Canada Post 179241 226025551 2008-07-16T14:23:03Z Lilpinoy 82 2649560 /* See also */ {{Infobox_Company | company_name = Canada Post Corporation- Société canadienne des postes| company_logo = [[Image:Canada Post logo.svg|220px]] | company_type = [[Crown corporation]] | company_slogan = From anywhere... to anyone. | key_people = '''Moya Greene''', President and CEO;<br></br> '''Marc Courtois''' Chairperson of the Board | num_employees = 72,000 | foundation = 1981 | location = [[Ottawa]],[[Ontario]],[[Canada]]| industry = [[Mail]]| products = [[Mail]], [[Courier]], [[Logistics]] | homepage = [http://www.canadapost.ca Canadapost.ca] }} '''Canada Post Corporation ''' ([[French language|French]]: '''Société canadienne des postes''') is the [[Canada|Canadian]] [[postal authority]] operated as a [[crown corporation]]. The '''Post Office Department''' of the [[Government of Canada]] was founded in 1867 and was rebranded Canada Post in the late 1960s though it officially remained the Post Office Department until [[October 16]], [[1981]] when the ''Canada Post Corporation Act'' came into force[http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-10/text.html]. The Act set a new direction for the postal service, creating more reliable service and ensuring the postal service's financial security and independence.<ref>[http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cs/C-10/bo-ga:l_I-gb:s_4//en#anchorbo-ga:l_I-gb:s_4 Canada Post Corporation Act] Part I Section 5</ref> <!-- Unsourced image removed: [[image:canadapost_hq.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Canada Post Place, the head office of Canada Post, in [[Ottawa]].]] --> ==Overview== [[Image:canadapost van.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Canada Post trucks in Edmonton]] Every business day, Canada Post provides service to 14 million addresses,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadapost.ca/corporate/about/annual_report/aboutus2-e.html|title=2006 Annual Report About Us-Page 1}}</ref> delivering 40 million items.<ref name="about"/> Delivery takes place via traditional "to the door" service by 15,000 letter carriers, supplemented by approximately 6,000 vehicle routes in rural and suburban areas, and [[truck]] delivery of parcels in urban areas. There are 6,800 post offices across the country, a combination of corporate offices and franchises which are operated by private retailers in conjunction with a host retail business, such as a drugstore. In terms of area serviced, Canada Post delivers to a larger area than the postal service of any other nation, including [[Russia]] (where service in [[Siberia]] is limited largely to communities along the railroad). On a consolidated basis, the Corporation processed 11.6 billion pieces during year 2006. Consolidated revenue from operations reached $7.3 billion and consolidated net income totalled $119 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadapost.ca/corporate/about/annual_report/highlights-e.html|title=2006 Annual Report-Highlights}}</ref> To compete effectively, Canada Post operates as a group of companies called The Canada Post Group. It employs 72,000 full and part-time employees to deliver a full range of delivery, logistics and fulfillment services to customers. The Corporation holds an interest in [[Purolator Courier]], [[Innovapost]], Progistix-Solutions and Canada Post International Limited.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadapost.ca/personal/corporate/about/newsroom/fast_facts/bin/popup_employees-e.asp|title=Canada Post-Fast Facts}}</ref>. In 2000, Canada Post created a company called Epost, allowed customers to receive their bill online for free. In 2007, Epost was absorbed into Canada Post. ''Canada Post'' ''(French: Postes Canada)'' is the [[Federal Identity Program]] name. The legal name is ''Canada Post Corporation'' in [[English language|English]] and ''Société canadienne des postes'' in [[French language|French]]. ==History== [[Image:LeasideAirExpressEaton'sPackages.jpg|200px|thumb|left|The first airmail delivery in 1918.]] [[Image:CanadaPostBoxesBuctoucheBay.png|200px|thumb|left|Canada Post community mailboxes outside [[Bouctouche, New Brunswick]].]] :''See also [[Postage stamps and postal history of Canada]]'' Mail delivery first started in Canada in [[1693]] when the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] born [[Pedro da Silva]] was paid to deliver mail between [[Quebec City]] and [[Montreal]]. Official postal services began in [[1775]], under the control of the [[British Government]] up to [[1851]]. The first postage stamp (designed by Sir [[Sandford Fleming]]) went into circulation in Canada that same year. It was not until [[1867]] when the newly formed [[Dominion of Canada]] created the '''Post Office Department''' as a federal government department (The ''Act for the Regulation of the Postal Service'') headed by a [[Canadian Cabinet|Cabinet]] minister, the [[Postmaster General of Canada]]. The Act took effect [[April 1]], [[1868]], providing uniform postal service throughout the newly established country. The Canadian post office was designed around the British service as created by Sir [[Rowland Hill (postal reformer)|Rowland Hill]], who introduced the concept of charging mail by weight and not destination along with creating the concept of the [[postage stamp]]. Canada Post started early with [[airmail]], with the first airmail flight taking place on [[June 24]], [[1918]] carrying mail from Montreal to Toronto. Regular airmail service began in 1928. The 1970s was a tough decade for Canada Post, with major strikes combined with annual deficits that had hit $600 million by 1981. This state of affairs made politicians want to rethink their strategy for the federal department. It resulted in two years of public debate and input into the future of mail delivery in Canada. The government sought to give the post office more autonomy, in order to make it more commercially viable and to compete against the new threat of private courier services. On [[October 16]], [[1981]], the Federal Parliament passed the "Canada Post Corporation Act"[http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-10/text.html], which transformed Canada Post into a [[Crown corporation]] to create the ''Canada Post Corporation (CPC)''. The legislation also includes a measure that legally guarantees basic postal service to all Canadians. It stipulates that all Canadians have the right to expect mail delivery, regardless of where they live. Several historical sites related to the history of Canada Post can be visited today. In [[Ontario]], the [[first Toronto Post Office]] is still in operation. The site of the [[Air Canada Centre]] was once the Canada Post Delivery Building. Also notable are the [http://www.discovervancouver.com/GVB/vancouver-post-office.asp Vancouver Main Post Office] and the [http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/yt/dawson/natcul/natcul3_e.asp Dawson, Yukon, Post Office], a [[National Historic Site of Canada]]. In [[Peggys Cove]], Nova Scotia, a [http://peggys-cove.com/photos6.html nineteenth-century lighthouse] acts as a seasonal post office for the tiny coastal community. ===Timeline=== [[Image:Dasilva.jpg|thumb|right|Stamp issued by Canada Post to commemorate:"Pedro da Silva dit le Portugais, 1705, First Courier in New France"]] *[[1693]] :First paid mail delivery within Canada *[[1775]] :British Government begins offering mail service in Canada *[[1851]] :Canadian Government takes control of mail delivery *[[1867]] :Canada Post is created as a federal department *[[1878]] :Canada Post joins [[Universal Postal Union]] *[[1957]] :Dr. Maurice Levy invents the automatical postal sorter, which could handle 200,000 letters per hour. *[[1971]] :Initial implementation of the [[Canadian postal code|postal code]] *[[1981]] :Canada Post Corporation Act is passed by Parliament *[[1981]] :Canada Post is turned into a Crown Corporation *[[1993]] :Canada Post purchases a majority stake in [[Purolator Courier]] *[[2006]] :Introduction of the [[Non-denominated postage|Permanent Stamp]], a stamp that is always worth the basic domestic mailing rate. ==Mail format== [[Image:Canadapost mailbox.jpg|thumb|A Canada Post [[Post box|mailbox]].]] Any letter sent within Canada has the destination [[address]] on the centre of its envelope, with a [[Postage stamp|stamp]], [[indicia|postal indicia]], meter label, or [[franking|frank]] mark on the top-right corner of the envelope to acknowledge payment of postage. A [[return address]], although it is not required, can be put on the top-left corner