Urgent request for support to stop post office closure in Pointe-Sainte-Charles

The community of Pointe-Saint-Charles, which is located in Montreal, is fighting Canada Post’s decision to close a community post office and reopen another one in an industrial park that is not convenient for anyone. People want to keep their post office. It is slated to close on March 28, 2008.

Residents and organizations in Pointe-Saint-Charles would like your support to stop the closure of their post office.

 

What you can do:

• Please consider downloading and signing Action-Gardien’s letter of support. Mail signed letters to Action-Gardien, Table de concertation communautaire de Pointe-Saint-Charles 500, rue Ash, Montréal (Québec) H3K 2R4
• Ask friends to sign the letter
• Download Action-Gardien’s poster
• Read the bulletin
• Read Action-Gardien’s speech which provides background information on their struggle

Contact information for Action-Gardien:

Mailing address:

Action-Gardien
Table de concertation communautaire de Pointe-Saint-Charles
500, rue Ash, Montréal (Québec) H3K 2R4

Phone:

(514) 509-0795

 

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Action-Gardien’s speech

 

Montréal, February 14, 2007

On February 14, 2008, Moya Greene, President of the Canada Post Corporation (CPC),  held a forum at the Sheraton Hotel to present her plan for modernizing the country’s postal system. Representatives of the citizens of Pointe-Saint-Charles were outside to remind her that they reject the decision to close their post office. Below is the address made to them by Karine Triollet, spokesperson for Action-Gardien, a community round table organized by the Pointe-Saint-Charles community.

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“The case of the Pointe-Saint-Charles post office gives us a pretty good idea of what this modernization plan means, now and in the future, for all citizens of Quebec and Canada:  closures, franchises, relocations, all of which will deprive people of the services they are entitled to.

A few months ago, the Corporation secretly decided to close Pointe-Saint-Charles’ only post office and relocate it near the Victoria Bridge, away from any residential areas in Pointe-Saint-Charles, to a location that is not served by public transit and that is congested with traffic heading towards the South Shore. In short, the Corporation is relocating the post office to the middle of nowhere. For our community of 13,000 people, this means the outright loss of a local public service that should be easily accessible to all.

This decision is inconsiderate, socially untenable and inconsistent with Canada Post’s mandate. People in the area have been mobilizing for several months and have made representations to Ms. Greene and to Mr. Cannon, the Minister responsible for Canada Post, asking them to reconsider their decision.

Let’s take a look at their arguments, which they outlined in brief press releases:

Argument # 1 –  In the first press release, Ms. Lortie, a Canada Post official, stated the closure was a “business” decision. Has Canada Post forgotten that it’s mandate is to provide a public postal service, while improving its service and remaining self-sufficient? As with any public service, the purpose of Canada Post  is to provide the best possible service to everyone and not to maximize its profits as if it were a private company. Any profits it does make are supposed to be reinvested in improving services. Moreover, let’s not forget that the Corporation is already profitable, and has been so for the past 11 years. And so we ask you, Ms. Greene:  How is taking away services from people in one part of a community going to improve service?  

Argument # 2 – Canada Post says the Pointe-Saint-Charles office is underused. But if this were really the case, is moving the outlet away from residential areas going to solve the problem?  More fundamentally, at what point does a post office begin to be considered underused?  How far will it push this rationalization and cutting of services that it deems unprofitable?  After Pointe-Saint-Charles, is Canada Post going to do the same with all of other communities like Pointe-Saint-Charles in Quebec and Canada that are underused? Is it going to use the same excuse to relocate, franchise or close post offices in locations far from large urban centres, and in small towns that “underuse” their post offices? When a community is not worth a post office, what importance can it have for the government?

Argument # 3 – Carole Lortie, a spokesperson for Canada Post, says the citizens of Pointe-Saint-Charles will still be able to get the same services in franchised post offices that are found around the area. First of all, those services that are provided outside Pointe-Saint-Charles will no longer be local services. And are they really the same services? If that is the case, can Ms. Lortie and Ms. Greene explain why residents in Ste-Julie are now complaining about a lack of services in their new postal franchise, which opened last summer? Ms. Lortie herself admitted that the services were based on contract and agreements reached with private companies, and that, in certain cases, some services were not feasible because of the training and equipment required. Closures and privatization will never bring about improvements in services, and the case of Saint-Julie proves that once again.

Argument # 4 – Canada Post says that the post office is bigger than required and that its lease will soon be up. However, our Mayor has confirmed that the Municipal Housing Authority was ready to continue the lease and adjust the space to Canada Post’s needs.

None of Canada Post’s arguments add up. There is no valid reason to close the Pointe-Saint-Charles office. There are, however, very good reasons to keep it open:

The post office is an integral part of our community.  Between 200 and 300 people use it every month to get money orders.  Most of these people do not have a bank account.  That’s already 200 to 300 good reasons to keep our post office open,  not to mention people with reduced mobility, senior citizens, and users of post office boxes who may need them to ensure their confidentiality.

The post office is widely used by local residents, community organizations and businesses, and its use will increase along with future development.  Canada Post has been there for more than 20 years, even during times when population was decreasing and businesses were closing. And now that things are starting to improve, they want to leave. This is doing things backwards.

In Pointe-Saint-Charles, people have been organizing for years to develop our neighbourhoods, and to improve our living conditions and environment with local services.  They haven’t done all of this only to have the area’s few services eliminated. Recently, one of our schools was slated to close. Now it’s the post office. What will be next?  At the same time, we hear our ministers talking about regional development and wishing people would help themselves.  We’d like to remind them that a simple way of supporting local communities is by improving public services, not cutting, closing or privatizing them or moving them away.

Canada Post started by wanting to present the citizens of Pointe-Saint-Charles with a done deal, and avoid being accountable for its mandate. Its only response to our many community representations and a petition sent to the House of Commons has been to issue a few short press releases in the local papers. 

Taking this kind of decision without real debate is unacceptable. So today, we urge Canada Post officials to meet with the people. We invite Moya Greene, President of Canada Post, Lawrence Cannon, the Minister responsible for Canada Post, and Michael Fortier, the Minister responsible for the Greater Montreal area, to come and explain themselves in a public forum to the citizens of Pointe-Saint-Charles. They will be able to hear its citizens explain why having a local public service is essential.

Pending this public meeting, we ask Canada Post to suspend its decision to close the post office in March 2008, and we urge it to maintain the post office as it currently exists in Pointe-Saint-Charles. We can, and will, find ways of ensuring a public postal service for the residents of Pointe-Saint-Charles.

Finally, we are therefore appealing to all communities in Canada and Quebec to support us, because one day soon, it may be their turn to experience what has happened in Pointe-Saint-Charles.  Let’s make sure we all keep our public services.

On this Valentine’s Day, we have one message for Ms. Greene: We love our post office, and we want it to stay public and nearby.”

cd / cupe 1979