Canada Post is defending more than $2 billion in federal financial support while insisting its restructuring efforts will not leave taxpayers permanently on the hook.The Crown corporation said $673 million in credits approved by cabinet on March 30 was not new bailout money, but rather a rollover of unused funding from a previously approved federal loan package. Blacklock's Reporter said the clarification followed reports that total federal assistance had climbed to $2.72 billion.Canada Post said the actual total in repayable support now stands at $2.04 billion.“We continue to work closely with the Government of Canada to build a modern postal service that meets the evolving needs of all Canadians without burdening taxpayers,” management said in a statement.According to the corporation, Ottawa approved a $1.008 billion loan on Jan. 30, but about $673 million remained unused before the fiscal year ended. The federal government has now reassigned those funds for use through the 2026-27 fiscal year.Canada Post said it is undergoing what it described as a “critical transformation” aimed at restoring financial sustainability after years of mounting losses.“However as Canada Post starts its transformation, it continues to face significant financial challenges, and has been accessing repayable funding from the government,” management wrote.The postal service has not posted a profitable year since 2017. Between 2014 and 2017, the corporation generated combined pre-tax profits of $388 million. Last year, however, Canada Post recorded a record $1.57 billion loss..At the same time, the Parliamentary Budget Office is raising concerns over the potential impact of planned service reductions, including the possible closure of thousands of rural post offices.A new Budget Office report commissioned by the House of Commons government operations committee questioned the cost structure behind Canada Post’s 3,361 rural post offices and noted the corporation refused to provide detailed operating cost data.“An information request was sent to Canada Post regarding service levels and costs in rural and urban areas,” the report stated. “While Canada Post provided the requested information on service levels, it declined to disclose information on service costs beyond what was available in its public reports.”Cabinet has agreed to remove a 1994 moratorium that blocked rural post office closures, though the government has not disclosed projected savings from ending the policy.The moratorium was introduced after more than 1,500 communities lost postal retail services through closures and privatization over a seven-year period.A 2008 strategic review previously recommended cabinet bypass the moratorium using what it called a more “realistic and practical” definition of rural communities.Internal federal research conducted by the Department of Public Works in 2022 found most Canadians opposed ending the protections entirely.The department paid polling firm Environics Research $113,005 to survey rural postal customers about possible policy changes.“Most, 84%, agree with a continued moratorium with updated definitions of ‘rural,’” the report stated.The same research noted that more than 3,000 protected post office locations have remained unchanged since 1994, despite population growth and urban expansion in many formerly rural communities.
