After the release of a report by the Industrial Inquiry Commission (IIC) a few months ago recommending that Canada Post consider lifting a 31-year moratorium on the the closure of rural post offices, a post office in the Interlake and its union want to raise awareness that changes to rural postal service could be a possibility.
The postmaster and the assistant to the postmaster who run the Oakview Post Office, about 30 kilometres southwest of Ashern, are concerned that future rural mail service could be negatively affected depending on whether Canada Post follows the IIC’s recommendations.
“The report suggested that Canada Post could close their rural post offices, which there are quite a few of,” said assistant (to the postmaster) Robert Brasted, a Canada Post employee who runs Oakview’s post office with his wife Beverly, who’s been the community’s postmaster for 56 years. “It’s important to note that Canada Post has not said they’re going to close rural post offices, but our union, the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association (CPAA) [Manitoba branch] is trying to make everyone aware of what this report says and the possibility that a lot of people could be without delivery.”
After the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) staged a month-long strike starting last November that disrupted mail service across the country, unduly hurt small-and-medium-sized businesses and cost the economy about $1 billion, Canada Post commissioned the IIC report.
The IIC was established in December 2024 by the federal labour minister to address Canada Post’s competitiveness, examine its financial health and address and its need to diversify or change delivery models, among other issues. The IIC’s commissioner William Kaplan released his report in mid-May.
Kaplan wrote that Canada Post is facing an “existential crisis” because it’s “effectively insolvent, or bankrupt,” and that his recommendations are based on his conclusion that there’s “a way to preserve Canada Post as a vital national institution.”
Among other recommendations, Kaplan said Canada Post could lift its moratorium on rural post office closures, which has been in place since 1994, and allow the Crown corporation to potentially close or franchise them.
“The moratoriums on rural post office closures and community mailbox conversions should be lifted. There is no persuasive case for a moratorium on closure of once rural, now urban, post offices. Canada Post already has the Delivery Accommodation Program in place for Canadians who cannot access community mailboxes. It should be reviewed and, if need be, enhanced, and it should continue,” Kaplan wrote.
Brasted said the potential closure of post offices, such as the one he and his wife run in Oakview and those in other rural communities, would negatively impact residents and businesses.
Not only would rural residents and businesses lose access to nearby postal service and have to drive long distances to access service, but the rural area would also lose good jobs; Canada Post employees shop locally thus helping sustain the viability of rural communities. The potential loss of postal service would especially affect older residents and those with physical challenges.
“My wife and I are the type of people who want to serve our area here. We have 54 boxes in our post office. These are the old-fashioned boxes; we sort the mail into boxes and hand the mail to the residents when they come in. We know who everyone is,” said Brasted. “And we know everyone depends on the postal service here because the closest town is Ashern and that’s about 30 kilometres away. It would be tough on people to drive that far. We have lots of seniors in our area and lots of retirees. And we’ve got younger people, too. It would be tough.”
Oakview sees a fair bit of business in terms of parcels and the paying of utility and other bills using envelope and stamp, he added.
CPAA is Canada Post’s second-largest bargaining union, representing over 8,500 employees who are primarily responsible for managing rural post offices. The union recently negotiated a new three-year collective agreement with Canada Post. It includes a retroactive wage increase to 2024 and wage increases in 2025 and 2026, a non-pensionable lump-sum payment to those employed with Canada Post on the date of signing the new collective agreement, an increase to the leasing allowance, an increase to the isolated post allowance, the creation of a childcare fund for employees, and an increase to the supplemental allowance, according a June 19 notice on CPAA’s website.
Janet Johnson, who is president of CPAA’s Manitoba branch, said the branch felt the current publicity around Canada Post’s collective-agreement negotiations with CUPW [representing workers such as letter carriers and postal clerks] might be sidelining CPAA to a certain extent, and the branch wants the public to become better informed about the vital service CPAA members provide to rural Canada.
“We are the heart and soul of mail delivery in our rural communities. We are the last mile of service to many Canadians. We are a union that does not strike and have been here serving our customers through whatever is thrown at us. We have been considered an essential service during COVID and we continue to stand strong for our friends, families and communities,” said Johnson. “We feel strongly that Canadians need to understand there is a difference between CPAA and CUPW. We are the front line of Canada Post. We are the employees that are at the counters in rural communities. We have been serving rural Canada since 1902 and we will continue to stand strong for rural Canada.”
With regard to commissioner Kaplan’s report, Johnson said the union is concerned about the possibility that Canada Post could lift the moratorium as its smaller post offices are currently “struggling to survive” because of cuts to the hours of service and the fact that postmasters themselves have to provide a physical post office, typically out of a portion of their own residence.
The concern is that rural post offices will “end up closing to make way for community mailboxes or franchises that do not have the standard of postal service that Canadians in rural Canada should all be entitled to,” said Johnson. “Reducing service to rural offices is essentially putting the final nail in the coffin for some communities. Canada Post themselves have said in their reports that a post office lobby box is still the cheapest mode of delivery to Canadians and it provides the most service to rural Canada.”
As far as any word about what changes could be in store for post offices in rural Manitoba, Johnson said the union has heard nothing so far. But it has heard that in other parts of the country Canada Post is allegedly eyeing Saturday closures and a reduction in hours as positions become vacant.
“CPAA and Canada Post have a very good working relationship in Manitoba and we strive to keep this relationship strong,” said Johnson.
She said she encourages rural people to reach out to their municipal, provincial and federal political representatives to voice their concerns about the importance of rural postal delivery, which entails more than just letter mail – people order items such as medication, machine parts, groceries, and everyday essentials that they don’t have access to in their small towns.
“We do understand that things need to change for Canada Post to continue to provide service to every Canadian, and we will work with them to do so,” said Johnson. “We will continue to be the heartbeat of rural Canada and we stand strong for rural Canada.”
The Express reached out to Canada Post, asking whether the corporation is considering closing any rural post offices, what factors it would look for when considering closing a rural post office and whether it would install (lock and key) mailboxes in rural communities.
Canada Post’s media relations spokesperson Lisa Liu said the corporation has no plans to share currently as its continuing to the IIC’s recommendations.
“The IIC report outlines the significant financial challenge we face and proposes recommendations to help secure the future of Canada Post,” she said. “We continue to review the recommendations and have no further plans to share at this time.”
Brasted said that although Canada Post has not yet indicated how it plans to move forward to revamp the corporation, rural people who are concerned about what could happen in the future and want to keep their postal service can make their voices heard by reaching out to their respective municipal councillors, reeves and mayors, MLAs and MPs, or start a petition.
In the Oakview area in particular, residents and businesses can write a letter or send an email to the RM of West Interlake and its council members, provincial MLA Derek Johnson (Interlake-Gimli riding) and federal MP James Bezan (Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman riding) to let them know how much they value Canada Post’s rural service.
