The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - Your Turn - What Would You Do With Canada Post?

Episode Date: May 29, 2025

This week: A $1.3B operating loss is an attention grabbing headline, but what would you change to improve Canada Post?

And hello there, I'm Will Mansbridge. You're listening to The Bridge. It's Thursday, and that means your turn. Coming right up. You know, I think I'm getting the hang of the cadence for the intros here. of the cadence for the intros here. If you didn't catch that before, you're not listening to Peter Mansbridge today, you're listening to Will Mansbridge. I'm back stepping in for my dad. I filled in earlier in April just before the federal election and I'm back today largely for similar reasons. Unfortunately my dad had some competing travel today and wasn't able to make it back in time to host today's program. So I'm here again and excited to be back. Always excited to be back on the bridge in general, but specifically for your turn.

Some of you may remember I gave a little bit about me the last time I was here. I've been a part of the program in the background since we started it in 2019. And I'm excited to be here today talking about the post office. You know, my dad mentioned at the beginning of the program on Monday when he was teasing this week's question of the week that he was sure there would be some nostalgic letters, maybe some angry letters and maybe some letters from people who've never written a letter and sent it with Canada Post.

And I fall into that camp. I honestly can't say that I've sat down, written a letter, walked to my mailbox, dropped it in, in quite some time if at all. Frankly I grew up in the generation of email and social media and chat GPT. So I'm excited, maybe more excited than you'd expect me to be for today to hear your stories, your thoughts on the post office, what should its future be. We'll also have the random rander stop by as always on Thursdays. So let's get right into it. First, a bit of leftover business from last week. from last week. The topic was your thoughts on the monarchy and there was a letter from Deb Greening in District of Lakeland 52 Saskatchewan and at the time

my dad noted that it was north of Prince Albert. Now he then went on to tell a few stories from his time in Prince Albert and he got so wrapped up in those stories that when he finished he moved on without reading Deb's letter completely. So we wanted to start today's program, harkening back to last week's question, with Deb's thoughts. We see what happens to a country with no guardrails to protect it from an out of control president and party. The monarchy provides us with that guardrail, even if it is more ceremonial than functional. It is the second sober thought that gives us pause.

It anchors patriotism in history, tradition, and shared values, not like a flag that waves in a wind of shifting morals and principles manipulated by lies and greed. Alright now let's move on to Canada Post. Starting with Peter Arato in Toronto. I don't feel nostalgic about the post office, but it has an essential and practical role. Mail serves as a national transportation network, connecting people across the country no matter how remote their location. Unlike for-profit delivery services,

which prioritize shareholders, the postal system exists to serve the public. However, the post office is sinking under the weight of legacy labor agreements, much like General Motors once did. Replacing these agreements is crucial to creating a flexible, agile, and relevant organization. Roger Laverison in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

Aside from mail and parcel delivery, the post office offers vital delivery services in the form of government documents and payments. Yes, it's expensive. All manual processes are. If the mirage of privatization or electronic delivery becomes the answer, good luck. Profit motivated delivery companies are just as expensive. What to do with the post office is like asking what to do with paper money. Try buying gas when the interact system infrastructure crashes. Ken Pelishuk in Newstead, Ontario. These days there are a lot of folks who have knee-jerk opinions

about a service they don't rely on but many others do. Anyway personally I don't use the postal service much so I think we should scrap it and sell it for parts. Just kidding. Mark Engliden in Barreir BC that central BC, north of Kamloops. Excited to go to post office to receive grandma's Xmas present. Dad at his desk mailing checks to pay all bills. Leave it to beaver childhood. All that's gone. I haven't bought a stamp in decades Support unions, but big collective shrug from a lot, especially young about strike Not gonna affect me or many like me. Post is now a money pit. Truth. Gotta get your letters under 75 words somehow. Mark nailed it. Joshua Winters in Surrey, BC.

