Mr. Speaker, on February 25 I asked the minister responsible for persons living with disabilities what the government would do to ensure that disabled Canadians are not adversely affected by the decision of Canada Post to end door-to-door mail delivery. The question was prompted, in part, by the passing of a resolution by the City of Toronto that rejected Canada Post's plan to convert from door-to-door delivery to community mailboxes. The city was particularly concerned by the effect this decision would have on seniors with mobility issues and on other persons with disabilities.
The minister responsible for persons with disabilities did not respond. Rather, the Minister of Transport responded that it was her understanding that Canada Post was working with national councils with respect to the disabled and disadvantaged to ensure that it can appropriately provide service.
I have been in contact with Canada Post on this issue, and its responses have been less than encouraging. Thus far, as far as I am aware, the only option ever presented to any disabled individual was to be given an extra key and be told to find a friend or relative to get the mail for them. In other words, Canada Post, which has been running community mailboxes for 30 years, still has not figured out how to deal with the very real problem of providing service to persons with disabilities.
When I suggested that the boxes were not cleared of snow and were inaccessible, the answer was to tell Canada Post which one it was, and someone would be sent out. Canada Post's stated position is that persons with disabilities who face an “unacceptable hardship” will be dealt with somehow. Canada Post does not know how, and it refused to define what it means by “unacceptable hardship”. Canada Post has failed to provide the service to persons with disabilities now, and to suggest that the horse will change its spots in the future is an extreme stretch of credibility.
Canada is signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. One of the principal tenets of that convention is that we should never go backwards. Life should always be made better, not worse, for persons living with disabilities. It is the minister's responsibility to ensure that federal institutions and organizations, such as Canada Post, do not drift backwards, regardless of the need to save money or to cut corners. In other words, our international commitments signed by the government should prevent any worsening of the standards of living for persons with disabilities. That will certainly be the case if they are forced to find other mechanisms to get their mail or are unable to receive mail because of inaccessible boxes.
I have witnessed community boxes that were completely inaccessible to a person in a wheelchair. They are not routinely cleared of snow. They are on the opposite side of a street, which itself is not cleared by the municipality. They do not necessarily have a curb cut for a wheelchair.
After 30 years, one would think Canada Post would have managed this situation. My point is that left to its own devices, Canada Post has 30 years of history to prove to us how competent it has been at dealing with persons with disabilities. It is not competent.
However, persons with disabilities have been able to avoid that incompetence by living in the 70% of private homes in Canada that still have door-to-door delivery or in an apartment building that has delivery to the lobby.
Before another community mailbox is installed, the federal government should take stern action to ensure that Canada Post cleans up its act. That means taking seriously the problem soon to be faced by the residents of Kanata, Oakville, and so on, and demanding that Canada Post's conversion plans cease.