I have no problem with Canada Post operating at a loss, but not while that effectively means taxpayer dollars subsidizing the private businesses dominating all easy, high-volume routes using underpaid gig labor. CP are getting penalized at both ends, as are we. The only other way I can think to frame it is urban taxpayers subsidizing rural and especially remote communities, which I'm sure will be very popular while public transit remains wholly inadequate.

I don't know how to solve any of that internally, nor just within shipping. It's most likely far from feasible to mandate every shipping company ^and-who-counts-as-such?^ deliver to every corner of Canada, or even of just certain regions. But putting an end to gig work by closing the contracting loopholes would be a good start. And start forcing all employers with more than 10 employees -- including contracted sole proprietorships -- to maintain a supermajority of labor hours being supplied through salaried full-time positions. Even that disrupts actual independent professionals, but at least it would still be a level playing field.

Anyway, it seems to me like most of the real problems and their origins are external to Canada Post itself

so it makes sense that there may not be any kind of internal solution.