Residents in the western Alberta town of Edson have been without regular mail service for about two weeks, and some say a lack of communication from Canada Post has left the community frustrated and seeking answers.
Mail service was disrupted Jan. 29 after a water leak from the upstairs tenant caused damage inside the post office in the town, located about 180 km west of Edmonton.
What was initially expected to be a short-term closure has instead left postal operations in the community of 8,700 people suspended, with no firm timeline for when service will resume.
It isn’t just the town itself affected — rural residents of the surrounding Yellowhead County have also stopped receiving their mail.
Mayor Kevin Zahara said the community has no control over postal operations but is greatly impacted by the disruption.
“This is not a municipal issue — this is a government and Canada Post issue, and they need to figure it out,” Zahara said.
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Mail sorting has not been temporarily relocated, leaving residents and businesses uncertain about when they will receive their letters and parcels.
“There’s lots of buildings available in town. There’s post offices nearby where they could sort it and bring the mail out,” Zahara said.
“It’s unacceptable for people not to get their mail for two weeks.”
Some residents said they were initially confused when deliveries suddenly stopped, with many wondering whether another labour disruption was underway. Canada Post workers have gone on strike twice in the past year and a half.
Edson residents said there was little communication from the Crown corporation about the situation until earlier this week.
Darlene Chouinard, president of the Edson Chamber of Commerce, said the disruption is taking a toll on the local business community and Canada Post should be held accountable.
“If you need a part to fix a machine or something and you’re waiting on a small business to fix it, and they’re waiting on the post office to deliver the part, you can’t just go to another place,” Chouinard said.
“Missing a few clients is a big deal to a small business.”
In a statement, Canada Post said it has been working on a contingency plan and hopes to resume mail and delivery service, possibly by the end of the week.
Canada Post said all mail destined for Edson is currently being held at a processing plant until local service can resume.
The corporation added it will share updates with the community when they become available.
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