The closure of post offices is
"another nail in the coffin of rural Canada," say respondents to a
recent survey.
The survey of 1,635 mayors, reeves
and band chiefs of rural locales where a post office has been closed examined the
effects on the communities.
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| Post offices are the heart of many rural communities. |
It found that while some communities saw their federally run post office replaced with a franchise outlet, 53 per cent of communities have no postal outlet of any kind.
Satisfaction with postal service was fairly low and some 24 per cent of communities expressed very
high levels of dissatisfaction.
"The closure of the post office has taken away the personal touch from the community," said David Shulist, Mayor of Wilno, Ontario. "It is hard to talk to a metal box. Bring back our post office! We have lost our identity."
"The closure of a post office in a municipality always has a negative effect and it is the whole population which feels it," stated a respondent from St. Marcellin, Quebec. "Potential new residents are little inclined to settle in a municipality which offers few services."
"The closure of the post office has taken away the personal touch from the community," said David Shulist, Mayor of Wilno, Ontario. "It is hard to talk to a metal box. Bring back our post office! We have lost our identity."
"The closure of a post office in a municipality always has a negative effect and it is the whole population which feels it," stated a respondent from St. Marcellin, Quebec. "Potential new residents are little inclined to settle in a municipality which offers few services."
The study pointed out that Canada Post has shut
down more than 1,700 small town and rural post offices since the 1980s.
In spite of a 1994 moratorium on rural closures, which was reiterated in a Canadian Postal Service Charter announced in September 2009, the shutdowns are continuing right up to the present.
In spite of a 1994 moratorium on rural closures, which was reiterated in a Canadian Postal Service Charter announced in September 2009, the shutdowns are continuing right up to the present.
It concludes that in the internet era, where sending
and receiving parcels has grown, and where many small business depend even more
on reasonably priced, reliable, local postal service, the closing or cutting
back on postal services is hurting the development of rural Canada.
The survey
study recommends an end to all postal outlet closures and setting up national
and provincial panels to examine postal service needs.
The Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association, founded in 1902, represents more than 10,000 members comprising 5,651 full and part-time employees and 4,558 term employees of Canada Post,
particularly in rural areas.
