Canada Post: determined Thierry St-Cyr continues his crusade

Thierry St-Cyr, who is the deputy of Jeanne-Le Ber riding, has officially filed a petition with the House of Commons containing almost 400 signatures of people who oppose the closing of the only postal office in Verdun. The deputy has requested the Commons to reverse the decision of Canada Post: “Several seniors, among others, are relying on a post office near their area of residence and also to be able to have access to postal officials who have been working there for numerous years,� explained the deputy. He added, “Moreover, people here are asking to have access to postal boxes in the area assigned for this purpose so they can maintain the same address and postal code. As you are aware, this is one reason why associations, for example, rent a post office box. The consequences of losing this convenience are significant.�

Thierry St-Cyr asks if the president of the government corporation, Mrs. Green, had understood the letter sent to her last September regarding the residents’ opposition to closing the postal office on de l’Église Street. “Canada Post has earned profits of more than $100 million per year, and it will make some ten million dollars with the sale of the postal distribution centre and then will close the one office that Verdun has.�

In the Deputy’s opinion, this closing has already caused some problems. Recently, residents living on Melrose Street did not receive their mail owing to the construction work in their street. They had to make their way to the postal office to pick up their mail. “If the situation repeats itself, where will the residents go to when there is no longer any postal station? We’re still waiting for the answer from Canada Post�, the Deputy said.

The bill seeks to modify the Canada Post law to subject it to the same procedure that the other government departments follow when the time comes to dispose of its surplus assets. The goal of the exercise is to prevent the execution of transactions like what Canada Post is trying to do by selling its lands to private developers. “The postal distribution centre along the Lachine Canal will be sold to private developers for some $25 million,� the Deputy noted. He also said: “the elected officials, la Société du Havre, the FTQ, the CSN and the Mayor of Montreal support the project which was drawn up by the people in the area. The Conservatives have been indifferent to this issue�, Deputy St-Cyr said.

Note that the location of the former postal distribution centre located in Pointe Saint-Charles is no longer of use to Canada Post and so they have also decided to put up the lands for sale, without taking into account the local consensus for a project that aims to promote a mix of affordable social housing and businesses that create jobs.