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Community mailbox location sparks angry response in Calgary

CALGARY – Canada Post has begun implementing a controversial plan to phase out home delivery over the next several years, replacing the door-to-door service with community mailboxes. But one Calgary homeowner says no one asked her before they decided to put the “superbox” only a few metres from the side of her home.

“There’s going to be people standing here all the time when they’re getting their mail,” said Nicole Norris, who has lived in her Cedarbrae home for two years.

“There’s going be dogs going to the washroom around it, there’s going to be people…if they drop their garbage.”

Canada Post recently delivered a notice showing the new community mailbox that will be installed on her lawn outside her kitchen and living room windows.

A photo from Canada Post shows where the community box will go on Nicole Norris’ Calgary property. Handout

“I’m a first-time homeowner and I take a lot of pride in my yard,” said Norris, who’s worried about vandalism and the property value of her home. “I’m out here every day in the summer making my yard look the best that it possibly can. This just really hurts.”

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Norris says she asked for the box to be relocated in front of a fence by an alley next to her house, but was told it’s out of her postal district.

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The City of Calgary says there’s not much it can do unless there’s a safety or traffic issue with the location.

“If we see any glaring issues with it we can let them know what those issues might be but ultimately it’s Canada Post’s decision where they go,” said city spokesperson Jessica Bell.

Canada Post said it would hold community consultations over the locations, but Norris said no one talked to her. Canada Post has not yet responded to a Global News request to explain the rationale behind the location of this particular mailbox.

In the meantime, the union representing Canada Post workers is asking the federal court to declare the planned cancellation of home delivery as unconstitutional. The union says the move will slash about 8,000 jobs.

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