Canada Post says community mailboxes not possible for most of downtown Montreal

Downtown Montreal will be mostly exempt from Canada Post's plan to ditch door-to-door delivery and erect community mailboxes later this summer. 

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A Canada Post spokesperson told Daybreak host Mike Finnerty on Wednesday that the makeup of Montreal's downtown core makes it difficult to change the area's mailing system.

"A lot of downtown Montreal will actually not be converted because it's mostly businesses, apartment complexes and there is very little door-to-door delivery," said Canada Post spokesperson Anick Losier.

"The Plateau is a great example and there's no space on the Plateau."

The announcement comes after Radio-Canada reported that Canada Post did not find enough space in Old Terrebonne to install the community mailboxes and were turned away when they approached private property owners to reach an agreement.

Old Terrebonne will still have door-to-door delivery when the rest of the suburb converts to community mailboxes on September 21.

But Losier said the situation in Old Terrebonne means the community mailbox plan will be delayed, not eliminated.

Canada Post has been in talks with the City of Montreal and other municipalities to find alternatives, like finding retail space where people can go pick up their mail.

"We want to find a way that [the mail] is still accessible, still close to people's homes or on their way to work," Losier told Daybreak. 

"The bottom line is to make sure we don't make it an obstacle in public spaces."

For other parts of Montreal, the West Island and parts of the south shore and Laval, door-to-door delivery service will end on August 17.