I expect departments and the federal government to consult municipalities on what's going on in their communities. In Quebec, land-use planning, the environment and all the related by-laws, pollution, new construction and building renovations, are all managed by the municipality.
We are still required by law to send notices related to these issues to our citizens by mail. At the very least, the laws should be amended to allow us to communicate electronically with our citizens or to use another method. Right now, for every letter we are required by law to send out, it costs us about $30 when we have to use a service provider that is not Canada Post. Things that come to mind are non-compliance notices for environmental release, construction in a side yard or renovation work beyond the approved time frame.
In a lot of cases, municipalities must use the mail to communicate with their citizens to avoid potential legal issues and to inform them, obviously.
Many regulations should be aligned, at the federal and provincial levels, so that communicating by mail is no longer mandatory.