MP gets commitment on mail

David Tilson, MP for Dufferin-Caledon, rose in the House of Commons Dec. 13 during Question Period, and asked the minister responsible for the Canada Post Corporation, the Hon. Lawrence Cannon, the following question: “Mr. Speaker, rural constituents in my riding have told me that their mail delivery is a mess. Canadians depend upon reliable, timely delivery of their mail regardless of where they live. Rural Canadians are worried about changes to rural mail delivery being undertaken by Canada Post. Could the minister responsible for Canada Post update the House on rural mail delivery and remailers?”

“Both rural mail delivery and international remailers are very important issues. Canada’s new government is issuing a directive today to Canada Post. First, the government has determined and decided to maintain traditional rural mail delivery for all Canadians from coast to coast,” Cannon responded.

The directive described by Minister Cannon is to develop and implement an operational plan to restore and maintain mail delivery to rural roadside mailboxes within the next 18 months.

When asked about the Minister’s response, Mr. Tilson replied, “Our new Government believes in the importance of providing a reliable mail delivery service in rural communities across Canada. We’re confident that Canada Post will restore and maintain rural mail delivery to rural roadside mailboxes. “Our government will monitor the situation to ensure that rural residents are provided with a safe, efficient and quality mail service.”

Tuesday, Dec. 12, Tilson presented pages of signed petitions from residents of the Town of Caledon, in the House of Commons, calling upon the federal government to ensure that traditional rural mail delivery continues in the Town of Caledon.

The signed petitions are in response to the Canada Post Corporation raising safety concerns with respect to the delivery of mail on several rural routes since last summer. In many instances, mailboxes that have been identified by the corporation as unsafe, have been moved to centralized mail delivery systems, such as community mailboxes. However, many local residents feel that the community mailboxes pose numerous safety concerns and have expressed these concerns to Tilson. Other

Caledon residents have stated that they are unable or do not have the means to travel to community mailboxes to collect their mail.

“This has been an important issue for the residents of rural Caledon,”

Tilson said. “I have heard from hundreds of residents on this very issue. They have expressed a wide range of valid concerns with respect to these changes and have asked that the Government of Canada support rural mail delivery.