When a parcel's expected, you can't help but feel annoyed when a UPS or FedEx tag is left at the door. But that little key in my community mailbox? Delightful, knowing that my package is right there, not across town or available tomorrow after 1 p.m. While community mailboxes work well in cities for rural and indigenous communities, post offices remain vital.

They should grow into true service hubs, offering bill payments, ID renewals, and basic banking. Canada Post doesn't need dismantling, it needs reimagining to deliver more than just the mail. Jeremy Brubacher in Cambridge, Ontario, that's near Waterloo, right near where I grew up in Stratford. I Think the post office needs to be updated to reflect the current reality I'd like to see full delivery reduced to two days per week with one carrier Serving two routes on an a B a B schedule to get their full-time hours in four days. The remaining three days of each week

could be serviced by another set of full-time employees doing parcel delivery only. This would be a far more efficient use of the labor resources and hopefully return the post office to profitability. Lynn Erickson in Calgary. The CBC doesn't make money, why do we look at these two public services through such different lenses? Well Lynn, Canada Post unlike CBC's sustains itself by the revenue generated by the sale of postal products and services, not tax dollars. It has been covering its deficits

through the use of cash on hand, money generated from its operations, and pension plan funding relief. But it admits what it is doing is unsustainable. The federal government has provided a $1 billion loan to get Canada Post through this fiscal year. loan to get Canada Post through this fiscal year. Greg Millage in Kingston, Ontario. It is my understanding that Canada Post is required to deliver mail to every location in the country at one flat rate. Greg, that's correct.

Private courier services have no such restriction and Canada Post is expected to have an operating profit. That does not make sense to me. Canada needs the post office. It must be considered to be a public service and therefore it should receive financial support from taxpayers. Canadians in remote settlements deserve that. Just a note that Canada Post is not explicitly mandated to make a profit. It is mandated to be self-sustaining. It wasn't that long ago, 2017, that Canada Post made a profit, but since then it lost $3.8 billion. The annual loss in 2024 was $841 million. Michael Hambrook in Delta, British Columbia. Yes, I have fond memories of letters, Christmas

parcels and postcards arriving in the mail, sometimes with exotic foreign stamps. But it's 2025 and Canada Post is losing vast sums. Weekly mail through 2028 and then no more, just packages. If Canada Post can't compete reasonably well with UPS, so be it. And have you noticed how many post offices sit on valuable commercial real estate? Let's pay down the federal debt with the proceeds. Debbie Adams in Halifax. Shut her down. Leave it to the market.

We don't need mail five days a week. I have memories, but memories won't pay for this. Innovate, let it go the way of the dodo. Paul Johnston in Spruce Grove, Alberta. That's just outside Edmonton. I worked for Canada Post inside and out in London, Thunder Bay and Terrace BC. This was in the late 60s and early 70s. Tough, but good job, except for a bloated management that saw Canada Post as a paramilitary operation. The union fought back and improved both the service

and the conditions. An incompetent management today has lost millions through its narrow 19th century attitude. Any organization would fire the losers and find fresh eyes. The largest problem is lack of regulation. Parcels are no longer safely delivered and so-called gig workers are not protected by any law. We all need to listen to the workers. Jackie McCurdy in Toronto 98% of things that are delivered to my mailbox is marketing material. 100% of that ends up as unread trash.

In fact in my mail room they've added 6 recycling bins because so much as unread trash. In fact, in my mail room, they've added six recycling bins because so much goes directly to trash. This is why Canada Post, quote unquote, needs to deliver to every address every day. My idea, cancel junk mail delivery completely, limit delivery to two days a week, and make a deal with FedEx or Amazon to take over parcel business a Note here again Canada Post may not need a deal with a parcel deliverer

Because it owns 91% of pure later which has about 3 billion in annual revenue and more than 14,000 employees it is a profitable part of Canada Post. Nicole Veristius in Mississauga, Ontario. Canada Post once brought magic, birthday cards, pen pal letters and holiday surprises that lit up my childhood. Always delivered with the warm smile of a postal worker. But nostalgia can't mask reality.

