THUNDER BAY – Home mail delivery is targeted to end for over thirty thousand homes in Thunder Bay by the end of 2016. Canada Post advises that municipal officials as well as affected employees that neighbourhoods of Thunder Bay – postal code starting with P7A, P7B, P7C and P7E – will be next in the conversion of door-to-door delivery to community mailboxes. This represents 31,077 addresses to be converted in 2016.
In a media statement, Canada Post says, “This is part of a five-year initiative to convert one-third of Canadian addresses who still have delivery at the door to community mailboxes in an effort to secure postal service for the future. Since the program began in 2014, one million addresses have been or are in the various stages of the conversion process.
Within the next couple of days, each affected resident will receive the first of many communications from Canada Post. The first one is an information package with a mail-in survey. The package will tell them how they can express their priorities and preferences about their new delivery method. This is a process we have used since the beginning of the process. So far 260,000 Canadians have shared their insights through this survey, which proved very helpful in choosing safe, suitable locations.
Customers who have concerns about their ability to access their community mailbox will be invited to contact us via a dedicated phone number and we will work with them to find a solution that meets their needs.
Canada Post reports that “No regular full-time or part-time employee will lose their job as a result of the initiative. As we have stated throughout this process, we will reduce our workforce largely through attrition as people retire.”
The long-term prognosis is that Canada Post will come through this exercise as a much smaller and leaner corporation. Canada Post says, “With mail volumes continuing to decline, the changes we are making are necessary to secure postal service for all Canadians. We are proceeding in communities across the country as we have for years – in a thoughtful, consultative manner and in accordance with the laws that govern how postal service is provided in Canada.”
