Hamilton moving to appeal ruling related to placement of community mailboxes

HAMILTON – A southern Ontario city is moving to appeal a judge’s decision over the placement of Canada Post community mailboxes.

Hamilton’s general issues committee voted 8-4 in favour of challenging the judge’s ruling, but council approval at a meeting next week is required to go through with the appeal.

The case dealt with how much say the local government has over the location over the large, controversial mailboxes that are being installed across the country as Canada Post moves away from home delivery.

Last week an Ontario judge found that a Hamilton bylaw, which required Canada Post to obtain a $200 permit per site to install boxes on municipal land, did not apply to the Crown corporation.

The city brought in the bylaw after resident complaints over safety, privacy, litter and traffic when the mailboxes were installed in what they considered less-than-ideal locations.

Coun. Terry Whitehead says the safety concerns will not go away when door-to-door mail delivery ends in parts of the city in mid-July.

(CHML)