Mail delivery phased out at 24,000 North Shore addresses

Repentigny woman Latifa Ait Ben Alla said she doesn't mind checking her community mailbox.

As of Monday, 24,000 addresses around the North Shore no longer have home mail delivery with Canada Post.

Residents of Charlemange, Repentigny, Bois-des-Filion, Rosemere and Lorraine now get their mail at community mailboxes.

The residents received a set of keys and an information packet from Canada Post a few weeks ago.

For Repentigny woman Latifa Ait Ben Alla, going to check her community mailbox is not as bad as she feared.

“We said it would be hard to go get our letters every day, but actually it's simple, it's nothing. And in fact it makes us exercise a bit to walk to get our mail,” she said.

Others actually said it's convenient.

“There's a place there to put the mail also, so I don't have to walk to the mailbox. I pick up my mail, (send) my mail and that's it,” said Repentigny man Patrick Richard.

Not everyone, however, is on board.

“I'll come get my mail here at the community box, but I'm disappointed. I think it cuts too many jobs,” said Repentigny resident Francine Leclair.

There's a chance door-to-door service could be brought back, said the Canadian Union of Postal Workers’ Montreal president Alain Duguay. It would be a possibility if the Conservatives get voted out after the next federal election.

“It won't be too late because it’s a five-year plan, and we will be at the beginning of the five-year plan, so why not have to go back the way it used to be?” said Duguay.

Like it or not, Canada Post said its business model has changed.

The internet has hurt mail delivery, with email and online banking, but it has created a boon in parcel delivery.

“The part of our business that is growing and we're doing everything we can to grow that business is online shopping and delivering the parcels and delivering the parcels back in terms of returns,” said Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton.

This holiday season, the Crown corporation is making changes to accommodate online shoppers, said Hamilton.

“A lot of the Christmas shopping that Canadians are going to do is going to be delivered by Canada Post, so we're adding additional staff, and we're adding weekend service on some weekends,” he said.

The goal is to eliminate door-to-door service entirely within the next five years.