of the envelope in smaller type than the destination address. Official addressing protocol is for the address to be in [[block letters]], using a fixed-pitch typeface (such as Courier). The first line(s) of the address contains the personal name and internal address of the recipient. The second-to-last line is the post office box, general delivery indicator, or street address, using the shortened name of the street type and no punctuation. The last line consists of the legal place name, a single space, the two-letter province abbreviation, two full spaces, and then the [[Canadian postal code|postal code]]. If mailed within [[Canada]], the country is not necessarily indicated at the bottom. Examples: ''the provided name is fictitious'' {| width=75% style="font-family: monospace;" | width=50% valign=top | JOHN JONES<br />DÉPT MARKETING<br />10-321 1/2 RUE CHARLES OUEST<br />MONTRÉAL QC &nbsp;H3Z 2Y7<br />&nbsp; | width=50% valign=top | JOHN JONES<br />1234 MAIN ST<br />PO BOX 4001 STN A<br />VICTORIA BC &nbsp;V8X 3X4 |- | width=50% valign=top | JOHN JONES<br />1234 7TH CONCESSION<br />SITE 6 COMP 10<br />RR 8 STN MAIN<br />MILLARVILLE AB &nbsp;T0L 1K0 | width=50% valign=top | JOHN JONES<br />GD STN MAIN<br />WALKERTON ON &nbsp;N0G 2V0 |} ==Major products and services== The Corporation has a directory of all its products and services called the [http://www.canadapost.ca/personal/tools/pg/manual/default-e.asp Postal Guide] and has divided its range of services into three main categories: Transaction Mail, Parcels and Direct Marketing. ===Transaction mail=== The '''lettermail''' service allows the transmission of virtually any paper document. The basic rate is currently set at 52 cents for one standard letter (30g or less) and is regulated by a price-cap formula, linked to the inflation rate.<ref>Under the price-cap formula approved by the federal government in 2000, basic letter rate increases, when warranted, will not exceed 66.67% of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index from May prior to the last increase to May of the current year. Increases will be implemented no more than once a year, in January, and announced no later than July 1 in the year before the increase goes into effect in the Canada Gazette Part I.</ref> The Corporation has recently introduced a “permanent” stamp that retains its value forever, eliminating the need to buy 1 cent stamps after a rate increase.The rates for lettermail are based on weight and size and determine whether the article falls into the aforementioned standard format, or in the oversize one. The rates for services have generally been increasing above the rate of inflation. An exception is the rate for basic domestic letters for which Canada Post maintains that Canada has one of the lowest rates in the world<ref name="about">{{cite web|url=http://www.canadapost.ca/corporate/about/annual_report/aboutus2-e.html|title=2006 Annual Report-About us-Page 2}}</ref> because government regulation caps increases for this at below inflation. Mail sent internationally is known as '''letterpost'''. It can only contain paper documents (See Light Packet and Small Packet below). The rate for a standard letter is of 96 cents if sent to the United States, and $1.60 if sent to any other destination. ===Parcels=== ====Domestic==== Canada Post offers four domestic parcel services. The rates are based on distance, weight and size. The maximum acceptable weight is 30&nbsp;kg. [[Image:Canada postvan.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A Canada Post delivery truck in Montréal.]] =====Regular Parcel===== *Delivery time ranges from 2 to 9 days depending on the destination. =====Expedited Parcel===== *Available only to business customers. *Delivery time ranges from 1 to 7 days depending on the destination. =====Xpresspost===== *Is a service for parcels and documents. *Delivery time ranges from 1 to 2 days between major centres. =====Priority Courier===== *Is a service for parcels and documents. *Provides next day service between major centres. ====International==== =====Light Packet===== * Compensates for the fact that goods are prohibited in the letterpost(regular mail) service. *Maximum weight is 500g. Maximum dimensions are 380&nbsp;mm x 270&nbsp;mm x 20&nbsp;mm. *Rates based on weight and destination (USA or international). =====Small Packet===== *Air and surface services are available. *Maximum weight is 1&nbsp;kg (USA) and 2&nbsp;kg (International). =====Expedited Parcel USA===== *Available for items sent to American addresses only. *Despite its name, does not provide any service guarantee. *The maximum acceptable weight is 30&nbsp;kg. It is cheaper than the standard international rate. =====Xpresspost-USA and International===== *Provides speedy and guaranteed delivery to addresses in the United States. *Provides accelerated delivery to certain countries. *Maximum weight is 30&nbsp;kg (USA) and 20 to 30&nbsp;kg (depending on the international destination). =====International Parcel===== * Air and surface service available. *Provides delivery to countries to which Xpresspost is not available. ===Direct marketing=== ====Addressed Admail==== *Promotional mailings targeted to specific residents. *Minimum quantity of 1,000 articles. ====Unaddressed Admail==== *Consists of printed matter and product samples that are not addressed to specific delivery addresses in Canada, but to specific neighbourhoods or cities. ====Barcodes==== *Canada Post uses a 13 character barcode for their pre-printed labels. Bar codes consist of two letters, followed by eight sequence digits, and a ninth digit which is the check digit. The last two characters are the letters CA. The check digit seems to ignore the letters and only concern itself with the first 8 numeric digits. The scheme is to multiply each of those 8 digits by a different weighting factor, (8 6 4 2 3 5 9 7). Add up the total of all of these multiplications and divide by 11. The remainder after dividing by 11 gives a number from 0 to 10. Subtracting this from 11 gives a number from 1 to 11. That result is the check digit, except in the two cases where it is 10 or 11. If 10 it is then changed to a 0, and if 11 then it is changed to a 5. The check digit may be used to verify if a barcode scan is correct, or if a manual entry of the barcode is correct. ==Philately== Although Canada Post is responsible for stamp design and production, the corporation does not actually choose the subjects or the final designs that appear on stamps.<ref name="stamp"/> That task falls under the jurisdiction of the Stamp Advisory Committee. Their objective is to recommend a stamp program that will have broad-based appeal, regionally and culturally, reflecting Canadian history, heritage, and tradition.<ref name="stamp">Canada's Stamp Details, pp.16-17, January to March 2005, Volume XIV, No. 1</ref> Before Canada Post calls a meeting of the committee, it also welcomes suggestions for stamp subjects from Canadian citizens. Ideas for subjects that have recently appeared on a stamp are declined. The committee works two years in advance and can approve approximately 20 subjects for each year.<ref name="stamp">a</ref> Once a stamp subject is selected, Canada Post’s Stamp Products group conducts research. Designs are commissioned from two firms, both chosen for their expertise. The designs are presented anonymously to the committee.<ref name="stamp">a</ref> The committee’s process and selection policy have changed little in the thirty years since it was introduced. ==Noted stamps== * Definitives: [[Queen Elizabeth II definitive stamp (Canada)]] * 2005: [[Canadian postage stamp of Acadian Deportation 1755-2005|Acadian Deportation]], [[Canadian postage stamp of Polio Vaccination|Polio Vaccination]] * 2000: [[Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer]] [[Image:Ritual of the Calling of the Engineer Stamp 2000 Zoomed.JPG|45px|Ritual of the Calling of the Engineer]] ==Organizational issues== ===Labour troubles=== Canada Post has a history of troubled [[labour relations]] with its [[trade union]]s, particularly the [[Canadian Union of Postal Workers| Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW)]] and the Letter Carriers Union of Canada (which merged with CUPW in 1989) culminating in periodic [[strike action]] which has brought mail service in Canada to a halt. There have been at least 19 strikes, lockouts and walkouts between 1965 and 2005 including several [[wildcat strike]]s. A number of these strikes have seen the corporation employ [[strikebreaker]]s and most, since the 1970s, have resulted in back-to-work legislation