Postal workers take their campaign to the streets

Letter carriers ask federal government to bring back door-to-door mail delivery

Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Services walked the streets of Calgary on Saturday — not to deliver the mail — but to make the case for the return of door-to-door service.

Small groups from the union made their way around the community of Marlborough, speaking with residents and handing out postcards addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The postcards are intended to pressure the Liberals to follow through with the campaign promise of restoring door-to-door mail service. The postal service began converting to community mailboxes in 2015 under the watch of the previous federal Conservative government. Nearly 900,000 Canadian households were converted by the time Canada Post froze the program when the Liberals took office in 2015.

Union representative Suzie Moore said 110 people in Calgary lost their jobs due to the service change.

“It would be great for our economy here in Calgary to get 110 more jobs back,” she said.

The door-to-door postal service also tends to be the eyes and ears of the community, Moore said.

The service has even helped save people’s lives, she added.

“We have actually stopped crime from happening because we’re there and we see them. We’ve helped children get back to their homes, lost pets, we’ve helped seniors shovel their sidewalks.”

People have also raised concerns about the location of some of the new community mailboxes, particularly in winter when the boxes can become difficult to access.

Last December, a House of Commons committee recommended Canada Post come up with a plan to reinstate door-to-door delivery in parts of the country that lost the service in the past year and maintain a freeze on the installation of community mailboxes.

The committee said at the time that 830,000 addresses had been moved to community mailboxes to date, resulting in an annual savings of $80 million.

A consultant’s report provided to the federal task force struck to review Canada Post operations, which the committee quoted in its report, predicted that Canada Post wouldn’t be viable in the long-term without sweeping changes.

The Ernst & Young report forecast annual losses of at least $700 million by 2026.

The Liberal government is expected to make a decision by the end of spring.

RYAN McLEOD Suzie Moore, first vice-president Canadian Union of Postal Workers in Calgary, was one of those taking to the streets Saturday seeking support for the return of door-to-door delivery. Moore said postal workers provide a unique community service well beyond just delivering the mail.