OTTAWA — The lobby group representing Canada's big banks says Canada Post should not be allowed to expand onto its turf as a means of generating needed revenue.
The Canadian Bankers Association says there is no public policy objective or existing gap in the marketplace that would warrant a Crown corporation becoming a retail bank.
In a brief to the federal task force reviewing Canada Post, the bankers association says Canadians already enjoy widespread access to a highly competitive range of financial services.
While Canada Post itself has said little about getting into banking, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has strongly promoted the idea.
Postal services in many other countries provide banking services, and Canada had such a system from shortly after Confederation until 1969.
The union says while thousands of towns and villages across Canada do not have a bank, many of them have a post office that could provide financial and banking services.
