Canadian Politics Redux

ekwipt

Also inferring that Canada Post is obsolete is a real stretch. It shows that their (and the govts) deception is working on people. Canada Post is doing the same thing as UPS, Fedex, DHL etc only they do it cheaper, cover a larger area in Canada, and provide more services than those private couriers. It would be fare to say that lettermail is in decline and that Canada Post is being brutally mismanaged but it is far from obsolete. As a Canadian citizen they are your public post office. Whether you use the service or not is up to you. 

HughFreakingDillon

Lerxst1992 said:

Parksy said:

Lerxst1992 said:

PJ_Soul said:

Lerxst1992 said:

Free golden dome, and still you shoot us down?

He’d probably give y’all fifty electoral votes, fifty congresspeople, two senators…and let you keep your anthem, Parliament , PM,  health care, all for free…and if the Oilers win, then hey, why the heck not? What could possibly be more valuable with your dollar? Independent States have significant identity and diversity.

What is the matter with you? 

Guessing the tongue in cheek humor is lost on you.

Behind most HUMOR is a percent of truth. I challenged Canadians to calculate the value of fifty electoral votes, fifty congressmen, two senators, perhaps more, which would be open to negotiation, while maintaining significant independence. That has significant value


anyone following politics certainly understands that America has a problem, which is not my fault nor my fellow Democratic voters. We have tens of millions of voters in rural and exurban America, who are not reachable to Democrats.

 In addition to not knowing how to reach these voters, Democrats do not even know what to say. All we need to look at is what is said on this forum. Democrats have replied to extremism with their version of extremism, and it ain’t working with the majority of voters.The liberal movement is lost in the weeds, and we could use all the help we could get. But go on you being you, and let’s all root for the Oilers to win!  


 

You challenge us to calculate value?  Based on Trump? You understand he is a narcissistic pathological liar right? Like you know that right? 

How many of you Americans heard him say Mexico was paying for a border wall and actually believed that? lol 

He is a lot more than that. That comment is very reminiscent of for the last four years,Those that underestimated Trump and created this mess. 

He is a man of negotiation. That’s the point of my comment that everyone missed. Am I being realistic? No, not really. But if that was tried, you might’ve made him happy. Maybe it would’ve led to a deal with zero boundaries being redrawn . Probably not. But one thing it would’ve done is it would’ve bought us all time until his term runs out. And it would’ve made him happy for indulging him

Instead of thinking about the psychology of trump, your leaders and you guys ran to your corner, hated all Americans, and you refuse to see the sunlight right in front of your eyes. That’s not on me

Hated all Americans. 😂 still clinging to that bullshit notion, eh? Keep that shit up. It’s why no one takes you seriously. 

Ran to our corner? Uh, our leaders did what they should have: told him to fuck off and decide to become more self sufficient and strike deals with other world leaders that actually act like partners. While telling him we’re still friends if he knocks off the bullshit. 

You don’t react to a petulant child by giving him what they want. You keep talking out both sides if your mouth; one day, trump is a genius who played everybody and continues to do so, then here you’re saying he’s easily fooled into stalling until he’s lame duck or gone. 

Pick a lane and stick with it. 

PJ_Soul

I live in one of Canada's biggest cities, and Canada Post feels like a necessity to me- i can't be the only one obviously. I am not too clear about where some are getting the idea that CP is obsolete in any way. Its problem is that it's not doing well financially and has some "structural" issues, not that it isn't providing an important service. I agree that it should be viewed as a federal service, and not as a business. I am totally okay with some of my tax dollars going to CP functioning well. 

HughFreakingDillon

PJ_Soul said:

I live in one of Canada's biggest cities, and Canada Post feels like a necessity to me- i can't be the only one obviously. I am not too clear about where some are getting the idea that CP is obsolete in any way. Its problem is that it's not doing well financially, not that it isn't providing an important service. I agree that it shoukd be viewed as a federal service, and not as a business. I am totally okay with some of my tax dollars going to CP functioning well. 

I don’t think it’s obsolete, but I think the model needs to change. 

ekwipt

josevolution

Thanks Canada really tasty $2 tomatoes! 

