🍁 civid v1

Status

• Bill C-262 was introduced at first reading on March 9, 2026. It would amend the Canada Post Corporation Act.

Postal service and exclusive privilege

• Canada Post would be prohibited from refusing to provide postal service for the interprovincial collection, transmission and delivery of beer, wine or spirits directly to consumers.
• Canada Post would receive the sole and exclusive privilege to provide that service within Canada. Its existing exclusive privilege for letters would remain.
• The bill uses definitions of beer, wine and spirits from federal excise legislation.
• The service obligation and initial exclusive privilege would take effect three months after royal assent.

Trusted carriers

• An exception to Canada Post’s alcohol-delivery privilege for designated trusted carriers would take effect one year after royal assent.
• The Governor in Council could make regulations establishing designation processes and criteria, designating common carriers or classes of carriers, and governing their alcohol deliveries and oversight. Criteria could address age verification and secure handling and delivery.
• In the absence of regulations, the Minister could designate a common carrier or class of carriers as trusted carriers.
• The Minister would have to publish a list of trusted carriers on the departmental website and update it within 30 days after a designation or loss of designation. These provisions would take effect three months after royal assent.

Who is affected

• The bill would affect Canada Post, consumers receiving interprovincial alcohol deliveries, and common carriers seeking to provide those deliveries.