July 6, 2004
(Letter sent to Times Colonist)
Dear Editor:
I would like to respond to Wilfred G. Weber's July 3rd letter, "Canada Post can't compare." When comparing Canada Post to mail service in Europe, it is important to compare apples to apples. Let's use the Royal Mail, which is the administration we are most often compared to.
Canada has the second largest landmass in the world and we are mandated to deliver mail to all Canadians no matter where they live. If we took the population of the UK for example, and put them in the province of Manitoba, it might be possible to deliver all mail by the next day.
The standard for local mail delivery in Canada is two business days and we consistently deliver at the rate of 97 per cent on time. In order to achieve that performance, some 80 per cent of the mail is delivered the next day. Royal Mail is performing in the low 90's with respect to its next day delivery standard, in fact in London, they are somewhere in the 80 per cent range. And the long-standing twice-a-day delivery in major urban centres is being phased out.
Furthermore, Canada Post has been profitable for the last nine years and is on track to achieve our financial targets again this year. Last year was the first profitable year for the Royal Mail in the last four years.
Your readers might like to know that through Canada Post International Limited (CPIL), Canada Post sells Canadian postal technology, expertise and business processes in the international postal consultancy market. CPIL has successfully assisted more than 55 countries with over 150 projects since its inception in 1990.
Canada Post's record speaks for itself and we compare quite favourably with other postal administrations.
Sincerely,
John Caines
Manager, National Media Relations
Ottawa (613) 734-7675
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