Canada Post Monopoly must End

The Canada Post Union is afraid that the corporation's decision to set up large community mail boxes with 20 or 30 addresses is just the beginning of cuts which will eventually affect employees. The Union does not want these large boxes, but would rather Canada Post pay more in overtime, wages, and any compensation because of injuries due to weather. Canada Post claims these large mail boxes are being set up for the safety of mail carriers.

The best solution to this problem is to end Canada Post's monopoly on mail delivery. Right now, it is illegal for someone other than Canada Post to deliver mail. They even challenged a court decision which would have allowed other organizations to handle international mail delivery.

The idea that no one could ever successfully compete against such a large organization cannot be sustained. First of all, a company would not have to start nation-wide. They could start locally in large areas. Small airlines for example, compete with Air Canada, even if these small ones don't offer nationwide service. Eventually they would grow. Other organizations should be allowed to provide mail delivery service, such as Fedex. There could be Fedex mailboxes, etc.

Competition improves everything. Imagine if there was only one grocery store. You'd get the same nonsense as you currently do with Canada Post.

Added:
There is a great article on this topic on Canada Business's website. It gives a good list of reasons why Canada Post should be privatized.

Here are some:

Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and Austria have privatized their post offices or opened their postal systems to competition—and studies say the changes led to lower costs, higher productivity and better service.

A recent study by the Montreal Economics Institute found that stamp prices declined in countries after de-regulating or privatizing mail delivery.

A 2007 study by professor Edward Iacobucci and colleagues concluded that monopoly status and the interests of unions prevented Canada Post from responding adequately to the: i) rise of new communication technologies such as electronic mail and ii) need to upgrade process technology in the areas of sorting, logistics, and information systems (and privatization was needed).

Thanks to the enhanced bargaining position enjoyed by a union in a monopoly industry, Canada Post’s unions has been able to marshal considerable resources for lobbying campaigns and other actions that disproportionately influence public debate and policy makers.

Government calls for public comments on postal service, as occurred during the federal government’s review of Canada Post in 2009, are likely to show lopsided support for public monopoly status given the unions’ ability to organize and orchestrate a response.

The benefits of privatization are well established in the academic, peer-reviewed literature; a 2001 review in the Journal of Economic Literature concluded that taxpayers gained through revenues from the sale of government assets and longer-term, privatization improved firm performance and increased economic growth.