BRIEF ON: The Impact of Canada Pust's Superboxes on the Residents of
Pert Coquitlam

Prepared by: Tan Waddall, NDP M.P,
Joy Langan, NDP

I am presenting this brief on behalf of Tan Waddell, my New
Damocrat colleague, and myself.

One of the main principles of New Democrats is that citizens
should be given equal treatment by their government. Whether it be
the right to education, health care, decent accammodation, or mail
delivery, we have consistently stood up for the rights of ordinary
Canadiang.

We axe here tonight to deliver a clear and unequivocal message.
We believe in fairness and we believe in equality, but we do not ballavea
in second~class citizens. And second-class service is what the supexr-~
boxes create for hundreds of thousands of urban Canadians who pay the
seme as averyone else for government services.

Canada's postal service, ag a communication medium, is an
integral part of the fabric of Canada. ‘Like B.C. Tel, and the Great
Canadian Radlway, our postal service is a fundamental part of drawing
Canada's people together from St. John's Newfoundland to Whitehorse in
the Yukon. We believe that as Canadian citizens, you have the right
to adequate mail delivery. Adequate....what does it mean? What we
are gaying is that, whether you live in the core of the city or in ite
suburbs, whether you buy a brand new home or one 10, 20, a¢ 50 years
old, there are certain things you have a right to expece. One ie a
mail delivery asyatem which doesn't discriminate.

New Democrats have oppored Canada Pest's Corporate Plan since

it was approved by the Conservative government in 1936, The Plan calls
for the elimination of 8,700 jobs (15% of the workforce at the post
office), the closure of 5,200 rural Post Offices, an inareased central~
ization of mail sorting (which will lead to the phasing out of some

post offices - New Westminster and Port Coquitlam have already been
targeted to be closed due to this centralization process), the privati-~-
zation of counter services to inadequate retail outlets and the replace-

ment of door-to-door “supermailboxeer".

This plan haus already led to some of the deepest cuts in service
ever experienced in our history.

Is it reasonable, as Mr. Mulroney seams to believa, in 4
country the size of ours, with communities spread out from coast to
coast, that postal service should be a profitable venture? We don't
think go, especially when one considers that this same government has
found millions of dollars to badl-out badly managed banka, and to dola

cane/e

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