A Charlottetown resident and businessman says Canada Post is disrupting the privacy of thousands of city area residents.
Norman Sahely says he feels powerless to stop the postal service from putting one of its community mailboxes right next to a house he rents out on the corner of Bungalow and Century streets in Charlottetown.
“It’s sad to see. If we can’t even afford simple (door-to-door) mail delivery then God help this country,’’ Sahely told The Guardian on Thursday.
Contractors have been putting down concrete bases all over the greater Charlottetown area for the past few weeks.
“I feel bad for everybody. I’m not too happy about it but apparently there’s nothing I can do. I did phone them four to five months ago and I told them I didn’t want this on my property,’’ Sahely said.
“They told me they would send somebody and, of course, no one showed up until last Friday evening.’’
Just three days later they were back putting in a concrete base for two mailboxes.
The Guardian spoke to other home owners who will have boxes located nearby as well. Many seemed resigned to their fate. One man said he spoke with a Canada Post representative a few months ago qand felt they were receptive to his concerns but that the Crown corporation just seems to be pushing ahead anyway.
A Stratford resident said Canada Post representatives may have knocked on doors but did so when people weren’t home and didn’t bother coming back.
Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee says the city has been opposed to the super mailboxes from the beginning but there is little it can do to stop it.
Lee said the city passed more than one resolution opposing the move but the city was told by the federal minister responsible for the postal corporation that while the city’s position was appreciated federal legislation allows the corporation to go ahead with it anyway.
Lee said planning staff were consulted but only so that boxes were not placed in locations over underground piping and impeded sightlines for motorists.
“We didn’t offer locations for these boxes because we weren’t going to start to pick which property owners would get a community mailbox outside their home,’’ Lee said.
Coun. Mitchell Tweel says residents in Ward 4 aren’t happy at all, calling this “an unmitigated disaster’’.
Tweel is calling on Canada Post to stop the installation work immediately and wait until after the federal election, hoping that if the government changes the initiative may be stopped altogether.
Anick Losier, spokeswoman for Canada Post, said door-to-door mail delivery will stop within the next two months for about 10,000 residents in the greater Charlottetown area.
“Ultimately, this is a change we need to make in order to preserve the postal service,’’ Losier said.
Losier said residents impacted by the mailbox locations were contacted by letter and some residents did get personal visits back in March and April.
“Every time there was a suggestion or a complaint we made it our policy to investigate . . . unfortunately, it’s not always possible to make the change,’’ Losier said.
Anyone who still has concerns is asked to call Canada Post toll free at 1-844-454-3009. She said they would look into it if there is a serious safety concern with the site.
A Charlottetown resident and businessman says Canada Post is disrupting the privacy of thousands of city area residents.
Norman Sahely says he feels powerless to stop the postal service from putting one of its community mailboxes right next to a house he rents out on the corner of Bungalow and Century streets in Charlottetown.
“It’s sad to see. If we can’t even afford simple (door-to-door) mail delivery then God help this country,’’ Sahely told The Guardian on Thursday.
Contractors have been putting down concrete bases all over the greater Charlottetown area for the past few weeks.
“I feel bad for everybody. I’m not too happy about it but apparently there’s nothing I can do. I did phone them four to five months ago and I told them I didn’t want this on my property,’’ Sahely said.
“They told me they would send somebody and, of course, no one showed up until last Friday evening.’’
Just three days later they were back putting in a concrete base for two mailboxes.
The Guardian spoke to other home owners who will have boxes located nearby as well. Many seemed resigned to their fate. One man said he spoke with a Canada Post representative a few months ago qand felt they were receptive to his concerns but that the Crown corporation just seems to be pushing ahead anyway.
A Stratford resident said Canada Post representatives may have knocked on doors but did so when people weren’t home and didn’t bother coming back.
Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee says the city has been opposed to the super mailboxes from the beginning but there is little it can do to stop it.
Lee said the city passed more than one resolution opposing the move but the city was told by the federal minister responsible for the postal corporation that while the city’s position was appreciated federal legislation allows the corporation to go ahead with it anyway.
Lee said planning staff were consulted but only so that boxes were not placed in locations over underground piping and impeded sightlines for motorists.
“We didn’t offer locations for these boxes because we weren’t going to start to pick which property owners would get a community mailbox outside their home,’’ Lee said.
Coun. Mitchell Tweel says residents in Ward 4 aren’t happy at all, calling this “an unmitigated disaster’’.
Tweel is calling on Canada Post to stop the installation work immediately and wait until after the federal election, hoping that if the government changes the initiative may be stopped altogether.
Anick Losier, spokeswoman for Canada Post, said door-to-door mail delivery will stop within the next two months for about 10,000 residents in the greater Charlottetown area.
“Ultimately, this is a change we need to make in order to preserve the postal service,’’ Losier said.
Losier said residents impacted by the mailbox locations were contacted by letter and some residents did get personal visits back in March and April.
“Every time there was a suggestion or a complaint we made it our policy to investigate . . . unfortunately, it’s not always possible to make the change,’’ Losier said.
Anyone who still has concerns is asked to call Canada Post toll free at 1-844-454-3009. She said they would look into it if there is a serious safety concern with the site.
