Canada's postal service to phase out home delivery

[Redfairen]

Source: Associated Press

Canada's postal service said Wednesday it will phase out home delivery within urban centers within the next five years as it begins to post significant financial losses because of the increasing use of digital communication.

Canada Post, a government corporation, said it will replace foot delivery with community mail boxes. About a third of Canadian homes still receive mail to their door.

It also plans to eliminate 6,000 to 8,000 jobs during the next five years, mainly through attrition. The postal service expects nearly 15,000 employees to retire or leave the company in the next five years.

Canada Post said if left unchecked, continued losses would soon jeopardize its financial self-sufficiency and become a significant burden on taxpayers and customers.



Read more: http://m.detnews.com/nation/article?a=2013312110070&f=1212

[heaven05]

1. coming to america, soon

[Little Star]

2. That sucks.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Community Mail Boxes May Work in Canada

but in the wrong place it could be like Black Friday

[hlthe2b]

4. Can Amazon save ours?

sigh...

[freshwest]

5. My patented statement: BOO! HISS! n/t

[question everything]

6. Quite appropriate (nt)

[OnlinePoker]

7. I live on a corner lot with a fairly wide boulevard

I fully expect to see a box plopped right there with all the incumbent problems that will entail such as traffic (there is limited parking around here), flyers and other garbage being tossed on our lawn, graffiti (virtually every box I see has been tagged), and diminished house value because of this thing being right there. On the other hand, I can see Canada Post's point. We only get about 5-6 pieces of real mail a month. There is no need to employ someone to come to my door for that small amount. It's just as easy for me to walk to the box.

[TrogL]

8. I have enough problems getting mail as it is

My mailman is a complete idiot. He leaves my gate open, the only gate on the block for which he does so. I've already talked to his supervisor about it. He delivers mail pretty much at random. I often have to redistribute stuff to several neighbours, to find out they've been hoarding mine.

Also, I hate opening the mailbox because whatever's going to be in there is just going to be another bill or tax notice or something else I really don't want to deal with. If it's in a box somewhere down the street, I'm going to conveniently forget to pick it up until the thing's overflowing and creditors are phoning or banging on the door.

Frankly, I think it will be the end of Canada Post. Couriers do a better job and practically everything has gone paperless.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. And also raises its prices by 35%, today

which seems a complete rip-off:

Direct to the home delivery will be replaced by community post boxes installed throughout residential areas, Canada Post said in its plan.

The agency said two-thirds of Canadians, mostly in newer suburban neighbourhoods and rural areas, already receive their mail through this method.

The cost of postage stamps purchased in bulk will rise to $0.85 per stamp, up from $0.63 today, among other price rises.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25340301

[Amonester]

10. My provincial government keeps sending me useless sales-tax returns statements every month

all the while they cut funding healthcare services, subsidized housing services, u-name-it essential community services for the poor.

That's absolute resource-wasting BS, to the point I'm suspicious they must have a private contract with rich paper-mills to act like this.

They already have my email address. They could also send all that useless junk to my online post-office "safe" where I can archive everything.

It's just mind-buggling waste.

[FrodosPet]

11. Oh, Canada???

To think, at one time, they were a nearly perfect country - especially in the eastern provinces. Single payer healthcare, a strong set of social services, stayed out of Iraq.

But now they have right-leaning government, and they are cutting health care and other services.

[jmowreader]

12. They have that in a lot of the US now

[Skittles]

14. yes, for example in most apartment complexes

not hard to walk a bit to get mail

[FrodosPet]

15. That's a matter of perspective

For some of us, with a wrecked lower lumbar, walking a half mile back and forth can be a painful experience.

[Skittles]

16. in that case have a neighbor do it

I've done many a mail-collecting in my decades at complexes

[ConcernedCanuk]

13. Home delivery is expensive, definitely not cost effective.

.
.
.

I'm 63, have lived in Canada all my life except for 14 months in California.

Last dwelling had home delivery, but to mailboxes on the roadside. Also, on the corner was a gang mailbox for those that lived further off the route. Snowplows blocked that in on occasion, mailboxes also got knocked down by snowplows, and so on.

Where I live now has no delivery of any sort, I must drive to town to pick up my mail and parcels at the Post Office.

Canada Post will remain, but it's services will update with the times.

People drive miles to get their food and other needs, why not the mail?

I DO believe that food is more important than mail, no?

Call me silly then.



CC