Vol. 148, No. 7 — March 26, 2014

Registration

SOR/2014-53 March 7, 2014

CANADA POST CORPORATION ACT

Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Post Corporation Act

P.C. 2014-251 March 6, 2014

Whereas, pursuant to subsection 20(1) of the Canada Post Corporation Act (see footnote a), a copy of the proposed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Post Corporation Act, in the annexed form, was published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on December 21, 2013 and a reasonable opportunity was afforded to interested persons to make representations to the Minister of Transport with respect to the proposed Regulations;

Therefore, His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, pursuant to subsection 19(1) (see footnote b) of the Canada Post Corporation Act (see footnote c), approves the annexed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Post Corporation Act, made on February 5, 2014 by the Canada Post Corporation.

REGULATIONS AMENDING CERTAIN REGULATIONS MADE UNDER THE CANADA POST CORPORATION ACT

SPECIAL SERVICES AND FEES REGULATIONS

1. The definition “Universal Postal Convention” in section 2 of the Special Services and Fees Regulations (see footnote 1) is amended by replacing “24th Congress, 2008” with “ 25th Congress, 2012”.

INTERNATIONAL LETTER-POST ITEMS REGULATIONS

2. Section 5 of the International Letter-post Items Regulations (see footnote 2) is replaced by the following:

5. (1) A letter-post item shall not exceed

(2) A card or postcard shall be made of cardboard or any other material that is commonly used in printing and that is of sufficient grammage to provide the stiffness necessary for the card or postcard to withstand processing without difficulty.

NON-MAILABLE MATTER REGULATIONS

3. Subitem 1(3) of the schedule to the Non-mailable Matter Regulations (see footnote 3) is replaced by the following:

Item

Non-mailable Matter

1.

(3) Letter-post items or parcels that contain dangerous or perishable items prohibited by article 18 of the Universal Postal Convention (25th Congress, 2012) and by articles VII and VIII of the Final Protocol of that Convention.

4. Subitem 2(2) of the schedule to the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Item

Non-mailable Matter

2.

(2) Letter-post items or parcels that contain live animals prohibited by article 18 of the Universal Postal Convention (25th Congress, 2012).

5. Subitem 3(4) of the schedule to the Regulations is replaced by the following:

Item

Non-mailable Matter

3.

(4) Letter-post items or parcels, other than those referred to in subitems 1(3) and 2(2), that contain matter prohibited by article 18 of the Universal Postal Convention (25th Congress, 2012) and by articles VII and VIII of the Final Protocol of that Convention.

COMING INTO FORCE

6. (1) These Regulations, except section 2, come into force on the latest of

(2) Section 2 comes into force on the day on which these Regulations are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

Canada Post is required to ensure that its regulations reflect the latest postal convention. Therefore, in order to ensure compliance with the obligations of the Acts of the 25th Congress of the UPU, done at Doha on October 11, 2012, the Special Services and Fees Regulations and the Non-mailable Matter Regulations need to be amended.

The allowable dimensions for items being posted in Canada for delivery abroad, set out in the International Letter-post Items Regulations, need to be clarified as they only appear in the schedule to the Regulations.

Background

The Universal Postal Union (UPU) is a specialized agency of the United Nations with a mandate to broaden cooperation among world postal administrations and improve the quality and efficiency of the international postal network. The Universal Postal Convention, which is drawn up by member countries of the UPU every four years, sets out the rules for international letter-post service that apply to all members of the UPU. Canada has been a member of the UPU since 1878.

Objectives

The amendments to the Special Services and Fees Regulations and the Non-mailable Matter Regulations update the regulations to ensure that they contain the appropriate references to the latest Congress of the UPU. The amendment to the International Letter-post Items Regulations clarifies the current allowable dimensions for items being posted in Canada for delivery abroad.

Description

The Special Services and Fees Regulations, the Non-mailable Matter Regulations and the International Letter-post Items Regulations are made under the Canada Post Corporation Act.

Part IX of the Special Services and Fees Regulations pertains to the payment of indemnity for registered mailable matter posted outside Canada for delivery in Canada under the Universal Postal Convention. The Non-mailable Matter Regulations make three references to the Universal Postal Convention (24th Congress, 2008) and the Final Protocol of that Convention, which contain a listing of items that are prohibited in the mail. The proposed amendments to these two regulations replace references to the 24th Congress, 2008, with references to the 25th Congress, 2012.

The amendment to the International Letter-post Items Regulations specifies the maximum dimensions of standard letter-post items sent internationally. Cards and postcards sent internationally must not exceed 235 mm in length and 120 mm in width, whereas a standard letter-post item must not exceed 245 mm in length and 156 mm in width.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to these proposals, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to this proposal, as there are no costs to small business.

Rationale

Canada is a signatory to the Universal Postal Union Convention, which is an international treaty. Therefore, Canada must ensure that it meets its obligations to other countries by putting into regulations the list of items that are prohibited in the international mail stream.

The amendment to the International Letter-post Items Regulations clarifies the allowable dimensions of letter-post items sent abroad. The amendment does not change the allowable dimensions.

There are no costs to customers associated with the adoption and implementation of the Regulations.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

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 changes.

Consultation

The Canada Post Corporation Act requires a consultation period through publication of the regulatory proposal in the Canada Gazette. All representations must be sent to the Minister of Transport. They will be taken into consideration in the preparation of the final regulatory proposal.

The proposed Regulations were prepublished in Part I of the Canada Gazette on December 21, 2013. No comments were received during the 30-day representation period.

Two minor technical amendments are being made to the text that was prepublished: a correction to a reference and an amendment to the coming into force provision.

Contact

Georgette Mueller
Director
Regulatory Affairs
Canada Post Corporation
2701 Riverside Drive, Suite N0980C
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0B1
Telephone: 613-734-7576
Email: georgette.mueller@canadapost.ca