Canada Post outlines timeline for end of door to door delivery for two Northwest communities

Door to door mail delivery will
come to an end in
Terrace and Kitimat in 2016.
(photo Canada Post website)

The days of a letter carrier arriving on the doorsteps of residents of Terrace and Kitimat are numbered, as Canada Post pushes forward with its business plan of ending home delivery and moving to a community mailbox model.

The two Northwest Communities are among the latest to hear the details of the planned shift in the system of delivering their mail, a proposal that the Terrace Standard was first to provide details about on Wednesday.  The article explains how some 3,764 addressed in Terrace will be affected by the decision.

Terrace based radio station CFNR also featured an item related to the announced end of home delivery in the region.

Some background on what the shift to community mailboxes is about can be found on the Canada Post website.

In addition to the notification provided to Terrace, Canada Post official John Caines advised that the District of Kitimat had also been advised as the planned shift for Canada Post in that community. Serving notice that 3,229 addresses in Kitimat would be converted to the community mailboxes in 2016.

In both communities, Canada Post will be providing for a number of communications, with the first to feature an information package and mail in survey with the opportunity to contact Canada Post with concerns or questions about the pending shift in service.

As we outlined on the blog earlier this week, the Canada Post moves have provided for a strong pushback from the unions at the Post Office, with the Postmasters Association recently seeking the assistance of municipalities, including Prince Rupert in its bid to reverse the Post Office's plans.

In May of this year Canada Post reported a profit before tax of $24 million for the first quarter of the year, something that the Postal unions have been making a fair amount of comment on in recent months.

In a letter to the editor posted to the Terrace Standard today, NDP MP Nathan Cullen outlined his opposition to the moves from Canada Post.

As for any further service changes for the Northwest, to this point, Canada Post has not provided public notice of any kind of home delivery for the Prince Rupert area.

However, considering the rather advanced timeline that Canada Post seems to be putting in place and the notes from just east of the city,  Mayor Brain and City Council might be finding a notice in the City Hall mail delivery at any time.