An iconic slice of Canadian life – the postal worker dropping letters through the door – is slipping into the past as financially troubled Canada Post scrambles to find its footing in the Internet age. Canada’s mail service will pale next to that of many other countries, including Britain, which still has twice-a-day delivery.
Robert Campbell, who chaired a 2008 federal advisory committee on the Crown corporation. “The idea of having an army of people trudging up and down every street in Canada, delivering less and less mail at each address seems crazy,” he said.
We live in a democracy and value freedom of speech so let us not end the dialogue there.
NDP MP Peter Julian said “I think Canadians will be profoundly appalled”.
Overlooked in this dilemma is that many Canadians, chiefly Seniors with mobility issues or cognitive challenges and persons with disabilities cannot walk or drive. Seniors and the disabled are often marginalized, neglected and alone and are unable to access the nearest “drop off” for their mail.
This is discrimination.
The announcement drew condemnation from seniors’ groups, postal employees, business groups and the opposition NDP and Liberals. But many people took it in stride.
Nor me. I assisted in end of life care for my father and am assisting my mother in enjoying the twilight years and she is supporting me through the co-morbidities of my multiple chronic conditions, cutting home delivery will have the greatest impact on us and others facing their own barriers. The loss of home delivery would negatively impact elderly and disabled Canadians and the gains in fiscal savings would be offset by the decline in the quality of life of those that are vulnerable and with mobility issues as they rely on home delivery for cheques, and personal correspondence. This results in less visits to banks for deposits and bill payments along with birthday and greeting cards sadly becoming obsolete, promoting segregation and increasing the sense of isolation and disengagement which may compound existing conditions, mental, physical and spiritual.
I do not believe this is the direction we want to go and we risk the loss of our most precious natural resource, the human experience of a rich life, albeit challenging or bountiful .As I care for my Mother, many people assume she has Alzheimers, which is certainly a devastating condition, not everyone has Alzheimer’s, many are in pain and have mobility issues and as they move bravely towards the end of life with resiliency and noble courage we opt to overlook common sense, wisdom and compassion, we shut them out, we make things harder for them and what is lost is the wealth of knowledge, experience that have built our nation, gave selflessly to their community and loved unconditionally their family that they are born with or the ones they choose so things are easier and convenient for indicators and bottom lines and corporate greed, the drivers of the economy and not of Ms.Daisy.
A story in The Toronto Star on Friday, October 17, 2014 on the front page of the Business Section, POstal workers going to court puts Canada’s post into perspective.
Postal workers go to court to save home delivery
I invite you to read this, talk to family, friends, discuss it within your community and in your network to explore how this reconciles with your values on caring for Seniors and people with disabilities. If you are dissatisfied, please consider taking action. It’s fun.
Advocacy for change is most efficient when citizens express their want on how to improve government’s role in the lives of citizens, providing a rationale or evidence along with a strategy for a solution.
It is a great sense of autonomy to do the work for government. It also is an efficient model for change. If you support that ending door-to-door mail delivery when it comes to the parents of young children, to the disabled, and to the elderly, especially in winter or in the way that you “see” and “feel” and for those that are immobile is discriminatory then please take the time to express your opinion in writing (as a collective or as an individual) to protect the rights of our society today and the one we are creating for the future to any or all of the following:
Deepak Chopra, President and CEO, Canada Post
Douglas Jones, Senior VP, Delivery and Customer Experience, Canada Post
Stephen Edmondson, Vice President, Customer Relations, Canada Post
Jo-Anne Polak, Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs, Canada Post
Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Government of Canada
Along with letter writing you could also arrange to speak with your:
City Councillor, Mayor and MP whose salaries are paid by your tax dollars to work for you.
If you are uncertain what to write, a template may be:
Please reconsider the plan to end door-to-door delivery, and think about how all Canadians would be affected.
Or speak from the heart or look through the links to various articles in the media to cut and paste what statements resonate with you and your values.
You are welcome to use the comment section of this posting or any other source to ask for guidance if you are uncertain what to say.
Mail may be sent postage-free to any Member of Parliament at the following address:
Name of Member of Parliament
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1A 0A6
Or for address and information on Federal Programs and Services such as Canada Post:
Telephone: 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232)
Public libraries are also a resource along with the social media. Here are a few examples.
The generation before us cared for us and paved the way for many of us to express ourselves freely and to be treated as equal. It is a joyous experience to be able to care in return.
Those that survive, that overcome adversity are our best natural resource. They teach us, they believe in us.
Let’s take a thoughtful moment and move forward by promoting dignity, ending blatant discrimination and showing what our worth as a society cannot be nickled and dimed, loonied or twoonied.
It is a terrible thing to be considered invaluable.
Return to sender.
A Patient Voice 
I decided to read this even though it was written some time ago and I’m not Canadian. You have a valid point about home delivery. I can’t imagine how hard it will be if it’s ever stopped. Things are changing and not all for the better. I have to go up my street to a central box for my mail. It was the same in the apartment I lived in. Not far but in some ways, it gave me a reason to leave my cozy home and venture out of doors. I get almost no mail anymore. Everything is done online these days. The difficulty with that is as you say, no human interaction. I think that’s why some women shop. Even some older men. To have someone to talk to for even a few moments. Once upon a time, we knew our mail carriers by name and gave them gifts on the holiday. I get out less and less though able bodied. The world is moving faster and I’m moving slower. I suppose that’s always been the case. It’s really hard to fathom what the perfect answer might be in this case. We get mail delivered each day. Most of it is junk that goes into recycling.I still send out cards and letters though not as frequently as before. I’ll be looking for what solution your government lands on. It always has a trickle down effect for us.
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