Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Post Corporation Act (Miscellaneous Program): SOR/2021-91

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 155, Number 10

Registration
SOR/2021-91 May 1, 2021

CANADA POST CORPORATION ACT

P.C. 2021-358 April 30, 2021

Whereas, pursuant to subsection 20(1) of the Canada Post Corporation Act footnote a, a copy of the proposed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Post Corporation Act (Miscellaneous Program), in the annexed form, was published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on January 30, 2021 and a reasonable opportunity was afforded to interested persons to make representations to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services with respect to the proposed Regulations;

Therefore, His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of Canada in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services, pursuant to subsection 19(1) footnote b of the Canada Post Corporation Act footnote a, approves the annexed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Post Corporation Act (Miscellaneous Program), made on March 25, 2021 by the Canada Post Corporation.

Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Post Corporation Act (Miscellaneous Program)

Special Services and Fees Regulations

1 The definition Universal Postal Convention in section 2 of the Special Services and Fees Regulations footnote 1 is replaced by the following:

Universal Postal Convention
means the Universal Postal Convention drawn up by the Universal Postal Union, as contained in the Decisions of the 2016 Istanbul Congress. (Convention postale universelle)

International Letter-post Items Regulations

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

(2) A card or postcard shall be made of cardboard or any other material that is commonly used in printing and shall weigh a minimum of 2 g so as to provide the stiffness necessary to withstand machine processing.

Letter Mail Regulations

3 Paragraph 8(1)(b) of the French version of the Letter Mail Regulations footnote 3 is replaced by the following:

4 Subsection 11(4) of the English version of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

(4) The postal code on an item referred to in subsection (1) shall be located on the last line of the address, either alone or separated from the preceding character by at least two spaces.

5 Paragraph 12(3)(a) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

6 Section 32.1 of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

32.1 A card or postcard shall be made of cardboard or any other material that is commonly used in printing and shall weigh a minimum of 2 g so as to provide the stiffness necessary to withstand machine processing.

Non-mailable Matter Regulations

7 Subitem 1(3) of the schedule to the Non-mailable Matter Regulations footnote 4 is replaced by the following:

Item Non-mailable Matter
1 (3) Letter-post items or parcels that contain dangerous items prohibited by article 19 of the Universal Postal Convention and by articles VIII and IX of the Final Protocol to that Convention, as contained in the Decisions of the 2016 Istanbul Congress.
8 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 19 of the Universal Postal Convention, as contained in the Decisions of the 2016 Istanbul Congress.
9 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 19 of the Universal Postal Convention and by articles VIII and IX of the Final Protocol to that Convention, as contained in the Decisions of the 2016 Istanbul Congress.

Coming into Force

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

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations identified a few technical issues with the Letter Mail Regulations, the International Letter-post Items Regulations and the Non-mailable Matter Regulations and recommended that the regulations be amended to address these issues. As a result of the amendments to the Non-mailable Matter Regulations, similar amendments to the Special Services and Fees Regulations are required in order to ensure that the language is consistent.

Objective

The miscellaneous regulatory amendments have the following objectives:

Description and rationale

Letter Mail Regulations and International Letter-post Items Regulations

The amendments to the Letter Mail Regulations (1) correct discrepancies between the French and English versions; and (2) amend the provision which specifies the restrictions for the location of an auxiliary window when located on the front of an envelope so that it references the specific subsection of the Letter Mail Regulations instead of the section more generally.

The Letter Mail Regulations and the International Letter-post Items Regulations include a provision that specifies the requirements for the material used for printing cards or postcards. The changes to the provisions add clarity for the reader by adding the specific grammage required (i.e. 2 g) for the materials used to print cards and postcards.

Non-mailable Matter Regulations and Special Services and Fees Regulations

The schedule included in the Non-mailable Matter Regulations makes three references to the Universal Postal Convention (26th Congress, 2016) and the Final Protocol to that Convention. The amendments add the specific title of the Final Protocol, Decisions of the 2016 Istanbul Congress. Adding the title of the document provides persons consulting these Regulations with additional information to use in attempting to find the relevant version of the Convention and Protocol.

To ensure consistency among regulations, the Special Services and Fees Regulations have also been amended to include the specific title of the Final Protocol, Decisions of the 2016 Istanbul Congress, when referring to the Universal Postal Convention.

Consultation

The Canada Post Corporation Act requires a consultation period through publication of each regulatory proposal in the Canada Gazette. The representations are taken into consideration in the preparation of the final regulatory proposal.

The proposed amendments were published in Part I of the Canada Gazette on January 30, 2021. No comments were received during the consultation period, and no changes have been made to the Regulations following the prepublication.

One-for-one rule and small business lens

The one-for-one rule does not apply to these amendments, as there is no change in administrative costs or burden to businesses.

Analysis under the small business lens determined that the amendments will not impact small businesses in Canada.

Contact

Alain Boudreau
Director Regulatory Affairs
Canada Post Corporation
2701 Riverside Drive
Suite N0960D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0B1