Hidden Valley residents wondering where their mail’s gone

Some Burlington residents are looking for answers after months of sporadic mail delivery.

Residents living on Hidden Valley Road started to notice a problem around mid-December when presents — mailed in good time — never made it for the holidays.

Rob Browning says it was weeks before they showed up. “We got a big pile of it January 15th or so, and then it’s been intermittent since then as well.” He’s been living on the rural route for the past 11 years and has always received his mail daily through a superbox — but recently his bills have been showing up late.

“Luckily the hydro guys are pretty lenient but Cogeco didn’t screw around – nope! Late fees start today!”

Down the road, Jim Jennings is waiting for his clients’ cheques. “I’ve had a cheque that was sent from Toronto a week ago Monday and it’s still not here today.”

He says the sporadic delivery is impacting the small business he runs out of his home. Jennings filed a complaint earlier this month after going up to a week with no mail.

“If nothing happens as far as I’m concerned they should disband Canada Post. Privatize it so we get proper service.”

A spokesperson for Canada Post says this harsh winter combined with higher than normal absenteeism and a staffing issue on the route is to blame. It says they’ve been monitoring the area since Jennings filed his complaint and that a supervisor even personally delivered the mail this week.

But local Canadian Union of Postal Workers president Terry Langley says there is more to it. “We’ve always delivered in this kind of weather and we’ve always delivered under these circumstances and it’s process changes that the corporation has gone through that’s reduced staffing numbers and that’s why we are running into the problem of uncovered letter carrier routes.”

In December Canada Post announced they plan on cutting door-to-door service and up to 8,000 positions — mainly through attrition — because of rising costs and falling mail volumes. But today, the corporation told CHCH News is actively recruiting staff in the area.