Canada must maintain service to rural, remote, Indigenous communities: Lightbound

‘We certainly do not want services in rural communities to be impacted,’ says Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound.

Federal Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound told MPs on the Government Operations Committee that recent changes to Canada Post’s mandate are not intended to reduce service to rural and remote communities.

Lightbound said he has made it “crystal clear” to Canada Post that it must maintain delivery standards to rural, remote and Indigenous communities as it overhauls its business model.

He said ending the decades-long moratorium on rural post office closures and expanding community mailboxes are part of efforts to “lift the constraints” on the struggling Crown corporation.

Transformation must begin

Lightbound defended the changes as essential to saving the postal service, saying Canada Post “has become too big for the volume that it needs to deliver” and warning that “without any changes, we’d be in repeated bailouts.” Pressed by MPs about the timing of Ottawa’s intervention, Lightbound said studies have long examined the issue, adding, “The transformation has to begin.”

Earlier this month, Liberal MP Marianne Dandurand, chair of the LIberal Rural Caucus, asked Lightbound about reassurances that rural residents wouldn’t be left behind because of the Canada Post decision.

“I want to remind members of the critical role that these post offices play in rural communities by maintaining services and social ties. In my riding, municipalities like Compton, Stanstead, North Hatley and Chartierville are currently subject to the moratorium,” she said. “Can the government's Minister of Transformation reassure the people in my riding that essential services in the regions will continue and that steps will be taken to ensure that rural residents are not left behind?”

In response, Lightbound said the decision was to provide more flexibility to suburban and urban communities. “We certainly do not want services in rural communities to be impacted. That is why I have asked Canada Post to come up with a plan to maintain these services in the regions, in my colleague's riding and in all rural ridings across the country,” he said.