The business model is eroding money, stuck in a time before digital shifts and e-commerce demands, while others evolved Canada Post lagged behind. Smiles and sentiment aren't enough. Without bold reform, it risks becoming a beloved but unsustainable relic. Edward Peters in Kamloops, BC Living in a city of over 100,000 people, the demise of Canada Post would mean very little to my life.

Sufficient parcel delivery services exist to meet my needs. Service billing for utilities, etc. is easily accomplished online with email notifications. Rural Canada is where the story becomes drastically different. Canada Post is a shipping and mailing lifeline in areas where economies of scale prevent private operations and internet services may be spotty at best. Here's another letter that puts a stamp on what Edward just wrote. Jill Ogasawara in Quandra Island, British Columbia. Apparently some people have never lived in a rural area. We have no other delivery methods other than Canada Post. All other methods are

prohibitively expensive. We still have to go to a post office to pick up most of our parcels and mail, seniors and young folk alike. As well, we love to check in with our posties and neighbors when checking for the mail. And one more on this point. Jessica Kirkpatrick in Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories. That's way up there, about a two hour flight northwest of Yellowknife on the banks of the Mackenzie River. Canada Post is an important service I'd rather not live without. I'm confident fellow residents of fly-in communities

across the country feel the same. I've happily learned to live with access to fewer conveniences. However, cards and gifts to and from extended family, prescription medications or voting by mail are not things I consider frivolous luxuries. To those who have a seat at the table, please remember the post office is an irreplaceable lifeline for rural Canadians.

Michelle Kaufman in Toronto. Considering that very recently I had to teach my 24 year old master's student son the proper placement of the address, return address and stamp on an envelope. I think it's safe to say there is no future for snail mail. Though they do employ thousands of Canadians, Canada Post hasn't evolved. They lagged and the world has moved beyond that format of communication. That said, my 91 year old mother checks the mail daily. Well, Michelle, as a 25 year old master's student, I would love to know that placement information as well.

Whenever you get a second. Kurt Freisen in Port Moody, B.C. I have no particular affection or malice for Canada Post, but in a country the size of Canada, where delivery to so many places is not fiscally viable, it can still have a role. In large centers where many options exist, maybe delivery could be curtailed while it is still maintained or even enhanced in more difficult locales. Tim Stott in Kinosoda, Manitoba. There seems to be a distinct rural-urban divide when it comes to the post office. Speaking as a rural Canadian living in a small community with a large

number of seniors, we rely on the Postal Service for medical supplies and other essentials. So doing away with it is not an option in my opinion. Michael Artendale in Sudbury, Ontario. Time and time again it has been shown that Crown corporations are not feasible in the long run to be profitable, whether it be Canada Post, Via Rail, or any other Crown corporation. They all seem to need money from the government. Time to scrap the idea of Crown corporations and roll them into ministries with a minister in charge of it. They provide a needed service that the government should be doing, but they will never turn a profit. A note here, there is

a minister responsible for Canada Post, but not in charge as Michael wants. Right now it's Joel Lightbound, the Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works, and Procurement. The role of the minister is to determine the broad policy direction of the corporation while respecting its operational autonomy. Ross Hales in Courtney, BC. Thank goodness I'm not in the position of having to resolve the relentless challenges between Canada Post, its union and the federal government. I recall a favorite moment between Jack Webster, the legendary Canadian journalist and Pierre Trudeau.

