OTTAWA -- Canada Post today released the results of an independent evaluation of Lettermail delivery in Canada, and for the period between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2004, the corporation achieved an on-time service performance score of 96.79 per cent against a target of 96 per cent. "We met our performance target for Lettermail despite some exceptional weather challenges throughout Canada and nearly 80 per cent of Lettermail was actually delivered one day ahead of standard," said Michel Diotte, vice-president, Field Operations, for Canada Post. "Our employees are to be congratulated for another job well done." IBM Canada Limited is contracted to provide an independent and objective evaluation of the Lettermail delivery performance that Canada Post provides to Canadians. To assess the performance, over 102,000 pieces of Lettermail were mailed using approximately 550 origin-destination community combinations throughout Canada. For the 2004 calendar year, the independent evaluation determined the following performance levels of Lettermail in each delivery standard established by Canada Post: for Lettermail sent and received in the same community, 97.6 per cent of the mail was delivered within the two-day delivery standard; for Lettermail sent from one community and received in another community, within the same province, 96.4 per cent of the mail was delivered within the three-day delivery standard; for Lettermail sent from one community and received in another community in a different province, 95.5 per cent of the mail was delivered within the four-day delivery standard. The measurement program involves depositing test mail into the mail stream over the course of the year and tracking it between various links across the country, encompassing both urban and rural areas. Service performance is tested using properly prepared Lettermail of various colours, sizes and weights including windowed envelopes and non-standard and oversized Lettermail pieces. The test mail enters the mail stream through street letter boxes, postal counters and community mail boxes, thereby providing an assessment of service performance that is representative of that experienced by Canadians. "Canadians can rest assured that Canada Post remains committed to consistently delivering Lettermail on time," said Diotte. - 30 - For further information, contact: Media Relations, Ottawa (613) 734-8888
