Council Signs Canada Post Resolution

Mayor Dennis O’Keefe remains deeply concerned about Canada Post’s recently announced Five Point Action Plan which would see significant changes to mail delivery in Canada.
 
“The Federation of Canadian Municipalities Big City Mayors’ Caucus met recently and as the mayors of Canada’s largest cities we collectively have grave concerns about Canada Post’s announcement and its impact on municipalities and our residents,” says Mayor Dennis O’Keefe. “I and the other members of the caucus are all bringing forth resolutions which clearly state our concerns and the actions we feel Canada Post should take.”
 
There are five key areas outlined in the resolution which are of concern to the Big City Mayors’ Caucus:

• New tiered pricing model for letter mail which will significantly increase the costs of municipal mail-outs;
• Elimination of non-commercial door-to-door delivery, which could undermine local strategies and processes aimed at fostering and supporting age/disability-friendly communities;
• Elimination of 6,000 to 8,000 quality jobs, which will have a significant impact on local economies;
• New community mailboxes could entail the downloading of responsibilities, costs and liabilities to local governments;
• The lack of consultation with municipalities regarding these proposed changes to Canada Post’s service model.

“Council and I feel very strongly that the elimination of door-to-door service will have a significant impact on our community and for this reason Council passed an amended BCMC resolution calling for Canada Post to reverse their decision to halt service,” says Mayor O’Keefe. “We also want commitments from Canada Post that these proposed changes will not download the costs and maintenance of community mailboxes onto municipalities without the proper consultation and compensation.”
 
The resolution was brought before council at its March 18 council meeting.
 
For further information:
Jennifer Mills
Communications Officer
City of St. John's
Phone: (709) 570-2037
Cell: (709) 690-7586
E-mail: jmills@stjohns.ca