BC FORUM News - from The Advocate, Spring 2015

Let’s make Harper face the music on mail delivery

By Marion Pollack, Member, BC FORUM Board of Directors

Prime Minister Harper has a selection of Beatles songs which he belts out. One hit that he seems to have banished from his repertoire is “Please Mister Postman.”

This is because Harper in conjunction with the Canada Post Corporation seems to be intent on banishing postmen (and postwomen) and their all important mail bags from our streets.

In December 2013 Canada Post made its surprise announcement that they were ending door to door letter carrier delivery and replacing it with so-called Community Mail boxes.

This pronouncement was fully supported by Stephen Harper and the Conservative party. The Federal Cabinet was aware of Canada Post’s outrageous decision before it was announced.

In February 2014 the NDP introduced a motion into Parliament in support of door to door mail delivery. MPs from all the opposition parties voted for this motion. But the Federal Conservatives gleefully clapped as they voted it down.

In the upcoming Federal election, we have another opportunity to save door to door mail delivery.

We need to vote for candidates and parties that in the words of that iconic Beatles song will have letter carriers looking in their bags to see if “there is a letter for me”.