Federal government announces end to door-to-door delivery for Canada Post

OTTAWA — Sweeping changes will be coming to Canada Post as the federal government announced a series of moves on Thursday in an effort to help the postal service turn around its dire financial situation. 

Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound announced that the government has accepted a series of recommendations that will see the requirement for daily letter delivery removed and lift the longstanding moratorium on rural post office closures and community mailbox conversions.

Canada Post will have 45 days to come up with a plan to put the recommendations into place, which will determine the specific timeline for implementation.

The government says the service delivery standard will be relaxed from three to seven days, instead of the current two to four days.

The recommendations around changing how the postal service operates were contained in a report written while the government grapples with a lengthy labour dispute between the Crown corporation’s management and its union.

The report examined the financial situation of Canada Post, which has recorded billions of dollars worth of losses.

A government official who spoke to reporters in a not-for-attribution briefing about the changes said the government did not have figures for how many workers would be impacted and how many rural post offices would close.

More to come … 

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