Canada Post: door to door delivery out, community mailboxes in

Oct 20, 2014 | Biz/Tech, News

By Marlon Gomez

Canada Post’s phase out of door-to-door mail delivery began today and many Canadians will now have to pick up their mail at community mailboxes.

Canadians living in 10 out of the 11 communities listed below will no longer have their mail delivered to their homes. The list also includes the number of addresses in each community that will be directly affected.

Photo Credit: Humber News  screen shot of an email sent by Anick Losier, Media Relations Director for Canada Post.

Photo Credit: Humber News screen shot of an email sent by Anick Losier, Media Relations Director for Canada Post.

Oakville is scheduled to transition to the new system starting in November, said Anick Loiser, Media Relations Director for Canada Post.

Canada Post said they had notified those households affected by this decision through mail.

People living in condos or those in rural areas with a mailbox at the end of their driveway will still get door mail delivery. Businesses within business corridors in addition to businesses with high volumes of mail will still get their mailed delivered to their door.

Over the next five years an estimated five million addresses will have to adjust to the community mailbox system. This system is already in place in many subdivisions across the country.

The Conference Board of Canada was asked by Canada Post to conduct a study on the outlook and future options of the postal service. The results of that study in 2013 estimated that the loss of mail volumes will cause Canada Post to lose one billion dollars a year by 2020.

The recommendations from the study led Canada Post to create a Five-point Action Plan to reduce their operating costs and stop future deficit. Removing door-to-door mail delivery is one the five key-points.

The study found door-to-door mail delivery is the most expensive method. The average annual cost per address for door-to-door is $269 versus group mailbox which costs $117.

Photo credit: The Conference Board of Canada study.  "The Future of Postal Service in Canada."

Photo credit: The Conference Board of Canada study. “The Future of Postal Service in Canada.”

“Canadians face a fundamental challenge: they still reply on postal service but are steadily shifting communications from physical to digital,” according to a statement made by The Conference Board of Canada in their study titled The Future of Postal Service in Canada. “This is driving down the volume of mail even as the number of addresses to be served continue to rise.”

Canada Post reported an operating loss of $269 million for 2013. The statement also said Transaction Mail volumes are down by 30 per cent and have been steadily dropping since 2007.

Photo credit: The Conference Board of Canada study.  "The Future of Postal Service in Canada."

Photo credit: The Conference Board of Canada study. “The Future of Postal Service in Canada.”

 

Canada Post estimated that the community mailbox system will save them about $400 to $500 million a year.

Humber News went on Canada Post’s website to see what areas would be affected within the GTA.

The areas in green are currently serviced by community mailboxes. The purple areas are currently scheduled for transition to community mailbox delivery. The blue lines represent businesses located in an area that will continue with their current delivery method.

Markham:

Photo Credit: Humber News screen shot from Canada Post website.

Photo Credit: Humber News screen shot from Canada Post website.

 

Oakville:

Photo Credit: Humber News screen shot from Canada Post website.

Photo Credit: Humber News screen shot from Canada Post website.

 

Georgetown:

Photo Credit: Humber News screen shot from Canada Post website.

Photo Credit: Humber News screen shot from Canada Post website.

 

Milton:

 

Photo Credit: Humber News screen shot from Canada Post website.

Photo Credit: Humber News screen shot from Canada Post website.

 

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has launched a legal challenge to try and stop the attempt to end home mail delivery. Earlier today they went to parliament hill in Ottawa and put a community mail box on their walkway.

Susan Dixon a Cambridge resident in Ontario has started her own petition on change.org and plans to hand deliver it to parliament on Oct. 21. Dixon is a mother of two children and one of her boys has Cerebral Palsy.

“For me, Canada Post’s decision would mean having to bundle them up and struggle through the snow with a wheelchair just to get our mail.  And I am just one of thousands of Canadians who must already overcome mobility challenges on a daily basis,” said Dixon on her petition web page. 

We’ve talked with dozens of regional and national organizations with experience and expertise to help us build on what we’ve been doing for 30 years to address senior, disability and mobility related challenges,” said Losier in an email to Humber News.

Various options will be provided at no charge for those people who need additional assistance to retrieve their mail. These options will be offered permanently and temporarily such as winter months, said Losier in an email to Humber News.

Dennis Lemelin, the President of CUPW, spoke to Humber Radio earlier today. The interview was conducted by Vanessa Marciano. Click on the bar below to listen to it.

 

Canada Post put out a news release on Oct. 16 saying they’re confident their five-point action plan will hold up to legal scrutiny.

The next phase for addresses being switched over to community mailboxes will begin in early 2015. Here’s a list of the communities and the number of addresses affected.

Photo Credit: Humber News screen shot of email sent by Anick Losier, Director of Media Relations for Canada Post.

Photo Credit: Humber News screen shot of email sent by Anick Losier, Director of Media Relations for Canada Post.