2018 Annual Report

Canada Post exists to serve Canadians and their communities. A service-first approach anchors the Government of Canada’s renewed vision for Canada Post.

From January to September 2018, we exceeded our targets for on-time delivery performance for Parcels and Lettermail, and surpassed the combined target for Personalized Mail and Neighbourhood Mail services. Unfortunately, the labour disruption in the fall had a negative impact and we did not meet the service expectations of many customers during that period.

To better serve Canadians, we are investing in our operations and facilities to improve the overall experience for our customers, wherever they live.

For example, to address the significant growth in our international parcels business, we installed new international small packet sorters at the Gateway plant in Mississauga, Ont., and in a new facility, the Pacific International Facility in Burnaby, B.C. They allow for easier automated sorting of smaller, lighter packets regularly used in international e-commerce. For our customers, it means speedier processing, improved tracking visibility, and a better overall delivery experience. Over the next few years, the company plans to significantly increase sorting capabilities in several other key markets to respond to the continued growth in e-commerce.

In response to growing parcel volumes, we are also creating more capacity for parcels in our delivery depots by converting floor space that had been used for mail. In 2018, we also installed approximately 1,000 more parcel lockers in apartment buildings and condominiums across Canada, offering our customers more convenient options for retrieving their parcels. These investments are important to ensure we remain efficient, innovative and responsive to our customers.

With our delivery network and operations reaching every corner of the country, we recognize that we have an important leadership role to play in protecting our environment.

In 2018, Canada Post began to develop an ambitious new environmental vision, strategy and targets. We are taking a collaborative approach to this important work by engaging our key stakeholders so that we will meet the expectations of concerned Canadians, the Government of Canada, our employees and unions.

The way forward includes a roadmap that will accelerate the shift to a low-carbon economy. We are gradually greening our fleet of about 13,000 vehicles by asking vendors to provide hybrid and zero-emission options in submissions for all new vehicle purchases.

We are committed to designing new buildings with a low-carbon footprint and have embedded this important consideration into new requests for proposals. We also work to continuously improve the environmental performance of our existing facilities through an ongoing retrofit program. Between 2016 and 2018, the greenhouse gas reductions achieved from lighting and other upgrades were equivalent to taking 960 Ford Transit delivery vehicles off the road for a year.

We are excited about how our new environmental strategy will contribute to a greener tomorrow, reflecting what matters to Canadians and the shared commitment of our employees and unions.

Canada Post’s customers are as diverse as their individual needs. Identifying, removing and preventing physical and non-visible barriers in the workplace and society is an incredibly important issue for our country and for Canada Post.

Our services should reflect that. In 2018, we launched a new Accessibility Advisory Panel to help us. The panel includes experts and advocates with lived experience from across the country who are offering ongoing input to help make Canada Post’s delivery services more accessible to persons with disabilities and to seniors.

Enhancing the existing accessible delivery program was part of the Government of Canada’s vision for renewal of Canada Post. We are committed to ensuring that all customers, including seniors and persons with disabilities, have access to their mail and parcels. We have a dedicated team in place to respond to each customer’s needs on a case-by-case basis, and to determine together all appropriate accommodation options. We will remain open to improving our processes over time. Continuous improvement will be crucial for the aging Canadian population.

Accessibility and diversity will also be increasingly evident as considerations in our hiring and purchasing decisions. Measures like these will have a ripple effect by making not just Canada Post, but Canada itself, more inclusive.

We are also committed to partnering with Indigenous Peoples across the country to improve our services. In 2018, we created a team to work with Indigenous communities to ensure their concerns are better reflected in our business plans, help identify opportunities for the future, and develop strategies for hiring more Indigenous employees.

For example, we are exploring how to include the participation and roles of Indigenous People when we issue requests for proposals from vendors looking to supply products or services to us, or to construct a new facility for us. We are also looking for ways to partner with Indigenous-owned businesses.