Council posts disapproval of change
[attach]7538[/attach]City council is asking the federal government to direct Canada Post to continue door-to-door mail delivery, even as the crown corporation begins to phase out home delivery in favour of community mailboxes.
A motion to ask for government intervention passed 39-2 on Feb. 20, the day Canada Post announced that 11 communities across Canada would be losing door-to-door service in the first move toward implementing a five-year plan it expects will save as much as a half billion dollars a year. None were in Toronto.
Don Valley West councillor John Parker was one of the two who voted against, calling it nothing more than “a feel-good motion” and saying what he wants is to find a “satisfactory postal service in this country at a cost the taxpayers can bear.”
“Nobody’s happy that the word has come out that the Post Office is looking at amending the nature of their service to cut costs,” Parker acknowledged, but said it makes sense that Canada Post is looking at ways of streamlining their operation in light of the postal service “operating at an enormous loss right now.”
But the issue isn’t just money, argues St. Paul’s councillor Josh Matlow.
“I would challenge them to go to any Canadian walking down the street and ask them if they were aware of their plans before they unilaterally announced them,” he said, referring to the December announcement that door-to-door delivery would be phased out in many communities.
“I think the answer would be no.”
Canada Post officials said discussions had been held with residential and business customers across the country in order to develop a five-point action plan, which has yet to be unveiled. But for Matlow, who says many local seniors have contacted him with concerns about the service, that process wasn’t good enough.
“At the very least, I want them to conduct a sincere public consultation process and answer how seniors and others with mobility challenges will be directly accommodated,” he said.