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Friday May 22, 2015

May 21, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday May 22, 2015

NDP says they would bring back door-to-door mail delivery in Hamilton

The federal NDP will reinstate door-to-door delivery and get rid of super mailboxes on the Mountain if the party forms government after the upcoming election.

Hamilton MPs David Christopherson and Wayne Marston made the announcement at city hall this morning, lauding council for being “at the forefront” of the effort to save traditional mail delivery through its court battle with Canada Post.

“If we have to change the legislation, we’ll do it,” Christopherson said of the plan to reverse Canada Post’s multi-year plan to replace door-to-door delivery with super mailboxes across Canada.

He acknowledged there would be cost to removing thousands of recently installed super mailboxes – including several hundred alone on the Mountain.

But he said those costs, as yet not calculated, have to be “weighed against the cost to the (postal) service.”

He argued Canadians are better served by door-to-door mail delivery and added at a minimum, residents “deserve to be consulted” about the future of the service.

The city will face off against Canada Post in court sometime next week over the legality of a bylaw that seeks to regulate where super mailboxes are installed in the municipal right-of-way. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Published in Opinion 250 (Prince George BC), L’Acadie Nouvelles, Gull Lake Advance, Brandon Sun, Nanaimo Daily News, Regina LEader Post, Calgary Herald, and The Corner Brook Newspaper

Saturday April 25, 2015

April 24, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday April 25, 2015

Canada Post strikes back in mailbox battle

Canada Post has asked the courts to strike down Hamilton’s mailbox installation bylaw the day after eight charges were laid under the new rules.

Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton said the legal counter-move came after the agency received a city order to stop ongoing installation of the controversial community mailboxes based on the recently passed bylaw.

He said he wasn’t aware of any charges under the bylaw, but added a hearing to consider Canada Post’s application is scheduled for April 28.

City spokesperson Mike Kirkopoulos said Friday eight charges related to three unidentified mailbox locations were sworn late Thursday – six against Canada Post and two against a subcontractor, SNC Lavalin.

He couldn’t immediately comment on what the latest court filing means to the city.

“We regret that court action is necessary … but we’re at a point where we need to continue to move forward,” said Hamilton, noting, the agency has been in contact with the city since last June over the planned installations.

The legal battle started when the city enacted a new bylaw earlier this month that requires the Crown corporation to apply for a $200 permit for each of an estimated 4,000 community mailboxes meant to replace door-to-door mail delivery in Hamilton.

Council followed up on Wednesday by asking its lawyers to file a court application to “restrain” ongoing installation by Canada Post. The agency’s counter-move appears to have been filed first, however.

Canada Post has argued from the get-go its federal mandate trumps municipal bylaws and installation of the first of 1,000 mailboxes on the Mountain began last Friday. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Saturday April 18, 2015

April 17, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday April 18, 2015

City girds for superbox battle with Canada Post

The city is willing to take Canada Post to court over its plans to unilaterally install controversial super-mailboxes across the city.

Council enacted a new bylaw Wednesday that requires the Crown corporation to apply for a $200 permit for each of an estimated 4,000 community mailboxes meant to replace door-to-door mail delivery in Hamilton.

That means city bylaw officers can now lay provincial offences charges if Canada Post ignores the new rules and begins installing the unpopular “super-mailboxes” this week on the Mountain.

The agency argued Wednesday it isn’t bound by the bylaw.

The city should charge the Crown corporation anyway in the case of a violation “and let the courts decide who is right and who is wrong,” said Coun. Terry Whitehead.

Whitehead put forward what he called an “unprecedented” municipal regulation motion.

“There ought to be some regulations that apply when Canada Post does this, because it sounds like they’re going to continue on (with mailbox installation) whether we like it or not,” said Mayor Fred Eisenberger. “I think they ought to be a little more understanding and work with the city … to access our right-of-ways and roadways.”

Canada Post has no plans to delay the first wave of installations on the Mountain, said spokesperson Jon Hamilton, who nonetheless wouldn’t speculate how the Crown corporation will react if it is charged under a municipal bylaw.

He reiterated that Canada Post believes it continues to have the “jurisdiction” and “authority” to install mailboxes in municipal road allowances. The agency is willing to “work collaboratively” on locating the boxes, he added, but that doesn’t include following the bylaw or applying for individual permits. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Thursday, December 12, 2013

December 12, 2013 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday, December 12, 2013

Canada Post to phase out urban home mail delivery

Canada Post is phasing out door-to-door delivery of regular mail to urban residents and increasing the cost of stamps in a major move to try to reduce significant, regular losses.

The Crown corporation announced its plans Wednesday, saying urban home delivery will be phased out over the next five years.

Starting March 31, the cost of a stamp will increase to 85 cents each if bought in a pack, up from 63 cents. Individual stamps will cost a dollar.
Canada Post said that over the next five years, it will eliminate 6,000 to 8,000 positions, but it expects 15,000 workers will leave the company or retire within that period.

“With the increasing use of digital communication and the historic decline of letter mail volumes, Canada Post has begun to post significant financial losses,” the corporation said in a news release.
“If left unchecked, continued losses would soon jeopardize its financial self-sufficiency and become a significant burden on taxpayers and customers.”

The first communities that will switch to community mailboxes will be announced in the second half of 2014, according to the release.

Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said in September the idea of cutting door-to-door delivery in urban areas was worth considering in the face of $104 million in losses in the second quarter.

Her office issued a news release Wednesday saying she looks forward to seeing progress because of this plan.

“The Government of Canada supports Canada Post in its efforts to fulfil its mandate of operating on a self-sustaining financial basis in order to protect taxpayers, while modernizing its business and aligning postal services with the choices of Canadians,” she said in the release.
Raitt’s office added that mail volumes have dropped almost 25 per cent per household in the last five years.

NDP MP Peter Julian accused the Conservative government of being disrespectful by making the announcement the day after Parliament took its annual Christmas break. (Source: CBC News)

Tuesday March 6, 2012

March 6, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday March 6, 2012

Could Hamilton be on the Pan Am pitch mound again?

Baseball fans will probably be delighted to hear that Hamilton’s been invited to make a pitch to host the baseball and softball competitions at the 2015 Pan Am Games. Our men won gold last time the games were held. Our women took silver. Could be fun, right?

Sure. But it should surprise no one — and will relieve almost everybody — to hear the initial reception to the idea among the city’s decision makers was cool at best. Bordering on frigid. Especially when council discovered we could be on the hook for nearly $6 million if all-new facilities were required.

Council is still smarting from the endless and painful stadium and velodrome sagas that dominated their lives for months and made them the object of scorn in town. Just the phrase Pan Am Games causes some to break into cold sweats and experience dry heaves. As a result, it was no surprise that a good number sounded like they’d rather shove hot metal pokers into their eyes than step back into the fray of another protracted, potentially pricey facility debate.

“I think you can hear the expressions of not doubt, but concern, that we may be going down an expensive path,” Mayor Bob Bratina said. “Nobody is going to, I don’t think, approve any large expenditure. But we don’t know what the site requirements are or what our participation would involve. So all we need is to find that out.”

A letter dated March 1 from Murray Noble, senior vice-president of infrastructure for the Pan Am organizing committee, invites Hamilton — and some other unnamed cities — to consider putting together a facility that would include a baseball stadium with 8,000 to 10,000 seats, a secondary diamond with 1,500, a main softball stadium that could hold as many as 6,000 and a secondary field with a capacity of 1,000. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)