Conservatives vote to kill door-to-door mail delivery

Official Opposition Transport critic NDP Olivia Chow (Trinity—Spadina) made the following statement on the defeat of her motion to maintain door-to-door mail delivery:

For over a century, Canadians have depended on Canada Post. With Conservatives’ approval, Canada Post executives are planning to cut mail delivery, hike prices, reduce rural post office hours and kill jobs.

A responsible government would have proposed solutions to improve service and attract new customers. Other countries have utilized innovations such as e-commerce and financial services to generate more revenue. Now under the Conservatives, Canada will be the only G7 country without door-to-door mail delivery.

New Democrats know that reliable, affordable and accessible mail delivery is vital to Canadians. This is why we immediately recalled the Transportation Committee for an emergency meeting to review the implications of Canada Post’s disastrous decision. Today NDP’s motion generated a full day of debate in the House of Commons in support of the maintenance of this valuable service.

By voting against the NDP motion, the Conservatives are ignoring the wishes of ordinary Canadians and small businesses. Instead, they are listening only to Canada Post’s CEO, who claimed that seniors need to get more exercise to pick up their mail. What nonsense.