Torontonians elated they might keep home mail delivery

Toronto residents and the head of Canada's postal union say they're elated that Canada Post has decided to suspend its controversial community mailbox program.

• Canada Post halts controversial community mailbox program

Yesterday the postal service said it won't install any more of the so-calledsuper boxes this yearor next as it suspends its plan to replace home delivery with community mailboxes in some neighbourhoods.

The change of plans will preserve door-to-door service for about460,000 homes across the country. However neighbourhoods that already have their super boxes will have to keep them.

That news was music to the ears of Etobicoke residents who told CBC they don't want their door-to-door service to disappear.

"It's good news to not have to trudge through the snow to get my mail," one resident said.

Ward 31 Coun. Janet Davis says city council had been examining the plan from the beginning. There were concerns about where the boxes would be placed, particularly in densely populated downtown neighbourhoods where sidewalk space is at a premium.

"There was a great deal of concern about the impact of these on our public streets," said Davis. "People in Toronto ... will want to see that this program is not going to go forward permanently."

Postal union wants public mandate review

Mike Palecek, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, saidhe and his members are "elated." He said the federal Liberal Partywhich won a majorityinlast week's election had promised to put the program on hold and study the future direction of Canada Post.

Paleceksaid he wants that review to happen in a public forum.

"Now what we'd like to make sure is that their study is actually a public mandate review of Canada Post so that it's not done behind closed doors," said Palecek. He said this would ensure "that the public will have some input into the service that theirpost office will provide."

Palecek said he'd also like to seehome delivery restored in areas of the country that havealready lost it.

"[Canada Post] should be undoing [the cuts];they never should have happened to begin with," he said.