Canada Post announced October 26 that conversions of door-to-door mail delivery to community mailboxes planned for November and December of this year and 2016 were being put on hold.
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John Wastell, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Kitchener-Waterloo chapter, said Waterloo Region has not converted any door-to-door delivery services to community mailboxes yet.
Ken Stone, a well-known activist who camped out to prevent Canada Post from installing a controversial community mailbox at East 34th Street and Brucedale Avenue, said halting the conversion is a “very good step” but doesn’t go far enough.
“Efforts are now underway to place the comprehensive program on hold in an orderly fashion”.
Letters are expected to be sent out in the next few weeks informing impacted customers of their status.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers told The Canadian Press that it was pleased by the announcement.
In response, the Crown Corporation is putting the brakes on the process for the time being.
In launching the program in 2013, Canada Post had said it would run up a debt of almost Can$1 billion by 2020 if its business model did not change, particularly due to the rising costs of pensions.
The Crown corporation announced Monday it is “temporarily suspending” the deployment pending discussions with the incoming Liberal government on how “to determine the best path forward given the ongoing challenges faced by the Canadian postal system”.
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Canada Post Group includes the Canada Post mail service, Purolator and other businesses.
