Final home mail call in Oakville

An Oakville community had one last visit from the letter carrier Friday. It’s the first in the GTHA to have home delivery phased out. And the people living there aren’t happy about it.

The mailbox has closed for the last time for 27-thousand homes in Oakville. ‘Mail man Dan’ spent the afternoon delivering the last letters along his mail route and saying goodbye to his customers.

Many of them are not happy with Canada’s Post’s decision to phase out door to door mail delivery.

Dee McUlay: “I’m 60 and I’ve always had home delivery and I’m very much going to miss it.”

Barb Stewart: “I’m a little upset because I do enjoy meeting the mail man and seeing the mail man and only having to step out.”

Homeowners here will no longer be able to step out to get the mail. They will have to walk to a community mailbox like this. 700 of them have been installed. Residents worry about elderly neighbours making the trek.

Stewart: “There’s quite a few seniors in the area and I think it will be a hardship for them.

Canada Post says the move to community mail boxes like these will save 4-500 million dollars a year and it wont cost any jobs. But the union says that’s not the case.

Terry Langley, CUPW local rep: “They say they won’t lose jobs but they’re looking through attrition and cuts to eliminate eight thousand jobs out of the postal sector.

Hamilton Mountain will be next to lose home delivery starting next spring.