It is too late for this winter, but before winter 2025-26 hits us with snowbanks and hills of frozen slush, a conversation between Canada Post and the City of Moose Jaw should be a priority requirement.
Who knows but perhaps those two agencies already talk, but if they do talk, there’s been something important missing from the conversations.
Take, for instance, the location of the community mailboxes that force residents to tromp through snow storms and resultant snow banks to retrieve their important letters and householder mail of fast food coupons, political propoganda, and mailers promoting walk-in bathtubs and other household essentials.
None of us wanted to give up residential mail delivery, but we weren’t given a choice in the matter and so we received our mailbox keys and were warned not to lose them. There were no hints as to how retrieval of mail could best take place during the winter months.
Our mailbox is just up the block and around the corner — a lovely walk in spring, summer and fall. The walk in winter is bearable with warm clothing and a keen eye directed to the sidewalk and what danger might be lurking.
But turning the corner and getting to the mailbox becomes more of a challenge. Should one walk on the street and take a chance that motorists will slow down when they see pedestrians aiming their attention to the mailbox plopped there by someone in the Canada Post head office, someone unfamiliar with winter in the city?
This winter there was limited access to the front view of the boxes from their behind and no visible pathway shovelled from the south side to allow access to the road view.
From the street, there was only a narrow path, a heel-and-toe path of ice and snow, inviting users to navigate carefully to avoid landing headfirst in the snowbanks on either side.
Add to that, on warmer days, the slough of water at the dip towards the boxes, demanding that one wear sturdy rubber boots to keep feet dry. For Heaven’s sake, don’t drop a letter or worse, the mailbox key. Retrieval would not be a happy event.
Housemate has been the person in our household who has taken on the chore of collecting the mail. In the winter, he does not do it daily, and he does not return home in a happy frame of mind. He mutters about both Canada Post and the city and not in glowing terms.
Upon research, I learned that Canada Post is responsible for clearing snow and ensuring access to the mailboxes “as it is essential for mail delivery.”
I also learned Canada Post has a snow removal phone number: 1-866-607-6301. The information is limited, but I assume a householder could phone that number and politely ask for improved snow removal around the boxes. We might or might not be happy with the Canada Post response.
We could also phone the city’s snow removal line and respectfully ask that city grader operators not push snow off the road directly in front of the community mailbox, thus negating any snow removal by Canada Post.
This is the part where better communication should take place between the two parties. The agreement should be that the city will keep the blade down in front of mailboxes that face city streets. Then, Canada Post could show up with shovels to manufacture a wider walkway to allow residents to walk safely towards the boxes. Such a simple solution. A no-brainer, as some would suggest.
A A long-time friend, a postal carrier, often complained about residents who didn’t shovel their sidewalks. He passed away a few years ago but I wonder what he would say if he saw the mail pick-up spots of today? He would be the first to call the Canada Post snow removal hotline — and he wouldn’t choose his words carefully!!
Joyce Walter can be reached at [email protected]
