MP pans pre-Christmas cuts to rural postal service
By Alex Atamanenko MP
Ed Note: The following is a letter hand-delivered to Hon. Denis Lebel, P.C. MP today by BC Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko:
Dear Minister Lebel,
I am writing to express my deep concern about upcoming reductions in service to rural postal outlets in western Canada that will soon be rolling out across my riding of BC Southern Interior.
Please find enclosed two emailed letters from Barb Lincoln, President of the Canadian Postmasters Assistants Association (CPAA), in which she has outlined the specifics of the various issues affecting my constituents and other rural Canadians in western Canada. Attached to one of those, please find a letter from Elizabeth MacVicar, resident of Beaverdell, BC.
It appears that, maybe, for the sake of a few dollars and cents when Canada Post has been making a profit for several years running, postal services are about to become less and less accessible for those who live in more remote parts of the western part of the country.
Ms. Lincoln raises some serious issues and a number of questions in her correspondence. What is the purpose behind these cuts “especially when there does not seem to be a savings” (email dated October 25, 2012)?
Many of the rural residents in my riding of BC Southern Interior are out of town at work during normal office hours so these changes will cut off their access to postal services. Many of those won’t have time during their work day to use postal services where they work.
To add insult to injury in this situation, the effective date is Nov. 17 – five and a half weeks before Christmas.
Given that there seem to be a number of reasons against this decision and none in its favour, I urge you to intervene to ensure that my constituents and other rural Canadians have appropriate locations and levels of postal service during the holiday season and always.
Sincerely,
Original Signed
Alex Atamanenko, MP
BC Southern Interior
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