being passed by the [[Canadian parliament]]. Canada Post was also the setting for one of the most controversial labour rulings of recent years. After several prosecutions for theft at [[Mississauga, Ontario|Mississauga's]] Gateway Postal Plant, the union won a ruling from a labour board that the workers involved could not be dismissed as the length of the investigation exceeded the ten-day limit in the collective agreement under which any allegation of misconduct had to be brought to the attention of the worker. Although the ruling was reversed on appeal, the [[Ontario Court of Appeal]] ruled that although the decision may have been incorrect, it was not so totally without merit that the labour board's decision should be overturned {{Clarifyme|date=March 2008}}{{Fact|date=June 2007}}. The court noted the language was in the collective agreement to keep supervisors from holding infractions over the head of a worker indefinitely. Recently, however, Canada Post has begun to emerge from its labour troubles. In 2007, it signed a 4 year agreement with CUPW without any labour disruptions. For 2007 and 2008, the corporation was named one of [[Canada's Top 100 Employers]], as published in [[Maclean's]] magazine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eluta.ca/einfo?en=Canada+Post+Corporation&ri=39212ce27c291e29d31a11b23f3549d8&rk=59c32f7316fb9856fa903ef5f5ec55ac|title=Reasons for Selection, 2007 Canada's Top 100 Employers}}</ref> ===Rural Mail=== Safety of rural mobile delivery personnel on busy roads has been an ongoing concern. Canada Post launched the Rural Mail Safety Review as rural and suburban mail carriers across the country, supported by their union, raised complaints about workplace safety. As of March 2008 there have been more than 1400 such complaints. In some cases these union members refused to deliver mail even after Canada Post tests showed there was no undue traffic safety risk at a particular mail box. Such cases were referred to Labour Canada, who in several instances asked Canada Post to cease delivery to mailboxes. In December 2006, the Canadian government ordered that Canada Post maintain rural delivery wherever possible. ===Modernization=== Moya Greene, the CEO of Canada Post, has been quoted as saying that years of under-investment to improve the company has hurt its efficiency and its financial performance. In September 2007, she estimated that modernizing the corporation would cost $2.7-billion over five to seven years for new buildings, equipment, technology and training.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=5e65a8f9-7b39-438d-aab3-b6278fb32658&k=23508 |title=Delivering a New Canada Post |accessdate=2007-09-21 |work=The National Post}}</ref> ==See also== *[[List of communities in Newfoundland and Labrador]] for early community postal information, including dates, locations and names. *[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Canada_Post_Tags Canada Post Tags and Labels on Commons] *[[Crown corporations of Canada]] *[[United States Postal Service]] ==Footnotes== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{commonscat|Canada Post}} *[http://www.canadapost.ca/ Canada Post Website] *[http://www.collectionscanada.ca/postal-archives/080608_e.html Canadian Postal Archives] - History site run by the Government of Canada *[http://www.collectionscanada.ca/philately-postal/index-e.html Library and Archives Canada] - Various links to history of Canada Post websites (Run by the Government of Canada) *[http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080211/post_mail_080211/20080211?hub=SciTech Website shows way to stop Canada Post junk mail] **[http://www.reddotcampaign.ca Red Dot Campaign - website to stop junk mail] ===Personnel representation=== *[http://apoc-aopc.com/ Association of Postal Officials of Canada (APOC)] *[http://www.cpaa-acmpa.ca/ Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association (CPAA)] *[[Canadian Union of Postal Workers|Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW)]] *[[Public Service Alliance of Canada|Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)]] {{Canadian stamps}} [[Category:Canada Post|*]] [[Category:Postal organisations]] [[Category:Companies based in Ottawa]] [[Category:Canadian federal Crown corporations]] [[fr:Postes Canada]]