Local mayors say they’re keeping a close eye on Hamilton’s attempt to have a say in where community mailboxes are placed in the city.
“I want to know what kind of control we as a municipality have over these kinds of things,” Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig told CTV News.
An estimated 900,000 households are expected to switch from door-to-door delivery to community mailboxes by the end of this year, after about 100,000 underwent the same process in 2014.
Canada Post has given itself five years to implement the move across the country.
In Hamilton, 36,000 households will be moved to community mailbox delivery next month.
City officials have expressed concern about the specific locations chosen for the boxes – saying some were placed on strips of land alongside homes.
As a result, city councillors passed a bylaw requiring Canada Post to obtain a permit before installing mailboxes on city land.
The permit would cost $200 per mailbox, and would allow the city to review the proposed location.
Canada Post ignored the bylaw, saying it the legal authority to install the boxes without paying a fee and without the city reviewing the location.
Steven O’Melia, a Waterloo-based municipal lawyer, says Canada Post’s position is likely correct.
“As a general rule of law, federal laws and regulations trump provincial laws and particularly municipal bylaws,” he told CTV News.
The battle between Canada Post and Hamilton has now moved to the legal arena, with Canada Post asking the Ontario Superior Court to declare the city’s bylaw invalid.
“I’m not overly optimistic about the city’s chances in the litigation,” O’Melia said.
Local mayors say they’ll keep an eye on the outcome of the legal action – but in any event, want Canada Post to get local input on where to place mailboxes.
“We want to make sure it’s done in a way that’s respectful of communities and neighbourhoods,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.
Vrbanovic said he has heard concerns about community mailboxes ranging from snow removal to litter issues.
The city has yet to receive any requests to install the boxes, he said.
Canada Post also faces a lawsuit over the end to home delivery from a union representing postal workers.
A group of mayors in Quebec are said to be considering legal action as well.
Several phone and email messages to Canada Post for this story were not returned.
With files from The Canadian Press
