Letter to Lawrence Cannon - June 27, 2006

June 27, 2006

Lawrence Cannon
Place de Ville, Tower C, 29th Floor,
330 Sparks,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N5

Dear Mr. Cannon:

You made a statement in the House of Commons on June 12, 2006 which indicates that the government has decided to proceed with the closure of the mail processing plant in Quebec City. You said that "the members of Parliament and ministers from the Quebec City area did fulfill their election promises by thoroughly reviewing and examining the closure issue" and that you had "obtained from Canada Post that no employee or manager will lose their jobs and that the quality of mail delivery in that area will be improved."

I have a number of questions I am hoping you can answer:

What kind of review took place?

Why was the review conducted without our input or the input of other major stakeholders?

What information did you obtain from Canada Post that would indicate that service will improve? How can you, at this point, know mail delivery will improve, given that the plant is not fully closed?

Would you be willing to work with the union, parliamentarians and others on an independent assessment of mail delivery in Quebec City and Eastern Quebec if the plant is actually closed? Would you be willing to acknowledge that Quebec City needs a new facility to process mail from Quebec City and Eastern Quebec if this assessment shows that service is suffering?

I look forward to your response to these questions.

Yours truly,

Deborah Bourque
National President

c.c. CUPW National Executive Board
Regional Education and Organization Officers
National Union Representatives
Specialists
All CUPW locals
All MPs
Moya Greene, Canada Post President
Leslie Schous, President, Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association
Richard Des Lauriers, President, Union of Postal Communications Employees, Public Service Alliance of Canada