Canada Post suspends community mailbox installations

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 27, 2015
By Chris Simon

Some municipalities battled hard to slow down Canada Post's community mailbox installations in recent months, but all they really needed was a change in federal government.

The Crown corporation announced plans to temporarily suspend the Canadawide switch from door-to-door delivery to a community mailbox format.

About 460,000 Canadian addresses are currently in the conversion process, but all conversions planned for November and December, as well as those announced for 2016, will be placed on hold. Affected customers will receive a letter within the next few weeks, to advise them of the status of their mail delivery.

In neighbourhoods where the conversion process is already complete, customers will collect mail and parcels at community mailboxes. That should include many residents who are scheduled to begin receiving items in the community boxes this month.

While the Liberals discussed this move during the recent federal election campaign, the quick action still comes as a bit of a surprise to Aurora councillor Tom Mrakas, who advocated for a permitting process to allow the town to maintain control over any boulevards on which the boxes would be installed.

"It seemed like we were in a state of limbo," he said. "We were supposed to start with the mail being delivered to (many) community mailboxes yesterday. From what I'm hearing from residents, they're actually receiving a letter saying they will continue to receive door-to-door for the time being.

“I'm not sure where that puts us. I'm trying to come up with the numbers of how many have not yet been installed. I want us to have a say in where the boxes are located. It's more about our rights as a community. We weren't looking the halt the program."

In Newmarket, council toyed with the idea of fighting the installations earlier this year, but ultimately backed down after Canada Post won a legal victory over the City of Hamilton. The city required Canada Post to obtain permits to install boxes on municipal land, but an Ontario judge found those rules did not apply to the mail deliverer.

Aurora recently created its own $50 excavation permit fee per location, after striking a deal with Canada Post. With 179 community mailbox installations scheduled within the town’s borders, the municipality planned to collect nearly $9,000 in revenue.

"It's the first signal of a government that's outwardly engaged,” Newmarket councillor Joe Sponga said of the incoming federal government. “It's a great sign that they're actually listening to municipalities. I'm very excited.

“There's a lot of uncertainty as to what's going to happen, but at least they'll have the opportunity to have dialogue and ensure that if this program does move ahead, it's done in the right manner. Municipalities have very strict accessibility policies. We try to make our municipality as walkable as possible. We have issues around traffic safety.

“I'm not going to try to second guess the decision of a federal government while I sit on a municipal council. I'm not necessarily opposed to the (conversion); I'm opposed to the way it was rolled out."

Roughly 200 community mailboxes are supposed to be erected in Newmarket.

Sponga also worries the municipality will become responsible for installing sidewalks and lighting and clearing garbage and snow in the area near the mailboxes.

The conversion is part of the service’s long-term action plan. Other changes include the introduction of a tiered pricing structure, the expansion of franchised offices, streamlining operations and addressing labour costs.

Canada Post is expected to save about $700 million to $900 million per year once the plan is fully implemented, with the community mailbox conversion accounting for about $500 million of that.

"We will work collaboratively with the Government of Canada to determine the best path forward given the ongoing challenges faced by the Canadian postal system," said Canada Post in the release. "We remain focused on maintaining reliable postal service to all Canadians without disruption."