On December 11, with Parliament on its Christmas break, merchants and charities racing to meet seasonal
targets and Canadians absorbed in pre-holiday activities, Canada Post dropped a bombshell: First-class postal rates would increase in three and a half months by at least 19 per cent (from 63 to 75 cents) for metered postage, and as much as 75 per cent (from 63 cents to one dollar) if purchased individually.
The proposed regulatory changes appeared in the Canada Gazette on December 21.
Then the phones began to ring at Imagine Canada.
“We began to hear from charities across the country as soon as the rates were announced,” recalls Michelle Gauthier, Imagine Canada’s VP, public policy. Charities were already aware of the implications.
Despite Canada Post’s claim that it had consulted ‘a wide range of stakeholders,’ it did not speak with Imagine Canada nor with any of the major and smaller charities that subsequently contacted the umbrella organization, she explains.
Customers, not beggars
Even though charities face increasing demand for services and shrinking support from some quarters, the core issue for Imagine Canada is not that charities can’t afford a stamp. Rather, with eight per cent of Canada’s GDP and a workforce of nearly two million, the charitable sector and its stakeholders are important customers for Canada Post.
“Charities rely on Canada Post, but they also represent a significant customer base, and it is in the Corporation’s interest that charities continue to remain heavy users of its services,” the organization states in a letter to Transport Minister Lisa Raitt, sent on January 20.
That letter uses figures from some of Canada’s best-known charities to make a compelling case for the harmful impact of the rate increases. World Vision, for instance, “has estimated that the postal rate increases will cost the organization an additional $300,000 per year, which equates to assisting five to ten thousand fewer children and their families struggling with poverty next year.” The MS Society will have to divert the equivalent of $1,400 average donations from research and services to cover the new costs.
The Australian precedent
Instead, Imagine Canada proposes a postal rate that accommodates the needs of charities, citing the example of Australia. After discussions with that country’s charities, Australia Post reduced the rate increase by 60 per cent compared to its original proposal.
Imagine Canada has received confirmation of a meeting from Canada Post after communicating with that organization even before it wrote to the Minister. Gauthier is optimistic that a meeting will be arranged with the Minister as well, likely in the week of January 27.
“We want to be collaborative, not combative,” she concludes. “We want the government to understand us as contributors to Canada’s economy, not organizations with a sense of entitlement and a hand out demanding help. It’s in the best interests of the country to find a solution that works for both charities and Canada Post.”
How you can help
Charities can help Imagine Canada’s advocacy by sending in details similar to those from World Vision and the MS Society. If you’ve calculated the costs and impact of the new rates for your organization, Gauthier urges you to send the details to her colleague Brittany Fritsch.
