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We need to decide whether Canada Post is an essential service we require to be provided as equitably as possible to all Canadian population in the furthest reaches of our country in order to accomplish of the fundamental task of having a fair and functioning democratic society where at the very least people can remain informed in a timely and trustworthy way of important matters from municipal governments, government agencies and election officials and candidates, delivery of licenses, ID cards, bank cards and other important things fundamental to the operation of our country.
If we do consider that essential (I do), we need to discuss what the actual expectations for that service are, how it can continue to be done efficiently across the urban/rural divide and across the paper/digital divide. Whatever goals we ultimately decide are necessary, we need to make sure we are committed to fund it at a sustainable level to accomplish those goals, even if it means providing tax dollars. And if we are going to continue to operate it as a business, we need to understand that other businesses in the space are not going to play nice, they are going to be mean and they are going to try to put it out of business or weaken it until they can make an attempt to buy it by convincing the government to privatize it, because that's how business works. And the government needs to be able to recognize what they are doing and either use their prodigious financial reserves to weather the cynical attacks of private industry or simply put a stop to it with the powers that only a government can bring to bear. Government needs to stop acting like they're powerless and regulate the damn economy. If they can't regulate the industries they're directly participating in there is absolutely no hope for properly regulating the ones they aren't.
Canada Post should, in my opinion, be operated like CBC, at arms length, but with a funding commitment that allows a minimum service level to be guaranteed at no more than cost, with additional services provided as and when profitability allows. As for what that minimum service level should be, I think daily delivery to the door is probably fair to question the necessity of in the modern world, but I'd give people more options before unilaterally shoving all new neighborhoods into community mailboxes. I think community mailboxes should be reduced, and instead people given the choice of immediate secure digital delivery (when possible, like ePost but generalized for all mail that can possibly be scanned), daily delivery to a community mailbox, PO Box, or post office, or weekly delivery directly to the door. In fact, select all of the above if you want. Scanned for digital delivery first, sent to community box, and if you don't pick it up it gets delivered a week later. I think that's a reasonable minimum standard for almost anywhere in the country, except perhaps the most remote areas where at least weekly delivery to the local post office could be guaranteed. No it's not likely ever going to be as cheap or as smooth a system as we want it to be, but that's life, we've got a big country and a lot of responsibilities.
Don't mind me though, I'm just an idealistic old fart.