Zod

PJ_Soul said:

I live in one of Canada's biggest cities, and Canada Post feels like a necessity to me- i can't be the only one obviously. I am not too clear about where some are getting the idea that CP is obsolete in any way. Its problem is that it's not doing well financially and has some "structural" issues, not that it isn't providing an important service. I agree that it should be viewed as a federal service, and not as a business. I am totally okay with some of my tax dollars going to CP functioning well. 

I think there's two things going on with CP.  Lettermail volumes have continually dropped since the advent of the internet.  I think that side of the business needs to adjust.   IE reduce the # of days per week they deliver and/or finish the conversion to community mailboxes.   Lettermail causes a big loss because with each passing year less and less people use it.

Parcels seem to hold their own, but they've dropped the ball a bit, and couriers (big ones to small ones to Amazon's own delivery fleet) have picked up a lot of slack.  I think parcels are probably where CP can shine if they can improve delivery times, weekend delivery etc...

I don't mind subsidizing CP but I don't think it should be a blank cheque.  i do think they have to make some hard choices on lettermail. I do want to see them stick around.  I can't imagine how bad courier prices would be if we didn't have Canada Post offering lower rates.    How often do I mail something out and choose CP because it's the cheapest way to mail a parcel.   If you don't have them doing that, couriers are going to get a lot more expensive :(

hunterh75

I grow my tomatoes. Much cheaper. You should try it. 

ekwipt

What people outside the organization typically don’t know is there is already a system in place to deal with declining letter volumes. Every depot across the country periodically counts  volumes of all product and uses software to restructure all delivery routes accordingly. If there is less mail the routes take on more addresses. Changes need to happen at Canada Post but service and labour cuts are not going to address the major problems. Mismanagement & wasteful spending are what really need attention. Why would a company in dire straits continue to pay out bonuses to management? Why would a CEO who was at the helm during all the supposed catastrophic “losses” be given a contract extension? They are deceiving the public into accepting service cuts and supporting labour contract cuts so that the pigs can keep overfeeding at the trough. It has been the same story for the last 20 years. They keep coming up with new, more difficult ways that they insist the job must be done, with less labour, and less services to the public but the financial situation never improves because the real problems aren’t being addressed. Every service and contract cut is just lining the pockets of those who least deserve it. 

josevolution

hunterh75 said:

I grow my tomatoes. Much cheaper. You should try it. 

I grow tomatoes every summer I don’t have a greenhouse otherwise I’d grow them all year round! Been having a vegetable garden every year so I’m good! 

Parksy

PJ_Soul said:

I live in one of Canada's biggest cities, and Canada Post feels like a necessity to me- i can't be the only one obviously. I am not too clear about where some are getting the idea that CP is obsolete in any way. Its problem is that it's not doing well financially and has some "structural" issues, not that it isn't providing an important service. I agree that it should be viewed as a federal service, and not as a business. I am totally okay with some of my tax dollars going to CP functioning well. 

Like Hugh was saying before... it's obsolete in terms of how 'necessary' it is.  This to me is mostly because of email. Snail mail used to be important before email for documents and contracts etc. Parcel delivery service... again there is too much competition out there for CP to be considered necessary. 

Personally... Canada Post delivers 90% junk to me. Flyers basically. FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc are out competing CP in terms of parcel service. To that end, I'm not sure why... but they absolutely are. And beyond debating the causes of that, the fact does remain that e-commerce and email are killing federal postal service. 

Parksy

ekwipt said:

Parksy said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

Parksy said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

Parksy said:

to be clear, i like Canada Post... they're just losing way way way too much money to be sustainable. 

But is it fair to characterize an essential public service as “losing money” or should we shift it to “spending money”? 

Sorry, could you elaborate?  Spending money how? 

We don’t ever say the healthcare system is losing money. We say how much it costs. Canada Post’s mandate isn’t to be profitable. It’s to serve a need. 

ah ok I see what you're saying. To me though..  we may be having a similar discussion if we no longer needed health care or if the function of health care becomes obsolete. 

