03-22-06,9:45am

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers today launched a new campaign called 'Operation Transparency,' with the delivery of a public ultimatum to Canada Post. The president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Deborah Bourque, asked her Canada Post counterpart, Moya Greene, to disclose the plans for postal services by May 15, 2006, or face escalating actions that could go as far as non-violent civil disobedience.

'Canada Post is owned by the public, for the benefit of all of us. As rightful owners, postal workers and the public have a right to know what Canada Post is planning and to have our say,' said Bourque.

The campaign was developed amid the furor surrounding Canada Post's announcement, last summer, that it would close its mail sorting plant in Quebec City and review its entire network of post offices and plants. Over 800 municipalities, more than 130,000 petitioners, thousands of postal workers and many federal MPs expressed concern about plans to dismantle other post offices and plants.

'Was Quebec City the tip of the iceberg?' asked Bourque. 'We have repeatedly requested information about Canada Post's plans, to no avail. Even the most basic information is kept secret, like plans for post offices and plants. Our public postal network plays such a key role in the social and economic life of this vast country. Plans for the future of our postal service need to be debated now, before it is too late.'

'We don't want to do this. But if Canada Post still refuses to hand over the documents after two months, we won't have much choice but to search for the documents ourselves,' said Bourque.