Canada Post could become a hub of green innovation where a renewably-powered fleet connects farms to dinner tables, post offices offer electric vehicle charging, and the postal service itself provides “public-interest finance” that “fuels the green energy transition.”
That’s the vision released earlier this year by a coalition that includes the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), Friends of Public Services, and the organizers behind the Leap Manifesto.
“What if our cherished national institution, with its vast physical infrastructure and millions of daily human interactions, could offer us something completely different?” the Delivering Community Power report asks. “What if the post office could play a central role in building our next economy—an economy that is more stable, more equal, and less polluting?”
The report envisions the post office as a place where citizens can charge their EVs, sign up for home solar panels or energy retrofits, replace usurious payday lending companies with community loans, or invest in nearby wind farms. It notes that Canada Post starts out with a huge advantage, in the form of the country’s biggest retail network.
“Canada Post isn’t just a mail and parcel delivery service,” the report states. “It’s a powerful national logistics network that could address some of our most pressing challenges.” (h/t to Angela Bischoff for first pointing us to this story)
