The threat of losing home-delivery by Canada Post is something North Battleford doesn’t want to experience again.
To that end, council heard from Marc Roy, of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, on the issue of mail delivery across Canada at their meeting Monday night.
What Roy was seeking from council was a resolution requesting support for the reinstatement of door-to-door mail delivery.
In general, council was supportive of Roy’s presentation. As for a resolution from council, there was some discussion about it but it was been decided that will be brought forward to a later meeting.
Roy reminded council of what almost happened in 2015, when North Battleford was slated to lose door-to-door mail delivery routes under the Stephen Harper government.
The intention by Canada Post was to switch over to community mailboxes.
But the 2015 election result changed those plans. A week after the Liberals and new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won a majority, the changeover was suspended – a move that was welcomed by Roy and his union.
“The transition to community mailboxes from door-to-door delivery is a job killer,” said Roy. “That means middle class wages taken from local economies, and financial uncertainty for individuals and families.”
The standing committee on government operations and estimates has since held public consultations on Canada Post, and issued 45 recommendations to be sent to federal Minister of Public Services and Procurement Judy Foote.
Among the main ones are maintaining the moratorium on post office closures, maintaining the moratorium on community mailbox conversions, and studying how to transform post offices into community hubs.
Roy asked council to make a motion to send a resolution to Foote calling on the federal government to accept the recommendations of the standing committee, to reinstate door-to-door delivery in those communities that lost services and to maintain the moratorium on community mailbox conversions.
Mayor Bater confirmed that there is door-to-door mail delivery throughout the city, with the exception of Fairview and the new portion of Killdeer.
