Carney’s cuts to Canada Post should not be viewed in isolation. In recent weeks, Carney has psychologically primed the public for an “austerity budget” to be delivered in November. In the meantime, he has requested that federal departments find 15 per cent in “savings” over a three-year period. The cuts to Canada Post are simply the opening salvo in the coming austerity drive—and a taste for what Carney has in store for us. The choice of launching cuts at Canada Post is not accidental. Until yesterday, CUPW was locked in negotiations with management over issues of wages and the expansion of part-time work. Management cried poor and the talks reached an impasse. In one fell swoop, Carney has “solved” the deadlock by ordering the mass layoff of workers, whilst also dealing a sharp blow to CUPW—a union with militant traditions. In doing so, Carney has sent a message to other unions: if CUPW can be crushed, then so can you. ‘Canada Post loses money!’ The government has justified its move by pointing to the fact that Canada Post loses money. This is an indisputable fact. However, a few things need to be clarified here. First, the reason that Canada Post loses money is that it offers necessary services that no private company has an interest in offering. Canada is an immense country, and there is little if any profit to be made in offering affordable and regular mail services to more remote or rural parts of the country. For this reason, many large countries have retained state ownership in mail delivery, even though this does not always turn a profit. This only presents an issue if one considers mail delivery, not as a necessary service, but as a business like any other—a notion that many would disagree with. Second, while the federal government has been forced to “subsidize” Canada Post in recent years, this money pales in comparison to other subsidies given to private companies—and with far more disappointing results. True, the federal government gave Canada Post a roughly $1 billion repayable loan to help keep it afloat. But this is peanuts compared with the over $50 billion in loans and subsidies given to auto companies and battery manufactures in recent years to boost production and create jobs—or at least that was the promise. In recent months, many of these companies have now scaled back their expansion plans, with the number of jobs created likely being minimal. The question must be posed: why apply one standard to private companies that repeatedly break their promises, and another to a public company like Canada Post? If the concern is protecting “good Canadian jobs,” does that not also include the 60,000 people who work for Canada Post, many of them union members? Evidently, it does not.

Carney: bUiLd CaNaDa sTrOnG

Cuts Canada Post.

Government uses American companies for shipping.

What a fucking clownshow.