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SECTION THEHERALD Wednesday Junes IKS Keeping our commitment in rural Canada Canadas rural communities are vital to Canada Post In feet one of the most important parts of our commitment is making postal products and services more accessible to rural Canadians To help us do this we plan to use the resources and the expertise of the private sector Where practical we are approaching local business people in communities across the country offering them the opportunity to provide you with postal products and services through their businesses As a result you will be able to buy postal products or services in attractive locations at convenient hours often including evenings and weekends groups see our changes as an erosion of postal services in rural communities such as yours Nothing could be further from the truth By allowing local merchants to operate retail postal outlets postal services as a whole will be more accessible and more efficient than ever before In the long run it will help us keep postal rates reasonable and leave the way clear for Canada Post to preserve their presence in rural Canada Simply stated by using retail merchants to sell stamps and other postal products and services Canada Post can concen trate on what it does best pickingup processing and deliver ing the mail in a costeffective way that benefits all Canadians rural and urban alike rTT5 Nothing to lose Consultation For a start we will engage in at least a day consultation period involving all of our customers in your community including your municipal authorities JODS Changes are being made when natural opportunities occur such as when a postmaster resigns reures or is promoted No postmaster has lost a job as a result of this program Identity The postal and name of your community will be preserved intact on signage and for addressing purposes Security Retail outlets will be bound by contract to main tain the same security and sanctity of mail standards as Canada Post Commitment Service More and more retail postal outlets will be operated by local business people who already have strong roots in your community and share with you the same interest in maintaining high postal standards and where possible improving them Local delivery service will be maintained Everything to gain More Outlets The objective is to increase the number of rural locations where you can access postal products or services from 5000 to 7000 and nationally by a third to 18000 More Convenience Retad postal will be conveniendy located in a business close to other services in your community Longer business hours will give you even more flexibility More business for local merchants Opportunities for local merchants to provide postal products or services will strengthen the community s business base More efficient Service By utilizing local merchants retail experience Canada Post will be able to concentrate on reliable pickup processing and delivery of mail to Canadians Canada Post is in rural Canada to stay Thats a promise CANADA POST CORPORATION Our commitment better service for you