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OTTAWA – The lobby group representing Canada’s big banks says Canada Post should not be allowed to expand onto its turf as a means of generating needed revenue.

The Canadian Bankers Association says there is no public policy objective or existing gap in the marketplace that would warrant a Crown corporation becoming a retail bank.

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In a brief to the federal task force reviewing Canada Post, the bankers association says Canadians already enjoy widespread access to a highly competitive range of financial services.

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While Canada Post itself has said little about getting into banking, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has strongly promoted the idea.

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Postal services in many other countries provide banking services, and Canada had such a system from shortly after Confederation until 1969.

The union says while thousands of towns and villages across Canada do not have a bank, many of them have a post office that could provide financial and banking services.