Singh calls on Trudeau to cancel Canada Post surcharge before holiday rush

OTTAWA — Jagmeet Singh and Canada’s NDP want the Liberal government to cancel a whopping 39.5 per cent surcharge on Canada Post shipping before families and small businesses hit the holiday shipping rush.

“Canadians are already dealing with sky-high prices for food and utilities. It’s wrong for the Trudeau Liberals to sign off on this kind of price-gouging at a Crown corporation — and extra awful to allow it during the holiday shipping rush,” Singh said.

“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can’t say he’s worried about the cost of living, then make it worse. New Democrats are calling for this Canada Post tax to be scrapped, so shipping is more affordable in a particularly unaffordable year.”

The Canada Post surcharge is set weekly. The government claims it’s to offset increases in the price of fuel — up by 9.2 per cent this October compared to one year earlier — but the Canada Post surcharges are between two and four times the increase of gas.

Curiously, the Canada Post tax is higher for shipping in Canada at 39.5 per cent than it is for shipping worldwide, which is currently 23 per cent.

“It’s already hard to be far away from a loved one during the holidays and making it harder to send a little gift or care package is making it so much worse,” said Singh.

“As prime minister, I’ll never let a Crown corporation gouge people or small businesses. Instead of piling on costs, we can make the holidays a little brighter by scrapping the Canada Post surcharge.”