A lawyer for Canada Post says Hamilton, Ont., has no right to block the mail service’s plan to replace door-to-door delivery with community mailboxes.

The city has taken the Crown corporation to court for refusing to respect a bylaw it enacted that requires $200 permits for installing mailboxes on municipal land.

In a new submission to court, Canada Post’s lawyer John Laskin argues that the federal Canada Post Act gives the agency "final say" over the location mail receptacles.

Hamilton City Councillor Terry Whitehead says the city will fight on.

Whitehead told CTV’s Power Play that the city’s permit fee is needed to ensure the suitability of mailbox locations. His concerns include safety issues, he says.

“They’re putting them on four-lane arterial roads,” Whitehead said. “We’re talking about luring people to pull up and get their mail from these community mailboxes, which is an accident waiting to happen.”

Whitehead said the city was offered $50 per mailbox location as compensation for staff time spent studying locations, which isn’t enough.

“Who are they to determine the cost of our staff time, or to determine the right locations?” he said, adding, “our property taxpayers should not be exposed to any risk.”

Canada Post’s Jon Hamilton told Power Play his employer has no choice but to move away from door-to-door delivery as revenue from letter mail declines.

“We need to make that change to secure the future of the postal service,” he said, adding that he “understands it’s a big change.”

“That’s why we built a process that’s almost a year long, to hear from people and hear from municipalities,” he said. “(We) are willing to make changes as we go.”

Municipal lawyer John Mascarin told CTV News Channel earlier on Tuesday that “both parties have justifiable rights to go to court here.”

However, Mascarin said federal statutes trump municipal bylaws. “It’s very difficult for Hamilton to say, ‘our bylaw prevails, our bylaws can regulate where these super-boxes can be located."

Community mailboxes were also debated during question period in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

NDP seniors critic Irene Mathyssen said people in her home riding in London, Ont., are angry about the move to community boxes, which only exempts those who present a medical note saying they are physically unable to get their mail.

“A 94-year-old woman called my office upset about having to wade through four pages of complicated red tape and get a doctor’s note just to get her mail delivered,” said Mathyssen. “When will the minister stop defending Canada Post and start defending Canadians?”

Conservative MP and Parliamentary Secretary Jeff Watson responded by pointing out that 1.4 billion fewer letters were sent in 2011 than in 2006.

“Canada Post must balance its finances without being a burden to taxpayers,” Watson said. “The NDP’s plan for Canada Post will cost taxpayers a half-billion-dollars a year,” he added.

The NDP has promised to bring back door-to-door delivery if elected in the fall.

Hamilton isn’t the only city challenging Canada Post over community mailboxes. The City of Montreal has joined a court challenge launched by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

With files from The Canadian Press