Canada Post door-to-door mail delivery consultations to attract 'lineups'

MPs are expecting a high turnout when they begin consulting Canadians on the future of Canada Post, including door-to-door mail delivery, starting this fall.

The parliamentary committee tasked with hearing from Canadians on what it is they want from their national postal system issued a notice late Thursday cautioning members of the public that "lineups are to be expected."

The notice comes as Canada Post and the union representing its workers continue negotiations over proposed changes to employee pensions and pay equity between rural and urban carriers.

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"Talks are moving slowly," Mike Palecek, the national president for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), said in an email to CBC News Friday. "Still far apart, but there is progress," he said.

A lockout was averted earlier this month after Canada Post withdrew its 72-hour notice.

"Canada Post continues its efforts at the negotiating table to reach new collective agreements for employees represented by CUPW," Canada Post spokesman Mouktar Abdillahi said in a statement to CBC News on Friday.

Security checks, photo ID

Canadians interested in attending the hearings will have to bring a piece of photo ID and go through security.

"Please note that witnesses (or observers) attending the meeting must clear security and provide photo identification before they can be granted access to the meeting room," said the notice issued by the committee on Thursday.

The clerk of the Commons committee on government operations and estimates was not immediately available Friday to provide details about security measures being put in place.

But a spokesperson for Public Services Minister Judy Foote told CBC News the same rules apply to committee meetings held on or off Parliament Hill.

MPs on the committee will have to report their findings to Parliament by December.

At the same time, a four-member panel appointed by the government in May will be conducting a formal review of Canada Post.

The previous Conservative government announced it was going to put an end door-to-door mail delivery in 2013.

Last fall, the Liberals campaigned on a promise to restore home mail delivery and vowed to "undertake a new review of Canada Post to make sure that it provides high-quality service at a reasonable price to Canadians, no matter where they live."

Canadians who want to have a say can submit a request by August 26 to appear before the parliamentary committee or fill out a survey online, or request a paper copy, from Sept. 26 to Oct. 21.