Canada Post is once again making some changes that will be negatively affecting couriers and their clients. This time, a restructure regarding the collar service has been undertaken, since two of Canada Post’s large sorting plants have merged. The new rule that is on schedule to be implemented, would prevent couriers and any third party representatives from picking up mail for one company if they have less than 30 pieces.
It is no secret that there has been a relatively large decline in the volume of mail due to electronic communications, but this doesn’t change the fact that some companies still expect to receive their mail everyday. They do not want to wait until late in the afternoon to get their mail, that is why they hire a courier who can go to the Canada Post sorting plant early in the morning, wait in line, pick up their mail, and then deliver it by a set time, such as 10am. Nobody wants to wait for the unreliable Canada Post driver to drop their mail off at the box or at their door when it becomes convenient for them.
And more often than not, lots of mail consists of cheques containing a large amount of money – couriers are hired by companies to handle these important items for them, as they are fully bonded and insured. A Canada Post driver will often stuff in a bunch of envelopes and mail into his or her bag and risk damaging it, losing it if walking around, and of course, delivers it when the time is convenient in his route.
As a result of the decline in mail volume, two of the main sorting plants for Canada Post have merged. The Malton sorting plant will be relocating to Brampton as a cost saving measure, operating as one, and forcing any ‘collars’ (a third party authorized to pick up mail on behalf of a company from Canada Post, either an employee or courier) who would previously attend the Malton plant, to now go to the Brampton plant. What will happen inevitably, is twice as many ‘collars’ will be at one location.
But one man Robert Van Den Eden, Project Manager for Canada Post, has orchestrated a plan in order to avoid morning crowds of couriers lining up at Canada Post, waiting to pick up sorted mail for their companies. He deems it necessary to terminate the collar service (if under 30 pieces) to alleviate traffic to the Brampton location. That’s right, read again.
If there is less than 30 items to be picked up for one company, either parcels, letters, cheques, envelopes etc – than the courier or collar hired on behalf of the company will not be allowed to pick it up. Instead, it will be left for the regular Canada Post driver to deliver the mail, which will be on a non-scheduled route, arriving at irregular hours everyday. has, can in fact spend more valuable time – canada post employees are underpaid, and overworked, and have no choice to accept other than what they are being given.
“Some of the cheques we handle for our clients may contain millions of dollars. They largely rely on Speedy Delivery to safely handle and drop off their mail to them first thing in the morning” says Jan Rachwal, President and CEO of Speedy Delivery Inc.
“What this means is that if any clients of mine happen to have less than 30 pieces of mail on a given day, regardless of the value inside, my drivers will not be allowed to pick up any of it. We deliver mail by 10am guaranteed. If this new rule goes through, many of our clients are going to be upset, because they will no longer be getting their mail at early scheduled routes.”
Essentially what is happening as a result of Robert Van Den Eden’s ridiculous rule, is that important mail is being devalued due to the quantity that it comes in. Potential economic consequences are far reaching, as many of these companies rely on the timely arrival of their mail – which is why they use couriers. Canada Post employees cannot get mail to all customers at the same time. That aside, third party authorization does not even cost Canada Post any money. In fact, it saves money, as their employees are already overworked let alone underpaid because of so much restructuring. Essentially with this rule, Canada Post is taking away the right of the consumer. Local courier companies who provide low cost reliable mail handling service to corporations – survive on just that – handling mail for their clients.
So is Canada Post trying to take away the right for courier companies to serve their clients? – In a word, Yes. Canada Post is a business. There are many businesses that branch off of it, such as courier companies. If Canada Post decides to turn around just because of their own needs, and as a result other business are forced to shut down, this is against the law.
A selfish rule, that needs to be renegotiated and fully voided, as there it has given virtually no option or leeway for couriers to have their say, when it comes to handling smaller volumes of mail for their clients.