Tag: Canada Post

On Saturday, Canada Post will launch a virtual city in Second Life, where online shoppers will be able to visit the 3D virtual stores of Canada Post’s retail partners and shop for real gifts and merchandise.

“There are hundreds of thousands of Canadians in Second Life,” said Laurene Cihosky, SVP for Canada Post’s direct marketing division, in a statement.

Maple Grove , the name of the virtual city, is being positioned as a comfortable place for them to visit because of its uniquely Canadian feel, she said.

“The post office is the center of many communities across Canada. That’s why Maple Grove is part of the Second Life community instead of an isolated island,” Cihosky said, referring to the practice of building on a separate island away from the Second Life mainland for which many businesses opt. “Just like your local post office, visitors to Maple Grove can visit Canada Post and send packages or buy stamps, cards and gift cards and send them anywhere in Canada.”

The city will include a collection of stores from Canadian and American retailers who participate in Canada Post’s lookbook catalog. The lookbook highlights a selection of products from participating companies, with Canada Post handling the orders and fulfillment for most. Retailers in Maple Grove will include Toys “R” Us, The Shopping Channel, Brookstone, SkyMall, Red Canoe and Everything Olive.

Maple Grove will be launched on Saturday with a six-hour virtual live music festival. The virtual city will host additional Second Life events throughout the holiday season, including concerts, film screenings and shopping events.

Many retailers are offering incentives for Second Life visitors. The Shopping Channel will broadcast a variety of special offers, Everything Olive is offering an eco-friendly gift tote with purchase and Brookstone will take USD 15 off all purchases of USD100 or more.

The Canadian government on last Monday 29th proposed stripping state-owned Canada Post of its monopoly to collect letters for delivery abroad but there is no guarantee the move would succeed.

The proposal would have to be approved by Parliament, where the ruling Conservatives only control a minority of seats. Debate on the matter is due to start later this week.

Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon, who is responsible for Canada Post, said the proposal was “intended to facilitate more competitiveness for companies within the mail industry worldwide and further facilitate the growth of the outbound international mail market in Canada”.

A spokeswoman for Cannon said she was not aware if there were any problems with Canada Post’s performance. No one from Canada Post was immediately available for comment.

Canada Post is planning to cancel home delivery to nearly half of its customers along some rural routes in Quebec’s Eastern Townships because of road safety concerns.

The postal agency is evaluating the safety of mail routes across Canada, after three carriers died and 37 were injured while making deliveries since 2005.

Nearly 40 per cent of the routes examined in the Eastern Townships have failed the safety evaluation, because they present a hazard to carriers forced to stop on winding roads with high speed limits.

“Sometimes, because the shoulder is very narrow, [the carrier] has to stop on the road,” and that’s risky, said Canada Post spokeswoman Line Brien.

Community postboxes will replace individual deliveries on routes that failed to make the grade, Brien said.

The decision has angered many residents in the area.

Canada Post estimates it will cost about USD 500 million over the next three years to inspect all rural mailboxes in Canada.

About 843,000 Canadian residential addresses are served by rural mailboxes, Canada Post says on its website. Of the 14 million places where Canada Post delivers across the country, rural mailboxes represent about six per cent.