Postal Rates Effective March 31, 2014

 On March 31, 2014, domestic U.S.A., and international letter rates were increased.

A. Domestic

Canada Post introduced a three-tier pricing structure for domestic lettermail up to 30g and up to 50g:

• Stamps in bookets/coils/panes
• Meter or Postal Indicia
• Single Stamps 

 

1. Standard 

a) 1st Weight step : up to 30g 

i) Stamps in booklets/coils/panes : $0.85

  

63 cent stamps issued December 11, 2013 uprated with 22 cent Monarch Butterfly definitive

  Hay River to Kanata, March 31, 2014

First day of $0.85 rate
22 cent makeup rate stamp + 63 cent Canada Flag definitive stamp

Creston to Kanata, March 31, 2014

First day of $0.85 rate
22 cent makeup rate stamp + 63 cent Queen Elizabeth II definitive stamp

Invermay, Sask.,  to Kanata, March 31, 2014

First day of $0.85 rate
22 cent makeup rate stamp + 63 cent Baby Wildlife definitive stamp

  Permanent Stamps ($0.85) issued March 31, 2014

 

 Booklet : 85 cents

March 31, 2014

 

 Ashton to Kanata, March 31, 2014

First day of $0.85 rate and UNESCO booklet issue first day

 Coil : 85 cents

March 31, 2014

 Toronto to Brampton, April 30, 2014

Baby Wildlife permanent coil stamp paying the $0.85 rate

ii) Meter or Postal Indicia : $0.75

Milton to Brampton, April 17, 2014

75 cents lettermail meter rate 

iii) Single Stamp(s) : $1.00

Merrickville to Kanata, March 31, 2014

First day of $1.00 rate

Postal labels were also used to indicate payment of the $1.00 single stamp rate:

Islington to Kanata, April 8, 2014

$1.00 letter rate

b) 2nd Weight Step : over 30g up to 50g

The 2nd weight step standard letter rate was increased from $1.10 to $1.20 (stamps) and $1.10 (meter or postal indicia)

 

i)Stamps : $1.20   

 (not shown)

ii)Meter or Postal Indicia : $1.15

Toronto to Brampton, May 2, 2014

$1.15 meter 30 -50g standard lettermail rate

2.  Domestic Non-Standard and Oversize

The first weight step for 100g was increased from $1.34 to $1.80 (stamps) and $1.60 (meter or postal indicia rate)

B. U.S.A. Letter-post

The 30g. letter rate to the United States was increased from $1.10 to $1.20.

C. International Letter-post

The 30g. international letter rate was increased from $1.85 to $2.50.

Saskatoon to Andorra, May 3, 2014

$2.50 international letter rate

$2.50 coil stamp

Oxfam-Canada Stamp Programme

Oxfam is an international confederation of 17 organizations networked together in 94 countries, dedicated to finding  "practical, innovative ways for people to lift themselves out of poverty and thrive." Among its many fund raising projects is the Oxfam-Canada Stamp programme which  raises about $20,000 yearly to fund overseas projects from mail order sales, auctions and stamp shows such as Orapex.

Long-time readers of this site know that this is a "commercial-free" zone, but I will make an exception for the Oxfam stamp programme. I attended the Orapex show in Ottawa this year primarily to visit the Oxfam stamp table. I was not disappointed. Some of the covers I purchased are shown below.  Mr. Bill Woodley, who manages the program, was looking after the table on Saturday morning. Not only was he busy catering to several collectors, he was recruiting volunteers. A video interview of Mr. Woodley can be seen HERE. The next Oxfam stamp auction will be held on June 6, 2014.

To see the auction catalogue click on here :  Oxfam-Canada Stamp programme.

Now, a look at some of the covers I purchased from Oxfam:

1. Oxfam Personalized Stamp

The 2012 cover shown below mailed from Oxfam's National Office was franked with Oxfam's personalized  "TOGETHER WE CAN STAMP OUT POVERTY"

Ottawa to Toronto, February 8, 2012

2. Void Business Reply Mail

Canada Post provides this definition of  Business Reply Mail:

Business Reply Mail (BRM) service is a direct response vehicle that is used by businesses, publishers, government departments, fundraisers and other organizations to seek responses from recipients within Canada (domestic Business Reply Mail) and from recipients around the world (international Business Reply Mail).

 Customers pay an annual, non-refundable fee and then only pay for items that are returned to them.

To be eligible to use the Business Reply Mail service, the items mailed must meet the criteria specified for the Business Reply Mail service as shown below.

The Business Reply Mail letter shown below is interesting because the sender used an Oxfam Toronto BRM envelope, whited-out the address and re-addressed it to the Oxfam Stamp Programme in Ottawa. The sender invalidated the BRM service and the letter was taxed by Canada Post as unpaid lettermail. 

