[Carmen]

... and issuing postage stamps!

Denmark

I just read this, but am not surprised, quite frankly, which is why I'm still gobsmacked at the Canadian postal union's flailing attempts to keep a dying service alive, even as Canada Post loses 10 MILLION DOLLARS per day. And I speak as a stamp collector!  

Thoughts, anyone?

[Hugh]

Thoughts, anyone?

Thoughts? 

As a postal historian, I can imagine some interesting possibilities if Canada changes how it runs the post office. If adhesive stamps were ever discontinued, our existing issues would become a “closed book” ... much like vintage toys, they might become even more collectible. And, as digital postal markings continue to expand, those too could become a new field of study. They already contain information we can read much like a CDS: routes, rates, errors, varieties. The hobby would simply adapt with better digital tools.

If Canada stays in the UPU, we would still have to process foreign mail, so covers bearing international stamps and Canadian markings, digital or otherwise, would remain collectible.

A separate thought: we sometimes talk about Canada Post as if it must operate like a profit-making business. But that’s a mental model we created when we made it a Crown Corporation. Other public services ... the RCMP, the Forces, the Coast Guard, Service Canada aren’t judged on profitability. Delivering mail to rural communities or northern regions could just as easily be seen in the same light: part of the nation we choose to maintain, even if it doesn’t “pay for itself.”

Cheers, Hugh

[Carmen]

Hey, you posted some interesting ideas there, Hugh. Thanks! I now have food for thought!