On April 13, Canada Post suspended mail delivery along two blocks of Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside due to safety concerns
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A protest will be held Tuesday in a bid to get Canada Post to resume service to all of the Downtown Eastside.
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On April 13, Canada Post suspended mail delivery along two blocks of Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside due to safety concerns.
At that time, Canada Post spokeswoman Valerie Chartrand said in a statement that the federal Crown corporation was working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and find a long-term solution “that will ensure the well-being of our employees.”
Chartrand said impacted customers had been notified and their mail was available to be picked up from a Canada Post facility about two kilometers away from the area.
Service has not resumed.
On Monday, the Pivot Legal Society sent a letter to Canada Post claiming the decision violated the Accessible Canada Act, the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
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Two other Downtown Eastside groups — Our Homes Can’t Wait Coalition and the Vancouver Network of Drug Users — now say they will stage a protest on Tuesday at 2:30 pm at the corner of Carrall and Hastings Streets.
In a statement, those groups said Canada Post’s decision impacted residents who receive paycheques, welfare and disability assistance and other important documents.
“Canada Post’s insinuation that ‘witnessing drug use’ poses a significant danger to the corporation’s employees is a cynical media provocation that stigmatizes and demonizes residents of the Downtown Eastside,” the group said.
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