The way Canada Post presents itself is the issue. They’re being deceptive on purpose. If a fire department invests in a new fleet of modern fire engines they don’t then call the media and cry that they’re in a financial crisis. Canada Post spends a billion dollars on new processing plants and electric vehicles (which are rotting in storage because they don’t have the charging infrastructure to run them) and then calls all that spending “losses” and cries it from the rooftops every chance they get. Appearing to be broke benefits them during contract negotiations as they use it an excuse to attack workers contracts. Also I believe both the Conservative and Liberal Parties long game is to sell out & privatize Canada Post. Appearing broke helps give them excuse to cut services and eventually gain public support for privatization. 

interesting points

ekwipt

Parksy said:

PJ_Soul said:

I live in one of Canada's biggest cities, and Canada Post feels like a necessity to me- i can't be the only one obviously. I am not too clear about where some are getting the idea that CP is obsolete in any way. Its problem is that it's not doing well financially and has some "structural" issues, not that it isn't providing an important service. I agree that it should be viewed as a federal service, and not as a business. I am totally okay with some of my tax dollars going to CP functioning well. 

Like Hugh was saying before... it's obsolete in terms of how 'necessary' it is.  This to me is mostly because of email. Snail mail used to be important before email for documents and contracts etc. Parcel delivery service... again there is too much competition out there for CP to be considered necessary. 

Personally... Canada Post delivers 90% junk to me. Flyers basically. FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc are out competing CP in terms of parcel service. To that end, I'm not sure why... but they absolutely are. And beyond debating the causes of that, the fact does remain that e-commerce and email are killing federal postal service. 

All I can say is people will see how necessary it was if it’s ever gone and then it will be too late. No good has ever come from losing or privatizing public services. Costs go up, service goes down. We’ve seen it with rail, hospital cleaners & kitchen staff, old folks homes etc etc. It’s never good for anyone other than the greedy execs at the top of corporations. The workers are only 55,000. They fight every contract to maintain public services levels. If the rest of Canadians don’t fight too we’ll all lose. 

ekwipt

👆 I gotta say too that my experience with Canada Post vs the private couriers has been much different than your opinion of them. I find Canada Post to be the fastest and most reliable for parcel service. Since the dawn of internet shopping Canada Post & USPS have never once lost my parcel. Fedex workers stole 6 separate pairs of Nikes from me in one year & I no longer shop Nike online because of their use of Fedex.  
UPS has been dependable and never let me down but they’re much more expensive and 1/2 the time slower. 

PJ_Soul

ekwipt said:

👆 I gotta say too that my experience with Canada Post vs the private couriers has been much different than your opinion of them. I find Canada Post to be the fastest and most reliable for parcel service. Since the dawn of internet shopping Canada Post & USPS have never once lost my parcel. Fedex workers stole 6 separate pairs of Nikes from me in one year & I no longer shop Nike online because of their use of Fedex.  
UPS has been dependable and never let me down but they’re much more expensive and 1/2 the time slower. 

100%, except for your feelings about UPS, which I absolutely despise. The UPS drivers literally are too lazy or busy to even try delivering packages to me directly - they just default to dropping it off at some decrepit, bizarre little drop off point nowhere near me. I literally refuse to order from any place that uses that service unless I have no other choice. I think FedEx is not all that much better unless ypu pay through the nose. And then all those random shipping companies... also not much better than UPS half the time, although sometimes they come through, to my surprise. CP is ultra-reliable by comparison, and the most affordable. I will be really upset if that changes because of the incompetence of those running it (which is strange to say, since it's the best service, lol). 

Parksy

ekwipt said:

Parksy said:

PJ_Soul said:

I live in one of Canada's biggest cities, and Canada Post feels like a necessity to me- i can't be the only one obviously. I am not too clear about where some are getting the idea that CP is obsolete in any way. Its problem is that it's not doing well financially and has some "structural" issues, not that it isn't providing an important service. I agree that it should be viewed as a federal service, and not as a business. I am totally okay with some of my tax dollars going to CP functioning well. 

Like Hugh was saying before... it's obsolete in terms of how 'necessary' it is.  This to me is mostly because of email. Snail mail used to be important before email for documents and contracts etc. Parcel delivery service... again there is too much competition out there for CP to be considered necessary. 

Personally... Canada Post delivers 90% junk to me. Flyers basically. FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc are out competing CP in terms of parcel service. To that end, I'm not sure why... but they absolutely are. And beyond debating the causes of that, the fact does remain that e-commerce and email are killing federal postal service. 

All I can say is people will see how necessary it was if it’s ever gone and then it will be too late. No good has ever come from losing or privatizing public services. Costs go up, service goes down. We’ve seen it with rail, hospital cleaners & kitchen staff, old folks homes etc etc. It’s never good for anyone other than the greedy execs at the top of corporations. The workers are only 55,000. They fight every contract to maintain public services levels. If the rest of Canadians don’t fight too we’ll all lose. 

