FIVE THINGS ABOUT HOME DELIVERY

1 MOVE TO GROUP BOXES HALTED

A program launched by the Harper Conservatives to end door-todoor mail delivery was ended Wednesday by the Trudeau government as part of a plan to put Canada Post on a more sound financial footing. However, the roughly 840,000 households that have converted to community boxes since 2014 won’t get the service back — a decision postal workers and the opposition NDP called a broken promise.

2 TOO EXPENSIVE

Public Services Minister Carla Qualtrough said the cost of restoring home delivery was just too great. “We did a cost analysis, we looked at the potential disruptive impact that might have, and we decided to adopt a forward-looking vision for Canada Post,” Qualtrough said. The estimated cost is $195 million, plus ongoing charges of about $90 million annually, Canada Post said.

3 $350M IN SAVINGS WILL BE LOST

The Liberal plan means Canada Post won’t realize an estimated $350 million in annual savings from ending doorto-door delivery for the remaining 4.2 million addresses that get it.

4 POST OFFICE CAN MAKE A PROFIT

Canada Post will now be allowed to make a profit and then re-invest the extra money back into operations to improve services and remain self-sustaining over the long run. As well, the government is encouraging Canada Post to promote its postal money order business to Canadians who send money to friends and family abroad.

5 PARCEL DELIVERY IN BOOM TIMES

Canada Post is also expected to capitalize on a boom in its parcel services. Parcel delivery revenues increased by 41 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 alone, compared with the same period the previous year, officials said.