Canada Post’s plan to cut door-to-door service will reach Yorkton in the fall of next year, but the Canadian Union of Postal Workers hopes that they can put enough pressure on the government to change their direction. They recently held a town hall meeting to talk to concerned citizens about community mailboxes and put pressure on the government and Canada Post to reverse their plans.
Gord Fisher, National Director for the CUPW Prairie Region, says that they hope they can turn the tide on the changes to Canada Post, and he believes people do not want to see the service cut.
“Canada Post may have changes they need to make, but this shouldn’t be one of them, to deprive customers that need the service.”
The main concern for the CUPW is the customers, though he recognizes that there will also be a reduction in the number of carriers in Yorkton, and Fisher predicts that the number of mail carriers in Yorkton will be halved once the changes are complete.
There have been problems across the board with the community mailboxes as implemented, Fisher says, whether it’s the location selected, litter problems, issues with snow removal and a risk of mail theft. He says in BC there have already been many reports of theft, for example, and snow clearance issues have already become a major concern in communities such as Fort McMurray.
“We can’t forget about the intangible things. For a person who is elderly, and may be fit and able to go to a group mailbox at this point in time, the fact is that if they’re living at home alone having someone come to the door every day is a measure of security for them. There’s numerous cases we know of where letter carriers have identified that there was a problem at a place because nobody was picking up the mail.”
While Canada Post has said that the changes will be necessary for financial stability, Fisher says that the corporation has been profitable for the majority of the past 20 years, and also has been profitable so far in 2014, with the fourth quarter the corporation’s traditional high water mark. Fisher believes that the financial situation in 2014 proves that door-to-door is financially viable.
“One of the reasons they were saying they are making these changes is they are projecting a $258 million deficit, that turned out to be a lie. They are probably more likely to make $200 million this year.”
Fisher hopes that mail delivery becomes an election issue, and says that people who want to keep door-to-door need to make sure that their representatives know how they feel and how it will influence their vote in 2015.
“To eliminate these types of services is just not something governments should be able to do and expect to be re-elected.”
