November 3, 2005

(Letter sent to the editor of the National Post)

I would simply like to clarify a few issues following the publication of the article by Paul Vieira entitled, "Canada Post delivers rivals body blow: Key mail, Spring Canada feud: exclusive privilege for international mail delivery at issue."

You state in your first paragraph that Key Mail and other companies are at risk of losing the "$100-million international mail delivery market." This is incorrect. It has always been Canada Post's position that these companies have no legal right to engage in the "remailing", that is the processing of lettermail, which is only a portion of the mail delivery market. This position is the one endorsed by not one, but two rulings by the courts.

Canada Post is not "trying to isolate certain parts of the industry" as the reporter writes in the next paragraph. It is simply defending its statutory exclusive privilege on lettermail. We already compete vigorously with companies in the parcel and advertising segments of our business.

Mr. Veira also writes that from 1992 to 1996, Canada Post was part of a consortium that owned an equity stake in a Dutch company, GD Net, which in turn owned Spring Canada. Mr Vieira neglected to explain that GD Net was a joint venture between several postal administrations (including the Dutch postal administration) for the provision of a parcel product called Skypak, which had nothing to do with lettermail. During that time, Canada Post was trying to resolve the remailing issue diplomatically, through the Universal Postal Union (UPU). The UPU membership, as you may know, is comprised of postal administrations worldwide. Key Mail and Spring Canada, which did not exist at that time, were or are owned by foreign postal administrations, and so Canada Post worked diligently to resolve the matter before resorting to legal action.

In order to fulfill its mandate of providing universal mail service to all Canadians, without taxpayer subsidies, Canada Post must generate its own revenues. I'm sure that all Canadians prefer we defend our business rather than increase rates or revert to the deficit-ridden, taxpayer funded situation the post office was in some 20 years ago.

I trust these explanations will help inform your readers.

François Legault
Manager, National Media Relations
Canada Post 613-734-8888