Friday May 31 2019
In 2016, in partnership with a variety of civil society organizations, CUPW launched Delivering Community Power – a new forward-looking vision of our public postal service.
The vision is founded on growth, not just preservation. A core element of the vision is to address the ultimate challenge of our times: climate change.
Canada Post could play a key role in addressing its own ecological footprint and in leading the way for the large-scale changes required.
Did you know Canada Post has the second largest public fleet of vehicles in the country, with over 13,000 vehicles travelling over 96 million kilometres yearly? Did you know that it has the largest retail network in the country?
What if our cherished national institution, with its vast physical infrastructure and millions of daily human interactions, could offer us more? What if the post office could play a central role in building our next economy — an economy that is more stable, equal, and less polluting?
Our campaign stepped up last year, interacting with our members, citizens, municipalities, unions, civil society and elected representatives. With a federal election around the corner, our goal is to make Delivering Community Power an election issue.
Our hard work is starting to pay off.
Today, the federal NDP announced its climate plan, which includes several commitments directly related to Delivering Community Power.
The NDP commits to:
- Ensuring a transition of all federal vehicle fleets, including those in Crown corporations like Canada Post, to electric by 2025 – choosing made-in-Canada vehicles wherever possible.
- Expanding charging networks for zero-emissions vehicles, including using Canada Post locations and other federal buildings;
- Ensuring that all federal buildings use renewable energy and are net-carbon neutral by 2030;
- Making low-cost financing available to municipalities and local governments for retrofits of public buildings;
- Establishing a Clean Communities Fund to support investments in community-owned and operated renewable energy projects.
We applaud the NDP plans for a greener Canada Post because we need concrete actions for the biggest fight of our lifetime. In the coming weeks, CUPW will be continuing to seek commitments from all federal political parties.
For the sake of our future, we can’t afford not to.