Public Works Minister Joel Lightbound says Canada Post must “cut the fat” from its management ranks after cabinet approved sweeping service cuts meant to stem massive losses at the Crown corporation.Lightbound said he expects executives to return with a serious plan to trim management and operate more efficiently, warning the postal service is in financial crisis. “They’re losing $10 million a day,” he told reporters.Blacklock's Reporter said cabinet approved more than $400 million a year in cutbacks, including scrapping home delivery in favour of community mailboxes, replacing daily delivery with every-other-day service, and lifting a decades-old moratorium on closing rural post offices. The announcement triggered a national strike by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers..Canada Post reported an $841 million pre-tax loss last year, and has not turned a profit since 2017. Prime Minister Mark Carney defended the changes in the Commons, calling the post office “an essential service” that must be made viable. “We need to restructure,” he said..Opposition leaders accused the Liberals of breaking promises.Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet questioned why an “essential service” was being gutted, while NDP leader Don Davies blasted the government for reneging on its 2015 pledge to preserve home delivery.Davies noted postal workers’ proposals to modernize and expand services have repeatedly been rejected.Despite calls for an emergency debate, Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia declined, though he acknowledged the issue was of significant concern to MPs.
