Carseland post office may close

By Sharon McLeay Times Contributor

Carseland residents may be losing their postal outlet due to a lack of applicants for postmaster’s job.
The previous postmaster retired in December 2018. Despite Canada Post job advertisements for new candidates, the job remains unfilled.
“We have gone through two competitions to find a new postmaster to serve the community. Unfortunately, the searches were unsuccessful,” said Sylvie Lapointe, media relations spokesperson for Canada Post. “We are currently working in collaboration with the county of Wheatland to find the best option for the residents of Carseland. We will communicate with the community as soon as a decision has been made.”
Canada Post’s local superintendent, Jill Broderson, met with Wheatland County council to discuss options for the community.
Broderson outlined the types of post offices that could be set up. Some examples were a franchised private dealer retail post office that is set up in a local business, or the community would retain community mailboxes that are serviced by another corporate post office, like Strathmore or Langdon.
There are about 500 post office boxes in the Carseland area.
Wheatland County Councillor Donna Biggar said the Alberta Treasury Branch might consider taking care of a parcel outlet, but council and residents are trying to find the best options for the community.
“I cannot understand, and everybody else can’t either, how the small hamlets can have corporate post offices, and we have a group (mailbox) post office for years, and we do not understand why,” said Biggar.
The Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association did a study of 1,700 rural post offices in Canada in 2014, following Canada Post’s reorganization of rural post offices which resulted in many of them being closed or converted to retail franchise outlets. The study found closures left many rural communities without a post office, not even a franchise retail one.
The study stated 58 per cent of survey respondents had no post office services, negatively impacting the community and its businesses. Of the services that were left, 28 per cent of respondents were dissatisfied with service. There was a greater environmental impact because people had to travel farther to conduct postal business. The survey stated that seniors and disabled persons felt the brunt of closures because they couldn’t get out, or had no transportation means to get to a post office outside of their community.
In Canada Post’s Summary of the 2015-2019 Corporate Plan, it stated that internet messaging led to decreased revenues and challenging operations, but it was positive about the need for postal outlets given delivery demands from internet purchases.
The summary stated that Canada Post has modernized services to attempt to keep up with current trends. Its action plan had five initiatives: converting door-to-door delivery households to community mailboxes, restructuring the pricing model, optimizing the retail network, streamlining operations and addressing the cost of labour.
Then, on Jan. 24, 2018, Public Services and Procurement Canada outlined a new vision for Canada Post.
“This new vision is that of a renewed Canada Post that will provide high-quality service at a reasonable price to Canadians, no matter where they live. The Corporation’s leadership and its employees will work in partnership to adapt, meet challenges and take advantage of opportunities created by, among other things, new technologies and the evolving expectations of its customers and the communities it serves,” stated a news release.
“Aligned with the service-first vision, the program to convert home delivery to community mailboxes will be terminated effective immediately, building on the previously announced moratorium. Additionally, to help those who have difficulty accessing community mailboxes, Canada Post will significantly expand its accessibility program. This will help seniors and others with reduced mobility access their mail, and result in better service for tens of thousands of Canadians. The government is asking Canada Post to set up a panel of experts and advocates for seniors and people with disabilities to advise on the development, implementation and promotion of an enhanced accessibility program,” stated Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, in the news release.
What that means for Carseland is anyone’s guess. But it definitely will change service if no one steps up to fill the shoes of the former postmaster.