Port Williams residents want to ditch route for PO box
While residents across the country fight with Canada Post to keep rural mail delivery, some people in Port Williams, N.S., want to get rid of their rural route.
Lauraine MacPherson said vandals regularly target her rural route in the Annapolis Valley. Her mail has often been stolen, including a notice about an appointment with a medical specialist. Her mailbox was even set on fire.
MacPherson said she wants a box inside the nearby post office. She would have to pay for the service, as she already gets mailbox delivery.
Canada Post told CBC News it determines one free mode of delivery for every Canadian. Some are assigned community boxes and others have mail delivered along a rural route.
Others get a box at the post office. If people are unhappy they can pay for a postal box.
MacPherson said it's not a satisfying answer. "Why [do] other people deserve a free box and I don't?" she asked.
MacPherson said she can't trust her mail to thieves and vandals.
"It seems as if Canada Post has no consistent rules," she said
MacPherson's neighbour, Marilyn Campbell, pays $156 a year for a box at the post office. She said that was not fair.
"I can't find another neighbour who lives anywhere close to the same distance from the post office who has a mailbox at the post office and pays for it. How come I have to pay for mine?" said Campbell.
