Dear Editor:
Eliminating door-to-door mail delivery to Canadians runs contrary to a fundamental principle of our democracy: governments are elected to provide services which maintain and, ideally, enhance the quality of life of its citizens.
Not long ago, this Conservative government justified legislating striking Canada Post letter carriers back to work by claiming they were "essential" to Canadians.
Today, the same government would have us believe that door-to-door mail delivery is now a luxury - not a necessity. Try telling that to seniors who depend on its security and convenience; to people with disabilities who rely on its accessibility; and to small businesses who count on its consistency. There's also the environmental argument in favour of home delivery over so-called "super mailboxes."
First, not everyone can reside within a stone's throw of one of these super mailboxes. The cancellation of home service will inevitably cause people to get in their cars to drive out to retrieve their mail.
Second, in addition to leaving a larger eco-footprint, having no home delivery will make it harder on the millions of Canadians not fortunate enough to live in our mild West Coast climate.
While braving one of their worst winters on record, Winnipeggers could at least bank on one thing other than -40 C degree temperatures when
they opened their front doors: their mail.
And, despite the ever-increasing flow of information digitally, there remains an important function for Canada Post in our wired world; namely, protecting the privacy of our personal and professional communications.
Super mailboxes are already prime targets for mail and identity theft by sophisticated criminals who've now begun to trade in their crowbars for illegally-produced master keys.
But this isn't just about mail disappearing. It's about the loss of thousands of decent-paying jobs for Canadian workers, not to mention the loss of a national institution as old as Confederation itself.
Like every other G8 country, Canada deserves an administratively lean (I mean, do we really need 22 presidents and vice-presidents making a combined $10 million annually?), forward-thinking, multi-faceted, door-to-door, public postal system serving to connect communities from coast to coast to coast.
And if this federal government can't deliver the goods, then let's send a message of our own with a stamp of disapproval on Election Day 2015.
Harman Pandher, Burnaby
