service levels cut, to speak up.
“They are considering reducing the number of days of service, fewer post offices and no home delivery,” Schous said.
“They are looking at all of those things.”
Canada Post is asking for customer feedback at www.canadapost.ca.
Schous said scores of rural post offices have been closed despite a closure moratorium that has been in effect for almost two decades.
“I think it is really important that rural people speak up because if our customers don’t come forward and say it is important to them to keep their postal service, Canada Post will say, ‘if they don’t care, why should we?’ ” she said.
