Postal service stays quiet on vanishing letter boxes
If you think it’s hard to find a letter box in Penticton these days, you haven’t tried pressing Canada Post for information about those letter boxes.
While a spokesperson for the Crown corporation confirmed in a series of emails to The Herald that there are just 21 letter boxes left in Penticton after 25 were removed from service in recent months due to vandalism, she wouldn’t say where they are.
“For the security and safety of the mail and our street furniture, we do not disclose this information,” wrote Eunice Machuhi.
Elsewhere in the Okanagan, there are 77 letter boxes left in Kelowna and 112 in Vernon, according to Machuhi, who wouldn’t say precisely how those numbers have changed over time, except to claim they’ve “remained relatively consistent over the years.”
And don’t expect answers from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, which didn’t respond to a request for comment.
That lack of information — and lack of letter boxes — is a source of concern for Penticton senior Jan Higgins, who sends an average of two pieces of mail per week. “It’s frustrating,” she said.
“And there’s no word out that they’re going to replace these boxes. There was very little said when it happened. It probably happens in other places – they’re just removed. It’s very frustrating.”
Higgins likened the demise of the postal service to death by a thousand cuts.
“Just cut (mail delivery) out or go to only delivering packages if that’s what you want to do — and don’t have government offices saying you can mail in stuff,” she suggested.
Despite the disappearing letter boxes, Machuhi said, there are still approximately 250 community mailboxes and three postal outlets in Penticton where people can still drop off letters.
“We encourage anyone who witnesses any suspicious activity to immediately inform the authorities and Canada Post customer service at 1-866-607-6301,” she added.