That in mind... is it a public service?  From what I understand.... it's Crown corporation. That owns Purolator mind you.  And I'll admit, I'm no expert on this... but Crown corporations are still businesses that have been deemed to be essential by the government. But they are still for profit. 

This also goes back to what I was mentioning before about losing money vs. spending money.  

But to me the stark contrast between an actual public service that is controlled, managed, and fully funded publicly and a Crown corporation is the designation of 'essential.'   If postal service was essential and public, why are their so many private competitors... ironically a company that they themselves own.. Purolator. 

ekwipt

Parksy said:

ekwipt said:

Parksy said:

PJ_Soul said:

I live in one of Canada's biggest cities, and Canada Post feels like a necessity to me- i can't be the only one obviously. I am not too clear about where some are getting the idea that CP is obsolete in any way. Its problem is that it's not doing well financially and has some "structural" issues, not that it isn't providing an important service. I agree that it should be viewed as a federal service, and not as a business. I am totally okay with some of my tax dollars going to CP functioning well. 

Like Hugh was saying before... it's obsolete in terms of how 'necessary' it is.  This to me is mostly because of email. Snail mail used to be important before email for documents and contracts etc. Parcel delivery service... again there is too much competition out there for CP to be considered necessary. 

Personally... Canada Post delivers 90% junk to me. Flyers basically. FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc are out competing CP in terms of parcel service. To that end, I'm not sure why... but they absolutely are. And beyond debating the causes of that, the fact does remain that e-commerce and email are killing federal postal service. 

All I can say is people will see how necessary it was if it’s ever gone and then it will be too late. No good has ever come from losing or privatizing public services. Costs go up, service goes down. We’ve seen it with rail, hospital cleaners & kitchen staff, old folks homes etc etc. It’s never good for anyone other than the greedy execs at the top of corporations. The workers are only 55,000. They fight every contract to maintain public services levels. If the rest of Canadians don’t fight too we’ll all lose. 

That in mind... is it a public service?  From what I understand.... it's Crown corporation. That owns Purolator mind you.  And I'll admit, I'm no expert on this... but Crown corporations are still businesses that have been deemed to be essential by the government. But they are still for profit. 

This also goes back to what I was mentioning before about losing money vs. spending money.  

But to me the stark contrast between an actual public service that is controlled, managed, and fully funded publicly and a Crown corporation is the designation of 'essential.'   If postal service was essential and public, why are their so many private competitors... ironically a company that they themselves own.. Purolator. 

It is owned and controlled by the govt but is supposed to operate “at arms length”. Depending on the govt of the day this is not always the way things go. Some tinker with it more than others. The Purolator situation is especially problematic. The CEO of Canada Post also sits on the board at Purolator. This is a major conflict of interest when it comes to contract negotiations. Parcel volumes can be & are diverted from Canada Post to Purolator any time it suits them. As soon as the govt mandated short contract extension expired on May 23 and strike/lockout was once again a possibility almost all parcel work was routed to Purolator. Not only could this affect bargaining but it artificially further weakens parcel revenue on Canada Post’s financial statements. However this labour dispute ends Canada Post will eventually have a blurb in the media about how much money they lost as a result of these negotiations. They’re pumping this number up on purpose. More deception to keep fooling the public into accepting service cuts. They have also used this parcel diversion tactic during the depot volume counts I mentioned earlier. They can artificially lower parcel volumes at a depot during the count and use that corrupt data when they build the new routes to make them longer which equals less routes and less labour. Pretty evil behaviour. 

ekwipt

Something to keep in mind too is that while an individual here may not send or receive letter mail that does not mean that is the norm. Volumes are declining but Canada Post still delivered over two billion letters in 2024. It is a particularly important service for Canadian businesses. 

Parksy

Quite off topic... but... seeing the Twitter feud between Elon and Trump.... 

Anytime an American.. anywhere... for whatever reason.. ever... makes fun of Canada ... for literally anything...  I will think upon this time and smile with ease. 

oftenreading

Parksy said:

Quite off topic... but... seeing the Twitter feud between Elon and Trump.... 

Anytime an American.. anywhere... for whatever reason.. ever... makes fun of Canada ... for literally anything...  I will think upon this time and smile with ease.