Man sits in lawn chair for 19 days to stop Canada Post

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Hamilton man sits in lawn chair for 19 days to stop Canada Post from installing mega mailbox

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HAMILTON, Ont. — Henry Evans-Tenbrinke, a retired health-care worker with a Boxer dog named Albert, left his home on East 27th Street at 6:45 a.m. on May 11. Albert the dog was with him, as were three white lawn chairs, some bottled water, a wide-brimmed hat, a cellphone, a pen, a wallet, a camera and reading material, just in case Evans-Tenbrinke got bored while sitting.

And sit was what he did — and sitting is what he has done, for the past 19 days — for about eight hours a day, in a white lawn chair on the proposed site of a Canada Post community mailbox (CMB) on Brucedale Avenue. Next to the site is a cedar hedge. Behind the hedge is a homeowner’s backyard swimming pool, a watery oasis that, should Canada Post have its way, will soon have a big, ugly metal box as a neighbour.

Several CMBs have already sprouted along Brucedale Avenue. Planted on patches of municipal property mere steps from many residents’ windows, spoiling their views, spelling the end of door-to-door mail delivery in this blue-collar neighbourhood and inspiring Evans-Tenbrinke to do something about it.

“This is about the cessation of home delivery,” he says, referring to his one-man, one-dog protest. “Canadians are fed up with not being consulted on these important issues. I had been keeping an eye on this, and when I noticed the pads had been installed at the side of the road here, I decided it was time to act.”

http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2015/05/pjt-mailbox_fight-1.jpg?w=620&h=414For the record: Evans-Tenbrinke isn’t some lone wolf wing-nut protestor camped out in a concrete wilderness getting a tan on his forearms while banging a drum that nobody else cares to hear. No. A CMB could be coming to a patch of grass near you, in your neighbourhood, and possibly even landing on your front lawn — the thought of which is kicking up a major kerfuffle in jurisdictions across the country.


Kelly McParland: Thomas Mulcair’s $250M promise to reinstate door-to-door mail delivery is flat-out nuts

To say the snail mail business is a dying industry is to seriously understate the scope of the malady. Deepak Chopra, the president and chief executive of Canada Post Corp., says the rate at which paper letter-delivery is failing is “epic.” From 2011 to 2012 alone, postal workers handled 255 million fewer pieces. Canadians have “walked away” from the mail system, Chopra says. “They have digital lifestyles.”

Enter the New Democratic Party. On the weekend, federal leader pledged that — against all common sense — he would return door-to-door mail delivery across the country.


In Hamilton, the city and the Crown corporation are involved in a bitter court dispute over the issue, with the municipal government arguing for greater local input in determining the site of each CMB. As it stands, each box lands where it will, according to the whims of Canada Post.

Several Montreal area mayors have voiced similar concerns over CMB sites — and the end of door-to-door delivery — and are pushing for a moratorium on the community mailbox plan even as the plan pushes ahead.

Canada Post, meanwhile, maintains under the Canada Post Act it can put the boxes wherever it ultimately pleases on municipal property. It says it has spent months consulting with officials in Hamilton while reaching out to residents for feedback through surveys and information packages.

“Our approach is to consult, be respectful, but also understanding that there are laws that govern how postal services are provided in Canada,” Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton told The Canadian Press.

“We understand that this is a difficult change, and that’s why we have a long process to gather feedback, to try and find a solution that makes sense.”

What makes sense to Henry Evans-Tenbrinke is the community’s response to his protest. He has two empty chairs beside him. Of the hundreds of people who have dropped by to wish him well, and sit a while, or driven past and flashed him the thumbs up, only one has spoken out in favour of the CMBs.

If they try to install boxes, we will be here to stop them

“And she was a senior,” Evans-Tenbrinke says, laughing.

So is the pensioner’s mother, Alberta. She is 83 and gets around on a walker. But she struggles, and would struggle to collect her mail if she had to walk around the block to a community box.

“Henry has always liked getting involved,” she says, noting he didn’t inherit the activist spirit from her, but that she supports him in his present effort since what he is doing is the “right thing.”

There are perks to protesting. Supporters often bring coffee, sandwiches and, on one occasion last week, an ice cream treat from Dairy Queen. The 61-year-old notes with some surprise he has actually lost weight since beginning his protest, while his photo portfolio of birds has expanded. The avid birder keeps a long-lens camera by his side, just in case something interesting flies by.

“I have captured cardinals, grackles, goldfinches — and a hawk over there, up in that tree,” he says.


No management types from Canada Post have stopped by to speak with Evans-Tenbrinke, though the corporation’s website features a reader-friendly forum where concerned Canadians can submit their questions about the new mailboxes.

This is all good, in theory, until you start reading the answers provided. Cally B., from Whitby Ont., logically asked what many Canadians are thinking: “I don’t want a mailbox placed in front of my house. How can I prevent this?”

The answer: sites will be chosen based on “feedback” from residents. Those who aren’t happy about a site can call Canada Post customer service at 1-844-454-3009.

In other words, if a community mailbox lands on your lawn or, say, right beside your outdoor pool on Brucedale Avenue, good luck getting rid of it.

Evans-Tenbrinke and Albert the dog were preparing to drive off into the sit-in sunset Friday afternoon, declaring it to be the last day of their protest. The plan was to spend the weekend considering their next move. The plan is not to give up on this fight.

“We are going to be keeping an eye on these concrete pads,” he says. “If they try to install boxes, we will be here to stop them.”

[POSTMAN]

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Hamilton Resistance Has Made a Difference

OTTAWA- Canada Post’s plan to end door-to-door delivery on Hamilton Mountain has apparently been put on "indefinite hold," according to the union representing postal workers. While this decision has yet to be confirmed in writing by Canada Post Corporation, postal workers were cautiously optimistic.

“At this point, we can only speculate, but we think the actions of Hamilton residents have had an impact,” said Terry Langley, President of the Hamilton local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).

Hamilton postal workers were informed yesterday by Canada Post managers that no new date for the end of door-to-door delivery would be scheduled at this time.

Since Canada Post’s cuts were announced in 2013, almost 600 municipalities and municipal organizations, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Big City Mayors Caucus, have raised concerns about the elimination of door-to-door delivery. Hamilton city staff estimated that mailbox conversion would cost the city at least $2 million in administrative costs alone.

Many Hamilton residents have fiercely opposed the removal of their home delivery. One retiree, Henry Evans-Tenbrinke, occupied his mailbox installation site for days, making international headlines.

“We can and should insist that our profitable post office consult with us before cutting services,” said Mike Palecek, National President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

The union says that postal cuts will remain a federal election issue for the Conservative government.

[POSTMAN]

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Union Demands Straight Answers from Canada Post

OTTAWA-Canada Post management re-confirmed with Hamilton local CUPW leadership today that there is no set date for implementation of their service cuts in Hamilton.

"The previously scheduled date of implementation of these cuts was June 15. Now we hear this is not the case. The only indication of the date that Canada Post spokespeople are giving now is “this summer”,” said Mike Palecek, CUPW National President.

"We demand immediate clarification of this issue from Deepak Chopra. Are the cuts going ahead as scheduled on June 15th or will they be keeping door-to-door delivery? People deserve to know."

"Canada Post is saying one thing to its employees on the workfloor, and another thing entirely to the public."