When asked why the federal government wouldn't nationalize the telephone companies, this was in the 1980s before phone competition as we know it today, Trudeau responded with, how are we doing with the post office? Mark Whitmore in Turkey Point, Ontario, that's North Shore of Lake Erie. Shut it down. If Denmark can make the tough decision to shut down its letter delivery postal service, so can Canada. Costly and unaffordable labour agreements have made Canada Post uncompetitive and not

sustainable. If Canadians want to find money to invest in housing, defence and infrastructure, we need to have the courage to support the government when they make the tough decision to shut it down. Another note here, Denmark's state-run postal service, Post Nord, is to end all letter deliveries at the end of 2025. It says letter volumes have declined by 90%

since the year 2000. The decision brings to an end 400 years of the company's letter service. Denmark's 1,500 post boxes will start to disappear at the beginning of June. Erwin Corabo in Winnipeg. It's a shame the government hasn't found the courage to significantly reduce the resources going into maintaining the post office and its services. We don't need daily delivery, maybe once a week.

So many of us hardly receive any important mail anymore. Like the Royals, the post office is a relic without any real value. Madison Dewettering in Brinsley, Ontario. That's northeast of London. I went into a Canada post office at 9.30 a.m. last week to ship an item. Knowing their financial troubles, I paid with a $100 bill to save them the fees on using a card.

I was met with disdain because they didn't have enough change. You are already a failing business model, and these are the costs of doing business. Maybe they need to share a building space with Service Ontario's or Service Canada's to stay afloat. In fact, there are more than 6,000 Canada Post locations across the country and most are not in standalone buildings, especially in cities. They are usually in retail locations like drugstores.

Wendy Cecil in Toronto. That a fragile paper letter can travel from anywhere in the world and land safely in your mailbox is a minor daily miracle. Postal service shouldn't have to make money, but it should break even. Since 2400 BCE in Egypt, some form of postal service,

and it has improved since then, has connected people in a tangible way. Words on paper for a relatively little cost. A functioning post office is a pillar of civilization. I love the post office. Wendy, thank you for going back to ancient Egypt. I know my dad had seen this letter and wanted to add a little more history from his perch in Scotland. There's a town, Sankwar, about four hours south of Inverness or

San Quar, about four hours south of Inverness or about an hour south of Glasgow, which it says has the world's oldest working post office in operation for more than 300 years, opening in 1712. All right. We'll take a break. When we come back, our friend the rancher will be right back. All right. Back here on the bridge.

It's Thursday, which obviously means your turn, but it also means our friend the ranter. So without further ado, here he is. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but I think we may be living in a bit of a calm before the storm right now. Our economy is under a ton of stress, but we're just at the point where it's bending and not yet breaking. You go to the grocery store, you pay a bit more. There might be some rumblings at work. Maybe your team is getting smaller.

Maybe some hours are being cut. Yet we soldier on and absorb as much as we can just to desperately maintain that status quo It's kind of like a car when the suspension starts to go at first There's a few bumps and you think that's not right, but then you drive it some more and you get used to it next thing You know you've grown complacent and you're cruising down the highway like everything is great and boom your wheel snaps off. That's why you should get your car repaired at the first bump and that's why we need to remain hyper vigilant with our economy. We can't afford to be doing everything we can to maintain business

as usual when business is anything but usual. In fact, usual isn't even on the horizon anymore. Now is the time for bold moves and decisive action. It's the time to not only embrace change, but to harness it. Look, I love a good comfort zone as much as anyone else, but when the ground is shifting beneath your feet, burying your head in the sand should not be an option.

There is so much change on the horizon. From our climate to the impact of AI, there's an emerging new world order, there are conflicts around the globe, there are threats to world trade, and oh yeah, there's still the unpredictable fool who can't stop calling us the 51st state. We can't keep deluding ourselves that everything will return to what it once was because it won't. It never does. So we need to start acting, sooner than later.

