by Kevin Werner Hamilton Mountain News
Federal Public Works Minister Carla Qualtrough announced Jan. 24 the Liberals will not reconvert neighbourhoods that once had door-to-door mail delivery but now have community mailboxes. – By Kevin Werner, HCN
Hamilton Mountain MP Scott Duvall blasted the Liberal government after the public works minister announced it was scrapping a program to replace door-to-door mail deliver with community mailboxes.
“Obviously, I’m very disappointed,” said Duvall. “The committee recommended returning to door-to-door delivery. (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau just completely said no. He disregarded it.”
The Liberal-dominated parliamentary committee recommended increases in postal rates, reinstating door-to-door delivery and providing cellular services or broadband internet in its December 2016 report.
Hamilton Mountain Coun. Tom Jackson found the decision bittersweet. He said lower Hamilton households will be spared the door-to-door conversion 36,000 homes on the Mountain and in parts of Stoney Creek had to endure.
“People have resigned themselves to the fact there is no reconversions back to door-to-door,” he said.
Jackson, Duvall and Ward 8’s Terry Whitehead all fought Canada Post’s decision to eliminate door-to-door service a few years ago.
Duvall said he has received messages from a number of Hamiltonians, disappointed in the Liberals decision.
“It’s another broken promise,” he said.
Converting the remaining 4.2 million households was projected to save about $350 million. The conversions were halted soon after the Liberals took office in 2015.
Terry Langley, president of Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Local 548, said he was frustrated the government failed to live up to its campaign promises. He said the union was also disappointed on the lack of action to incorporate postal banking, while also seeking to cut delivery by studying alternative day delivery models.
“We will continue to push for service expansion in place of service cuts,” he said.
While mail delivery by postal workers has dropped dramatically over the years, Canada Post has seen parcel volumes jump by almost 39 per cent in the third quarter of 2017.