Vol. 140, No. 10 — March 11, 2006

Regulations Amending the Undeliverable and Redirected Mail Regulations

Statutory authority

Canada Post Corporation Act

Sponsoring agency

Canada Post Corporation

REGULATORY IMPACT
ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Description

The amendment to Canada Post Corporation's Undeliverable and Redirected Mail Regulations is to come into force on the day on which it is registered. The change is being proposed to allow the Corporation additional flexibility to respond to customer needs.

Canada Post is currently unable to respond positively to commercial customers when they request to have their promotional mailings returned when they contain printing errors or when events which the mailings are promoting have already taken place. The Corporation's inability to respond to the customer's requests results in customer dissatisfaction and can negatively impact the image of the commercial customer and the Corporation.

This inability to respond to customer needs also places the Corporation at a competitive disadvantage in the marketplace.

The proposed amendment to the Regulations would allow for mail that is addressed admail or unaddressed admail to be withheld from delivery and returned to the sender under very specific circumstances where basic conditions are met. The proposed amendment would allow Canada Post to respond positively to commercial customers when they request to have their promotional mailings returned when they contain errors or omissions. Promotional mailings that meet those basic conditions fall under the ambit of undeliverable mail and, as such, returning them to the sender prior to delivery does not contravene the "sanctity of the mail" concept.

The Canada Post Corporation Act clearly establishes the "sanctity of the mail" concept in subsection 40(3): "Notwithstanding any other Act or law, but subject to this Act and the regulations and to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, the Customs Act and the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, nothing in the course of post is liable to demand seizure, detention or retention." On account of this requirement, once a piece of mail is inducted with Canada Post for delivery, it must be delivered.

The proposed amendment to the Undeliverable and Redirected Mail Regulations will permit the Corporation to return addressed admail and unaddressed admail when the customer has met certain conditions, such as entering into an agreement with the Corporation and requesting the items be returned or disposed of by the Corporation.

Alternatives

All other alternatives were considered inappropriate, as the amendment will permit the Corporation to be responsive to customer needs.

Benefits and costs

There are no significant financial impacts related to the proposed regulatory changes. Customers will pay for the additional costs associated with the return or the disposal of these promotional mailings, when the items are returned at the customers' request.

Consultation

As required by the Canada Post Corporation Act, the amendment is published for comments in the Canada Gazette, Part I, thereby initiating a formal 60-day period in which interested persons can make representations to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6.

Compliance and enforcement

These Regulations are enforced by Canada Post under the Canada Post Corporation Act. No increase in the cost of enforcement is expected as a result of the proposed changes.

Contact

Ms. Manon Tardif, General Manager, Regulatory Affairs, Canada Post Corporation, 2701 Riverside Drive, Suite N0940, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0B1, (613) 734-8440 (telephone), (613) 734-7207 (fax).

PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to subsection 20(1) of the Canada Post Corporation Act, that the Canada Post Corporation, pursuant to subsection 19(1) (see footnote a) of that Act, proposes to make the annexed Regulations Amending the Undeliverable and Redirected Mail Regulations.

Interested persons may make representations with respect to the proposed Regulations within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be addressed to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6.

CANADA POST CORPORATION

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE UNDELIVERABLE
AND REDIRECTED MAIL REGULATIONS

AMENDMENT

1. Section 9 of the Undeliverable and Redirected Mail Regulations (see footnote 1) is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):

(2.1) Despite subsections (1) and (2), mail that is addressed admail or unaddressed admail shall be withheld from delivery by the Corporation and returned to the sender, if

(a) the sender makes a written application to the Corporation for the return of the mail;

(b) the sender's application stipulates the special circumstances that require the mail to be returned, such as an error or omission made by the sender with respect to the mail;

(c) the sender enters into an agreement with the Corporation for the return of the mail; and

(d) the sender agrees to pay the applicable fee.

COMING INTO FORCE

2. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

[10-1-o]

Footnote a

S.C. 1992, c. 1, s. 34

Footnote 1

C.R.C., c. 1298

NOTICE:
The format of the electronic version of this issue of the Canada Gazette was modified in order to be compatible with extensible hypertext markup language (XHTML 1.0 Strict).