But yet here we are today, talking about the post office. Now don't get me wrong, I don't want to dump on Canada Post, but it does serve as a decent warning lesson for what I'm talking about here. Because clearly, life has passed the post office by, and I'm sure everyone involved saw it coming. But it didn't have to happen this way. I mean we're living in a time where everything is getting delivered to our door, yet the one company founded on that

couldn't figure out a way to make it work for them. Instead of investing the effort to take advantage of the opportunity, they decided to try and hang on to what they had for forever and a day. Well today's that day, and Canada Post is pooched. If it manages to survive, it will do so as a shadow of itself. There will be no more comfort zones at the post office, just a lot of very painful decisions. And the same goes for our economy. The more we pour into resisting change, the less we will have for investing in it and taking advantage of the opportunities it will present. Allow me to geek out with a Star Trek reference here, but resistance is futile. It will only make it more

painful for when the change inevitably comes. And we all know major changes are coming and with them will be some major threats and some major opportunities. But what I'm not seeing when it comes to this is some major consensus, or for that matter, even some minor consensus. I think our new government wants to act, but as Canadians, we're already losing our appetite for it. Our elbows up attitude is waning, but we can't afford to let it. We need to remain on task and motivated.

Because none of the threats have gone away, We're just getting used to the bumps. He doesn't hold back. You know, that's our friend, the renter. We don't want him to hold back. I mentioned the last time that I hosted the podcast. I went way back to, I believe it was September of 2023, to an idea that the renter debuted in one of his rants. And every time I hear the Carney government talk about building housing,

never seen before since World War II, I think about the renter. So, the next time that you hear one of the parties roll out a bumps in the road analogy you know where to look you know where it came from all right back to your letters some great ones so far. Ralph Goring in North Saanich, BC. When I was young, Canada Post was it. Fast forward to today, it depends where you live. Canada Post, like CBC, keeps Canada connected.

It may need to be a hybrid business, profitable in urban areas and competitive, unprofitable in rural areas and can somehow balance its budget. Both Canada Post and the CBC are needed to provide unity and services shore to shore to shore. The business model needs to change. The business model needs to change. Percy Phillips in Portage-la-Prairie, Manitoba. I write a letter weekly to my mother and have been doing so with regularity since 1975 or so. Yes, a handwritten longhand letter of the News of the Week. Canada Post needs to be right-sized to

the current business it's existing in. Whether it can do that with the current government and intransigent union is yet to be seen. The first real challenge to the Carney administration. Cindy Zampa in Airdrie, Alberta. I'm a baby boomer who once had pen pals across the globe. Getting mail and seeing my name on an envelope from a distant place sparked joy. I'd wait weeks, sometimes months, for a reply. A person's handwriting added to the depth of every message. I wonder what we've lost and stand to lose as our communication becomes faster, more convenient, but less personal.

Constance Menzies in Nero, Manitoba. We all know there are a ton of reasons to provide life support to Canada Post to keep them going. As a small business owner, I depend on it for our orders going out across the country. I challenge all of us here to send five letters to someone, anyone today. Those special stamps Canada Post puts out are super interesting and should be used. Marilyn Wallace in Fanny Bay, BC. As a typical kid in the 70s, I loved Archie comics. When I learned that I could submit some writing for possible publication, I wrote about my numerous global pen pals. My rural mailbox soon brought the news

that my letter would be published, followed by an American check. And like your turn, my name and address were included. So a flood of international mail arrived for weeks. So thrilling for a country kid. Jennifer Schmeisser who describes herself as a Canadian living in New York State who confidently submitted a mail-in ballot care of Canada Post. Canadians need to treat Canada Post as an essential public

service rather than an autonomous business that can operate profitably. They are required to deliver across an area 40 times larger than the UK. Should doctors and nurses be paid at a rate that makes OHIP profitable? Demanding profit from essential services is a U.S. mindset. Last time I checked, Canada is not the 51st state. mindset. And last time I checked, Canada is not the 51st state. Nathaniel Hayes from Brentwood Bay, BC, but writing from Kobe, Japan. I believe the post office needs to be considered as a service. It does not need to make money. It's needed for bills and other types of communication. If it needs to adapt, maybe we can try what Japan does. Include banking services with the Post Office.