The sender "defaced" the envelope, voiding the BRM service

"Void when coated, covered, defaced, reused or taped over" handstamp

Taxation Analyis

Taxed $1.84, Manual Sortation Short Paid Mail, Ottawa, November 11, 2011

The tax on short paid mail delivered to an addressee is equal to the amount short paid plus the "deficient postage rate" (which has been the same as the standard size 30g. letter rate since 1987). 

Amount Due = deficient postage + deficient postage rate

Deficient Postage Rate 2011

In 2011, the standard size 30g. letter rate was $0.59. Therefore, the deficient postage rate was $0.59.

Amount Due : $1.84

To calculate the amount of the deficient postage :

$1.25 is the "Other Letternail" rate for letters up to 100g.

Modern postal history appeals to a rather small group of collectors, but for me can be as interesting as covers from the pre-stamp period.


3. Rate Covers

Oxfam removes the return addresses from the covers it sells to ensure the privacy of the senders.

 Letter rates from March 31, 2014

1. Stamps in booklets, coils, panes : $0.85

 

 22 cent uprate stamp issued on March 31, 2014

 Hay River to Kanata, March 31, 2014

First day of $0.85 rate

UNESCO $0.85 permanent stamp from booklet

Ashton to Kanata, March 31, 2014

First day of $0.85 rate and UNESCO issue first day

2. Single Stamps : $1.00

Merrickville to Kanata, March 31, 2014

First day of $1.00 rate

Islington to Kanata, April 8, 2014

$1.00 letter rate

Other Oxfam covers will be added to older posts.

Millennium 23 : National Film Board of Canada

[This post is another in a series  profiling each of the 68 stamps issued by Canada Post Corporation on September 15, 1999 on the occasion of the new Millennium. Links to previously published posts are listed at the bottom of this page.]

The National Film Board of Canada  (NFB) is a federal cultural agency within the portfolio of the Canadian Heritage Department. Initially known as the National Film Commission, it was created by an act of Parliament in 1939. Its mandate, as set forth in the National Film Act, 1950, is “to produce and distribute and to promote the production and distribution of films designed to interpret Canada to Canadians and to other nations.”

75th Anniversary Commemoration : May 2, 2014 

A set of five stamps in booklet format and a souvenir sheet were issued by Canada Post Corporation to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NFB.

  Souvenir Sheet

The Government of Canada issued a  news release on April 29, 2014 providing the following "Quick Facts" about the NFB:

•    The NFB is founded in 1939 by documentary pioneer John Grierson in accordance with the recommendations of the National Film Act, laying the foundation for a homegrown film industry.  

•    In 1941, Norman McLaren joins the NFB to open its animation studio and pioneer breakthroughs across a range of animation techniques. 

•    The first Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject goes to the NFB, for Churchill's Island, beginning a string of successes that would see the NFB win 12 Oscars―and garner 72 nominations, more than any film organization in the world outside Hollywood. 

•    In 1964, the NFB establishes its French production branch, reinforcing the NFB's leadership role in francophone filmmaking and helping to build a distinct national cinema in Quebec. 

•    The NFB's immersive multiscreen experience In the Labyrinth creates a sensation at Expo 67 in Montreal, leading to the invention of the giant-screen IMAX format. 

•    In the 1980s, Winnipeg takes the global stage as a centre of animation excellence, with such classics as Richard Condie's The Big Snit and Cordell Barker's The Cat Came Back. 

•    In 1993, Alanis Obomsawin's documentary film Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance is named Best Canadian Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival. 

•    In 2009, the NFB launches its online Screening Room and establishes digital production studios in Vancouver and Montreal that have produced such acclaimed works as Welcome to Pine Point, Bear 71 and the interactive animation BLA BLA. 

•    In 2012, Sarah Polley completes Stories We Tell, one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful Canadian documentaries of all time. 

•    As the NFB marks its 75th anniversary, NFB.ca and partner platforms have surpassed 50 million viewings, with NFB interactive productions and digital platforms winning over 100 awards, including 7 Webbys.

The Millennium Stamp

1.  Millennium Collection Album

The National Film Board stamp was one of 68 Millennium stamps first issued in a hardbound book, Canada Post The Millennium Collection : Expressions of a People, on September 15, 1999. The stamps were printed two to a page.

National Film Board and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation stamps were printed on the same page

2. Millennium Collection Souvenir Sheet

Canada Post Corporation re-issued the Millennium stamps in panes of 4 stamps issued over a three month period from December 17, 1999 to March 17, 2000. The souvenir sheet with the National Film Board stamp was released on December 17, 2000.

 

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Millennium Stamp Collection

1. Wikipedia :  Canada Post Millennium Stamps
(This site describes the stamps and provides links to article dealing with each subject.)

2. Postal History Corner articles:

 
1. L'Anse aux Meadows

2. Pier 21

3. Pontiac

4. Tom Longboat

5. Inuit Shaman

6. Healing From Within

7. Hudson's Bay Company 

8. Bell Canada Enterprises

9. Neptune Theatre 

23. National Film Board