Town of Rocky Mountain House Mayor Debbie Baich says council is “disheartened” by Canada Post’s failure to address mail delivery concerns in her community.
Business owners in an industrial area east of Highway 11 have been pressing to have postal codes assigned to their addresses and for superboxes set up to receive mail. Currently, they have to pick up their mail from the town’s post office.
Likewise, residents in a part of town where the post office was once located also do not have nearby superboxes nor home delivery. When the post office was located nearby, residents were assigned post office boxes. But when the post office was moved farther away more than two decades ago, residents’ post offices boxes went with it.
Council members recently voiced their frustration with the situation and Canada Post’s unwillingness to address the community’s mail delivery issues despite getting support from local MP Gerald Soroka, who wrote a letter on their behalf.
Canada Post’s Feb. 26 response to Soroka did not impress council.
“Our Delivery Services team has reviewed the request from the Town of Rocky Mountain House, and regrettably, we are unable to move forward with the proposed change at this time,” says the letter to Soroka. “Projects within our organization are prioritized based on the availability of the resources, equipment, and their potential impact. As it stands, there are no immediate plans to undertake the project in question.”
Council voted two weeks ago to not give up their fight and directed administration to send another letter to Soroka and Canada Post.
The letter says Canada Post has not given the town “a fulsome explanation as to why our national mail carrier will not serve the town’s industrial area and the many commercial businesses there.”
Residential mail problems are also mentioned and the question posed: “Will Canada Post consider supplying these residences with an equal amount of service all other residential areas enjoy?”
Repeated requests have been unsuccessful to have a Canada Post representative appear before council.
“We continue to be disheartened by the inadequate service and lack of communication from Canada Post,” ends the March 6 letter.