Nathaniel will note there in March, Canada Post started something called the Canada Post My Money account, which it describes as a spending and savings account designed to better support your everyday needs. Vincent Matthew Gauthier In Quebec City. I worked as a postman in 2019. The union had agreed to cut wages for new hires and keep older employees' pay intact. Anyone hired after the latest agreement earned $20 an hour, while those hired just days earlier made $26 an hour for the same work. When I found out, I quit immediately.

It was unfair and the union clearly didn't care about new workers. After that, I've had zero respect for Canada Post. After that, I've had zero respect for Canada Post. Paula Grattan in Muramichi, New Brunswick. Although I believe Canada Post is absolutely necessary in our country, I do believe it needs to change. Daily delivery is no longer needed. Three times a week should suffice. I don't know many people who get much beyond junk mail anyhow. That said, I stand with carriers in their ask

for better pay and working conditions. I wouldn't want their job. It is such hard work in so many weather conditions. Gary Gold in Brantford, Ontario. I started working for the post office in 1970 as a mail handler. I decided lugging heavy bags of mail to be sorted was not for me.

So I posted for the position of mail sorter, having bypassed the outdoor postie position. To this day, I respect those posties who come to my door on a daily basis through the best and worst weather conditions. Luke Petrolkas in Toronto. There needs to be a debate in Parliament. I propose Canada Post to be smaller and focus on essential letter mail,

government documents such as passports, and provide last mile rural services. Possible actions. Sell purilator. Provide accelerated retirement incentives. Reduce letter mail to two days per week as bills are frequently paid online. Charge more for ad mail. It's called junk for a reason.

Nicholas Tellios in Guelph, Ontario. Canada should create a mobile service provider under Canada Post's administration. It would offer Canadians reasonably priced, no-frills phone, text and data plans. This would force Bell and Rogers to actually compete for market share instead of charging some of the highest fees in the world. Revenue from this new service would support Canada Post's operating budget and or help to build out rural networks. Bernice Ross in Nanaimo, BC. I love sending mail to my three young granddaughters in Calgary. I enclose jokes, photos and letters of course. They love getting their own mail, especially if the stamp is a special one. I would gladly pay a lot more for this service.

Mike Zaks in Ottawa Privatize Canada Post and open the market to competition. Transition Canada Post from a government-operated entity to a privatized organization. Permit private companies to enter the mail delivery sector, fostering competition and encouraging innovation and efficiency in service delivery. And adjust postal rates to reflect operating costs. Increase letter postage rates to fully cover the costs of delivery.

Customers dissatisfied with the new rates would have the option to use alternative carriers. If no providers are willing to offer the service at the adjusted price, this would indicate the service is not economically viable, prompting customers to seek other solutions. Bill Cordray in Victoria. I believe the Royal Mail in the UK is owned and controlled by one man, Daniel Kredinsky. I wish them well but hope Canada takes a different path. How

about reduce mail delivery to once or twice a week, home delivery in rural areas only and other delivery to community group mailboxes. Do that, do it well as a non-profit Crown corporation. Let the private companies do the rest. Indeed the Royal Mail has been sold to a company run by a Czech billionaire. He says his mission is to make Royal Mail a successful modern postal operation with high quality service and products for its customers. He has agreed to keep the brand name

and Royal Mail's headquarters and tax residency in the UK for the next five years. He has also reached an agreement in principle with unions that include workers getting a 10% share of any dividends paid out as well as the formation of a workers group that will meet monthly with the directors of Royal Mail to give employees a bigger voice on how it is run. Furthermore, he will have to maintain the one price goes anywhere standard and he has promised to continue six days a week service. Ernest Warnelius in Comox Valley, British Columbia. We should take a close look at Germany, Deutsche Post DHL Group. It will mean privatization and sacred cows will have to die. Rural delivery can be affordable but only if we treat it like a rational service not a sacred cow and modernize

modernize modernize. Deutsche Post is the largest postal provider in Europe and part of DHL group which has 66,000 employees in more than 220 countries. Spencer Stinson in Blenheim, Ontario. We need a national postal service. Something like this should never be privatized. However, how Canada Post exists needs to be dramatically restructured to be a functional organization now and into the future.

