Mailroom Misgivings

Confusing Canada Post message concerns residents

A notice delivered last week into Lions Bay post boxes has local residents concerned about the future of postal delivery in the Village.

The notice directs Lions Bay postal box customers to renew (or obtain new post boxes) at the Garibaldi Highlands postal outlet, located in the shopping centre between the Independent Grocers and London Drugs in Garibaldi Highlands, some 37 kilometres north of the Village along the Sea to Sky.

The Watershed fielded several enquiries after the delivery of the notice, and local social media also featured discussion as to what the long-term implications might be, particularly in light of the number of recent changes in postal service in the Village. Complicating this has been the ongoing labour dispute between Canada Post and its unionized workers over the past 18 months.

While postal delivery to local boxes has continued uninterrupted, the Lions Bay Post Office, a fixture inside the Village store for decades, closed in April. After some initial confusion, with parcel delivery directed to the Squamish post office on Cleveland Avenue, Canada Post redirected large parcel pick-up to the Pharmasave Canada Post outlet in Caulfeild Village Shopping Centre.

The Caulfeild outlet is just under 15 kilometers south of the Village, so less than half the distance of the Garibaldi outlet, and in a more convenient location for many Lions Bay residents.

A spokesperson for Canada Post confirmed to The Watershed that all residents will continue to be entitled to a primary postal box at no charge in the Village, and that there is no plan to remove the boxes from their present location, or require residents to open boxes in Garibaldi Highlands.

The wording of the notice which states "if you do not currently have a box, a new PO Box will be assigned to you at Garibaldi Highlands" means that the assignment will be made by staff at that location, not that the PO Box will be located there.

Hamid Osmanzai, manager of the Caulfeild location, offered a few more details.

Osmanzai said that while his postal outlet has "been happy to" take on the role of large parcel pick-up for Lions Bay post box holders, they are unable to also address the day-to-day management of boxes.

"It's not just post box renewals," he said. "If a post box breaks, or the key is lost, that has to be handled by a postal outlet." Post box renewals, which are generally administered annually and require the presentation of photo identification, will also be handled at the Garibaldi outlet.

He notes that the Horseshoe Bay Postal Outlet also closed recently, and much of the extra traffic has fallen on the Caulfeild location, which provides a full range of Canada Post services.

Osmanzai says that Canada Post has assigned Lions Bay residents to the Garibaldi Highlands location for the day-to-day issues with post box maintenance and renewals, but that large parcel pickup (and all other postal services) will still be available at the Caulfeild location.

Hours at the Canada Post outlet in Caulfeild are Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and closed on Sundays. The hours at the Garibaldi outlet are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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