Hamilton waiting for verdict on its legal battle with Canada Post

The city of Hamilton expects to hear in two or three months whether it's been successful in its court appeal against Canada Post over super mailboxes.

Both sides in the dispute appeared in appeal court in Toronto on Tuesday. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities also participated, said city spokespersonKwabAko-Adjei.

Justice David Doherty is hearing the appeal on the case of whether Hamilton has control over its municipal right of ways.

Canada Post announced two years ago that it would phase out urban door-to-door mail delivery in favour of community mailboxes.

Hamilton city council, which didn't like the idea anyway, passed a bylaw last year saying that the Crown corporation had to pay a fee to site the mailboxes, and that the city had final say in where they went.

Canada Post argued that its federal mandate trumped municipal bylaws, and began installing them on Hamilton Mountain anyway. In June, a Hamilton court justice ruled with Canada Post.

The city is now spending an estimated $75,000 on an appeal. A handful of other municipalities, including the City of Victoria, B.C., is contributing to the legal defense fund, while others offered moral support.

In October, Justin Trudeau's Liberals were elected and halted the community mailbox plan. But the city says the point of the lawsuit was control over its own rightof ways, and that remains undetermined.