Burnaby-New Westminster MP Peter Julian is hosting a town hall meeting on Canada Post's plan to phase out door-to-door delivery.
The country's postal service is facing financial pressure and replacing door-to-door service with community boxes, or "super boxes," where customers pick up their own mail - something both the City of Burnaby and Julian oppose.
"The biggest concern, of course, is super boxes are getting the reputation as being candy stores for thieves. There have been thousands of super boxes broken into," Julian told the NOW. "There are also major concerns on the impact on seniors, people with disabilities, and local businesses."
At the meeting, Julian plans to talk about what the government should be doing, while listening to any concerns residents might bring up.
According to Julian, Canada will be the only country in the G8 that doesn't provide home delivery service. Meanwhile, other countries with public mail systems are turning a profit by expanding into other services, like money transfers and home shopping delivery, he said.
"This government can't even deliver the mail," he added.
The town hall meeting is set for Thursday, March 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Nikkei Centre, at 6688 Southoaks Cres.
Julian's office is also collecting signatures for a petition calling on the federal government to reject Canada Post plans to reduce services.
Last month, Canada Post announced the first round of communities slated for service reductions in 2014. While Burnaby was not on that list, Canada Post spokesperson Eugene Knapik could not say when the community boxes would start showing up in local neighbourhoods.
"At some point this year, we'll know what communities will be affected next year," he said. "At this time, I don't know."
Knapik explained that Canada Post is delivering fewer items, and changes must be made for the service to be self-sustaining.
"We know if we don't make some changes, we're going to lose money," he said. According to Knapik, buildings with mail rooms - apartments, condos and seniors' homes, for instance - will not be affected by the service cuts, but door-to-door delivery will be phased out.
Knapik also said Canada Post is committed to gathering public feedback on the changes and working with people who are older and have mobility challenges.
