Welcome to the New Year. Being an incurable optimist, I generally believe that hard work, some luck, and a positive attitude can always make life better in the new year. Being employed by a taxpayer's watchdog organization, I also know that 1999 will require the usual number of whistle-calls on government tax and spend silliness.

Case in point - Canada Post. Given that the Crown corporation increased postage rates by a penny on New Year's Day, it is perhaps the perfect time to blow the whistle on post office nickel and diming absurdity.

Shortly before Christmas, an Edmonton gentleman sent me this account of his tangle with Canada Post. Last April, Norm Dick received 15 compact discs in the mail from the United States. Unfortunately for Mr. Dick, some of the CD's 'jewel' boxes - the hard plastic shells that protect CDs - were broken in transit. Whether the CD club sent out broken jewel cases or Canadian or American postal employees played soccer with the parcel will forever remain a mystery, but the CD club sent Mr. Dick some replacement (and complimentary) jewel boxes to protect his $200 purchase.

While that was commendable customer service, the same cannot be said for Canada Post's subsequent approach to its captive customer. On the initial shipment, Mr. Dick of course had to pay the usual GST - $14.21 - on $202.92 worth of CDs. In addition, he was then required to pay Canada Post a $5 'handling fee' before he could take home the CDs.

On the second shipment - the one with the complimentary jewel boxes - Canada Post decided the 15 empty cases were worth $28.77, and told him to pay up - another $2.01 in GST and another $5.00 'handling fee.'

When the customer complained, Canada Post told him postal imports worth more than $20 must be charged GST. He countered that the replacement cases were practically worthless - any record store sells them for less than a buck each - which meant his 15 replacement cases were worth less than the $20 threshold anyway.

The answer back was predictable. 28 dollars was the value determined by the post office, so pay up or forget the shipment. All right then, he countered - he might be forced to pay the GST, but why must he pay the $5 fee (on both shipments!) when according to the post office's own brochures, "If your mail item is duty free or tax-exempt, you do not have to pay the $5 fee." As he was not charged duty on the original discs or the replacement boxes - no $5 fee - right

Wrong.

In a letter to Mr. Dick's MP, Ian McCelland, federal Revenue Minister Herb Dhaliwal pointed out the sentence in the post office's brochure should have said 'duty-free AND tax exempt.' He promised the post office would correct the oversight in future printings. As for the five buck per package duty, the minister responsible for Canada Post - Public Works Minister Alfonso Gagliano - added that Canada Post charges the $5 handling fee for turning over parcel duties and the GST to Revenue Canada.

Now this is customer service with a twist. Imagine if the Bay charged you five bucks per purchase, as a 'handling fee' for turning over the GST to Revenue Canada. Part of the reason governments turned former departments into Crown corporations was to improve their service to the public. If Norm Dick's experience with Canada Post is any indication, Canada Post and 'customer service' are still oxymorons.