Canada Post proposes rates increase
Canada Post has announced today (9 July) that it is proposing to increase postage rates in 2016. The postal corporation said in an official statement that it was proposing to take this step because “declining mail volumes continue to have a significant impact on its financial situation”.
Under the new proposals, the postage rate for domestic Lettermail items weighing 30 grams or less when purchased in a booklet, coil or pane would rise to $0.90 from the current rate of $0.85. The price of a single stamp would remain at $1.00. The rate change would take effect on January 11, 2016 and replace rates that will have been in effect for 21 months.
In seeking to justify the rate increase, Canada Post said: “Lettermail volumes have been declining for almost a decade. In 2014, Canada Post delivered 1.4 billion fewer pieces of Domestic Lettermail than in the peak year of 2006. Some of the biggest declines have occurred in 2015, accelerating the erosion of Canada Post’s core business. As mail volumes fall, the number of addresses served also rises every year, affecting Canada Post’s cost of doing business.
“The Corporation is taking every action necessary to secure postal service for all Canadians and to avoid becoming a drain on taxpayers. It is proposing these new postage rates to help achieve its long-standing mandate of remaining financially self-sufficient.”
Canada Post is also proposing to increase rates for other domestic Lettermail, U.S. and international Letter-post items and Domestic Registered Mail..
The Canada Post statement added that the rate changes are “one of several actions the Corporation is taking to achieve financial self-sufficiency”. In December 2013, Canada Post unveiled a Five-point Action Plan through it hoped to transform its business. As part of the Plan, Canada Post introduced a new tiered pricing structure for Domestic Lettermail that provided discounts to customers who purchase stamps in booklets, coils or panes.
The current proposals will be published in full on Saturday (11 July) in the Canada Gazette Part I.
As previously reported, Canada Post’s ‘business transforming’ measures have also included a national programme of introducing more community mail boxes and phasing out door-to-door deliveries.