I myself am in rural Southwestern Ontario and would be entirely fine with once a week or even once every two weeks for delivery. Maybe you pay a premium for more frequent delivery than that. That's a new revenue source. Chris Desneves in Toronto. Essential government services are not meant to run a profit. Like highway infrastructure, like the CBC,

like police and fire and sewage and garbage, there is a mandate to provide services, including the post. Frankly, I think the Canada Post mandate should be expanded. Nationalize internet infrastructure and use Canada Post to maintain it and to ensure that the internet is available in every community to which they deliver mail. Lease it out to companies which can subsidize costs but take advantage of the post offices immense logistical reach. Joy Caffazzo in Kamlachi, Ontario

that's the south end of Lake Huron near Sarnia. I love the post. I love getting postcards during the year, including birthday cards to my many grandchildren. As much as I email and text, nothing can replace the joy of sending and sometimes receiving a personal card or letter. Let's do what it takes to keep it going. Paul Peters Derry in Winnipeg. I can't recall the last time I sent a letter, most likely with frustration having explored every other possible means of transmission.

That said, I'm an avid collector of Canadian stamps. I look forward to each issue, the stories they tell, and the beautiful designs with almost every issue. Were the post office to disappear, it is stamp collecting that I would miss. And our country would be that much poorer also. Aaron Concur in Sherwood Park, Alberta. That's a suburb of Edmonton. Canada's Post Office is a service, and so it's not something I would expect to be profitable, as healthcare and education are also services.

As paper mail continues to change demand, it is time to consider expanding the services of Canada Post to things that are not mail related using the current postal locations to build a nation's e vehicle charging grid would be a great place to start or Use the locations to expand solar capacity Carl Marchacho in London, Ontario Here's the problem with Canada Post. About 7,000 supervisors, 71 general managers, 13 vice presidents. Want to save some money? Now, we can't vouch for those exact numbers here on the bridge, but Canada Post says about 5% of its employees are managers, amounting to around 2,500 people.

Earlier in the year, Canada Post laid off dozens of managers, including three senior executives, most notably the company's chief financial officer. Jeff Ireland in Toronto. As an inside worker at Canada Post, I see a corporation bent on privatizing an important service that takes mail and parcels beyond the limits of all other couriers. I see the CEO who sits on a board of directors of PureLator

with a handful of rich corporate directors. I see employees with no chance of a secure future. I see the tearing down of the social systems that make Canada unique. Dale Partridge in Nanaimo, BC. The post office is an advertising and distribution channel. Writing a letter is a fruitless, frustrating experience in a world skeing direct public contact, using IT to confine contact to online interventions.

Governments and corporations avoid public contact. A letter is no longer respected. A couple more here. Stephen Sands in Uxbridge, Ontario. Any cure for Canada Post should begin with dispelling the snail mail attribute. Expand the Express Post feature at a lower price, which would compete with private couriers. Put QR features on postage stamps for tracking. Annette Duval in Barrie, Ontario.

As a young girl in the 70s, I had a pen pal from Britain. I recall the excitement of choosing Pretty Stationery at Kmart, carefully writing my letter in my best handwriting, affixing an airmail sticker to the envelope, dropping the letter off at the post office, then waiting for the reply. Sure, it was much slower than email, but the fun was in the process. Well, I'll admit, I learned a lot today, honestly. I said right off the top of the program,

I can't remember the last time that I've written a letter Put a stamp on it dropped it in a postal box But It's always fun listening to All of these thoughts from across the country seeing the different experiences that people have had seeing the different experiences that people have had.

So we thank you all for writing in, for sharing your stories with us always. It's part of what makes your turn so special and such an integral part of what we do on the bridge. My dad will be back tomorrow with another episode of Good Talk, Chantal and Rob. We'll see you all in 24 hours.