Canadians living in densely populated urban areas will be the last to transition to community mailboxes, as Canada Post phases out door-to-door delivery to approximately five million homes over the next five years.
In a statement released Wednesday, the postal service said that “dense urban cores in our larger cities, with their older neighborhoods and smaller lots, present different challenges for locating community mailboxes than suburban areas.”
The first areas to lose door-to-door mail delivery will be announced in the coming weeks, the federal Crown Corporation said.
Meanwhile, Canada Post is developing “alternative approaches” for people with mobility issues who “lack viable alternatives and upon whom delivery to a community mailbox would impose an unacceptable hardship.”
Delivery to people living in apartment buildings, seniors’ residences and condominiums who have mail delivered in their building lobby, will not be affected by the changes. Also, businesses in “well-established business areas” and businesses that receive large volume of mail will continue to have mail and parcels delivered to their door.
Canada Post’s decision to phase out door-to-door delivery has stirred much controversy, angering seniors and individuals with mobility issues.
The postal service announced in December 2013 that it would cut 8,000 jobs and undergo changes to its operations as a way to deal with a projected annual loss of $1 billion a year by 2020 if it were to continue with door-to-door delivery.
“Ignoring Canada’s massive shift away from mail to digital alternatives would put Canada Post on track for substantial yearly losses that would threaten the existence of the postal service,” Canada Post said.
