Hamilton vs. Canada Post: Who makes the better case?

The city of Hamilton and Canada Post are sparring over the locations of the new super mailboxes.

The municipality feels Canada Post is not respecting local regulations for determining where the mailboxes go. Amid concerns over safety, privacy and litter, the argument is being taken to the courts at the end of May.

That fight made it to CBC Radio's Tuesday as Hamilton Coun. Terry Whitehead and Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton spoke with Matt Galloway on CBC Radio's Metro Morning.

Here's an abridged and edited version of both conversations this morning, beginning with Whitehead. Listen to the full interview by clicking the image at the top of this page.

What gives your city the right to determine where these city boxes go?

We've always had the right to regulate the right of ways. Telecommunications has similar regulations and legislation through the federal government under the telecommunications act. In fact, they applied for permits for everything from the hot dog vendors to the newspaper stand everyone that acts as the right of wayhas asked for permits. We are the grassroots. We have the forestry department, the public works department, and road technologists. We have the expertise to cite locations and ensure they're put in a safe and aesthetically pleasing place.

What do you mean by "aesthetically pleasing place?"

I don't think we want to see super mailboxes going in front of peoples' living room windows. There's a concern of privacy and a concern of many people gathering. We prefer the side yard approach that Canada post has taken, but that hasn't been the case for all locations.

We have regulated Canada Post since the early '80s. What Canada Post will tell you is they've been doing this for thirty years. Let's be clear: In the '80s they started putting super mailboxes in new subdivisions. In those new subdivisions, they had to apply for subdivision plan, which was heavily scrutinized by the city and all our experts. So they were, in fact, regulated.

What Canada Post is trying to do now is impose these super mailboxes without due process.

Canada Post says it has the right to do this on municipally owned property.

We feel they have the right to access our right of ways without question, just like telecommunications companies. But we believe we have a right to set the standards to ensure the safety of our community.

But the organization is saying it's done its consultation with residents and if people don't like it, they've been moving the mailboxes because of the consultation.

One problem is the safety issue. Our traffic technologists have probably more expertise in regards to sightlines and locations. What Canada Postdoesn'ttell you about is the 30 per cent of the complaints [from citizens about the boxes], which would be a failing grade. We invited them to a meeting we had on the mountain to talk about these locations and give them an opportunity to explain them to the community. They refused to show up, so if that's their idea of consultation, then it's sadly lacking.

What's at stake here is that Canada Post feels it has the God-given right, and approach it with some arrogance, to put in super mailboxes in old neighbourhoods...- Coun. Terry Whitehead

What's at stake here?

What's at stake here is that Canada Post feels it has the God-given right, and approach it with some arrogance, to put in super mailboxes in old neighbourhoods without even recognizing that they've met high standards in regards to new subdivisions. I believe the issue here is who has the right to regulate right of ways.

Canada Post spokesperson John Hamilton then spoke on Metro Morning about some of the responses from residents and the city of Hamilton.

What gives Canada Post the right to determine where the mailboxes should go?

Well there are laws that govern how postal service is provided in this country and part of that is where the equipment can and cannot go. We follow those, but the story doesn't end there.

People look at that and think we are just walking in and putting boxes down. No, whenever we go into a community, we know it's a big change. That's why we have a 10-12 month process. We work with the municipality and knock on doors to get local feedback. We're in 90 communities in Canada doing just that, and for the most part it's been going quite well. In Hamilton, unfortunately, it hasn't been going as well.

Some of the reasons for pushback has been aboutcontrol and aesthetics. Do you have any sympathy for those issues?

Absolutely, and that's why we have a process that has a lot of consultation built in.

First off we ask residents, "Do you want small cluster-boxes close to your home or do you want a larger cluster further away from your home so you don't have to see it?"

We get that people aren't saying, "Take away my door-to-door. I'm happy with that." But they also understand because the Internet is chewing away at the mail business.- Jon Hamilton, Canada Post

What we find is that about 90 per cent in Hamilton want a smaller cluster close to their home. Then we have to find locations [and] work with the municipality. We provided locations to the city of Hamilton last fall. We unfortunately didn't get a lot of feedback, but what we've been doing is going door-to-door and making changes as we go as we do in every community.

One reason it's worked in other neighbourhoods is space. Do you have sympathy for those concerns about a lack of space?

Totally and that's why, when we roll this out, it takes that into consideration right from the start.

We're in areas around the GTA [but] when we get to the dense, urban communities, those have challenges that we've never had to deal with and we know that there's going to have to be different solutions.

What sort of consultation is going to be done in a city like Toronto?

We want to work with the municipality not just with where the boxes go, because it might be something completely different or it might be a different style of box. There's a whole bunch of different options when we get into the urban core.

We want to work with the municipalities and figure out what might make sense. What the goal is to secure postal service for all Canadians. This isn't just a project to figure out a different way to deliver the mail. Two thirds of Canadians don't have mail delivered to the door. But when we get into dense neighbourhoods like Toronto, we want to respect that and find alternatives. We don't have those now, [but] we have ideas.

Are you surprised by the blowback?

We understand this is a big change. The blowback is always going to get the attention.

We converted 100,000 households last year. We will have, by the end of this year, 900,000 more. Most of those are going well. The conversations at the door are going well.

We get that people aren't saying, "Take away my door-to-door. I'm happy with that." But they also understand because the Internet is chewing away at the mail business.