Residents are worried about the upcoming closure of the only post office located in the heart of the Montreal district of Pointe-Saint-Charles. At a time when another Canada Post franchise is about to close in the Sud-Ouest, the borough is urging the federal government to maintain access to this “essential service” for its residents.
On January 31, the post office located inside the IGA grocery store on rue Mullins, in Pointe-Saint-Charles, will close its doors. Many residents of the neighborhood will then have to take public transit or walk a long distance to put a stamp on a letter or have a package delivered to another post office outside the neighborhood. A situation that will particularly affect the elderly or people with reduced mobility in the sector.
“We are really being taken hostage,” drops Natacha Alexandroff, a septuagenarian who lives in Pointe-Saint-Charles. “It’s a public service that we’re being taken away,” adds the lady. After this closure, residents of the neighborhood will be able to go to a post office located near the Atwater market or to the one located on Bridge Street, near Cité-du-Havre.
“For people with reduced mobility and seniors, it’s really not easy,” also points out the spokesperson for Action Gardien, Pointe-Saint-Charles Community Development Corporation, Camille Trudelle.
Civic and political mobilization
A petition has also been launched in recent weeks by this organization to demand a moratorium on the closure of the post office located in the IGA on rue Mullins, the time to open another elsewhere in the neighborhood. This has since collected more than 1,120 signatures, a sign that a mobilization is therefore preparing in this district of around 15,000 inhabitants, which is also experiencing significant demographic growth. “Actions are coming,” assures Ms. Trudelle, who also receives the support of the borough in her efforts.
“Pointe-Saint-Charles is like a small Canadian town. She deserves to have access to this service,” also insists Borough Councilor Craig Sauvé, who notably represents this neighbourhood.
The elected officials of the Sud-Ouest unanimously adopted a resolution on January 17 to affirm their support for “the current citizen mobilization” and to ask Canada Post to “maintain a post office” in Pointe-Saint-Charles. , as well as in the Ville-Émard district, where a post office will also close its doors on January 31 in a pharmacy on Monk Boulevard.
“We are at the beginning of the process of finding replacement postal outlets. In the meantime, all postal products and services will be offered at post offices located nearby,” said the Duty a spokesperson for Canada Post on Thursday. However, these are counters located outside the two neighborhoods affected by these closures.
However, for the borough, “it is essential for us that postal offices remain open in Pointe-Saint-Charles and in Ville-Émard”, insists Julie Bélanger, the director of the cabinet of the mayor of the South-West, Benoit Dorais . “It’s an essential service,” she insists.
The borough also contacted federal deputy Marc Miller, as did Action Guardian in the last few days, who also called on Canada Post and the Minister of Public Services and Supply, Filomena Tassi.
“We want a postal outlet in the heart of the neighborhood that is well located and accessible for seniors,” insists Ms. Trudelle.
It is not just the Sud-Ouest borough that is facing post office closures. On January 31, the only post office in the Mercier-Est district will close its doors, a decision that has also raised strong opposition from citizens. A post office also closed in Sainte-Foy last month, in particular.