July, 14th 2016
Mr. Deepak Chopra
President and CEO
Canada Post Corporation
2701 Riverside Dr, Unit 1200
Ottawa, Ontaio K1a 0B1
Mr. Mike Palecek
National President
Canadian Union of Postal Workers
377 Bank Stre
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1Y3
Dear Mr. Chopra and Mr. Palecek
On behalf of Canadian eBay sellers, I am writing to raise our concerns about the business uncertainty resulting from the ongoing Canada Post Corporation/Canadian Union of Postal Workers negotiations and to encourage all parties to come to a long-term agreement that will provide consistent, reliable service. While our sellers have been pleased to see the recent progress made – including the government’s call for parties to return to the bargaining table – they continue to be concerned about future disruptions of service.
Technology-enabled sellers, such as small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) on eBay, lead in Canadian innovation and growth: they export at a rate of 99.8% and reach 20 markets on average every year – results far better than those of traditional SMBs. As Canada looks to support SMB innovation and trade, these micro-multinationals demonstrate what is possible while also underscoring the importance of key infrastructure like Canada Post.
Canada Post has become an important trading partner for 21st century businesses, ensuring that SMBs are able to get their goods to buyers, wherever they may be in the world. Simultaneously, Canada Post benefits tremendously from small business eCommerce. As has been widely reported, parcel services have become one of Canada Post’s most important lines of business, and one which has suffered significantly in recent weeks due to the possibility of disruption. Notably, on July 8th, Canada Post announced that eCommerce parcel volumes had declined by more than 80%. In reaction to the recent uncertainty, Canadian SMBs have been forced to adapt their businesses and make alternative shipping arrangements for their goods.
In demonstration of their resiliency and adaptiveness, many eBay SMBs have created a patchwork of solutions. For example, one eBay seller recently commented that they were “using local pickup for local sales, couriers for domestic, and daytrips south to use USPS for international sales.” While this demonstrates the entrepreneurial spirit of eBay SMBs, these solutions negatively impact these businesses’ productivity and competitiveness and as such are unsustainable over the long term.
With the above context in mind, eBay Canada strongly encourages the parties involved in the negotiations to come to a long-term agreement that restores certainty in Canada’s postal service and ensures consistent, reliable support for Canadian SMBs.
I would be pleased to provide additional information on how the current uncertainty is affecting the small businesses that use eBay; I am happy to meet to discuss further should it be helpful.
Sincerely,
Andrea Stairs
Managing Director, eBay Canada
cc: Hon. MaryAnn Mihychuk, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
Hon. Judy Foote, Minister of Public Services and Procurement
Hon. Bardish Chagger, Minister of Small Business and Tourism