Canada Post says it is reviewing thousands of rural post offices across the country but insists no decisions have been made on which locations could eventually be shut down as the Crown corporation struggles with mounting financial losses.In a report tabled in Parliament, Canada Post said it is conducting market reviews and gathering operational data from its network of 3,361 rural post offices following the federal government's decision to lift a decades-old moratorium on rural postal closures.Blacklock's Reporter said the corporation denied claims it has already compiled an internal list of outlets slated for closure."Given that this process is still underway, no final determination has been made regarding specific closures, locations or timelines," Canada Post wrote in response to questions submitted by Bloc Québécois MP Marie-Hélène Gaudreau.The review is part of what Canada Post calls a retail modernization process aimed at assessing the viability of local post offices and identifying where changes may be warranted.According to the report, officials are examining operational performance, customer traffic, revenue levels and the availability of nearby postal services before making recommendations."In addition to market assessments, regions will also be evaluated as a whole so each post office can be viewed through a community lens," the report stated.The issue has drawn attention following Ottawa's decision to remove a 1994 moratorium that largely prevented the closure of rural post offices. The moratorium was introduced after more than 1,500 communities lost postal outlets through closures and privatization efforts over a seven-year period.Canada Post chief executive officer Doug Ettinger told the House of Commons government operations committee on June 18 that the policy change gives the corporation greater flexibility to address its financial challenges."Lifting the moratorium is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to renew and re-establish Canada Post to serve the growing needs of our country," Ettinger said.He emphasized that no closure decisions have been finalized.."We are going to look at traffic in these stores, we are going to look at revenue in these stores," said Ettinger. "We are going to look at stores nearby. We are going to look at all the feedback and make decisions thoughtfully. Nothing has been decided."Ettinger said community consultation will play a role in the review process and insisted Canada Post is trying to avoid surprising residents."We are very empathetic to the rural areas and the urban areas," he said. "We don't want to move too quickly and surprise people. We want to get their feedback."While stressing that no decisions have been made, Ettinger suggested areas with multiple post offices located close together could face greater scrutiny."If there's five little post offices within 10 kilometres, probably that's an area we are going to be looking for, to close one or more," he told MPs. "But we'll look at maybe increasing the hours in another one."Ettinger also rejected suggestions that management has already identified offices for closure."We have not made any decisions even internally on which post offices we think should stay or go," he said.The review comes as Canada Post faces severe financial pressures. The Crown corporation reported a record loss of $1.57 billion last year and has not posted a profit since the period between 2014 and 2017, when it generated combined pre-tax earnings of $388 million.With thousands of rural outlets under review and losses continuing to mount, communities across Canada are watching closely to see whether local post offices remain part of the country's postal network.
