John Caines works in Public Relations with Canada Post.

He says although there is no basic domestic letter rate increase for 2008, there is one for letters destined for the US and other countries.

Letters, cards or postcards going to the US are gone up by 3 cents and now costs 0.96 cents to mail.

In the meantime letters destined for international destinations are gone up by 5 cents and now cost $1.60.

He says there is a price cap formula for domestic rate increases – the annual rate inflation.

And the inflation rate for 2008 was not high enough to warrant a domestic letter rate increase.

But fuel costs, transportation costs and what is called “terminal dues” necessitated rate adjustments to letters going to the US and overseas.

Caines says Canada Post has a policy that increases be implemented once a year only, and that the proposed increases be announced no later than July 1^st of each year.