Pat Israel doesn’t want to give up her independence or her privacy just to get her mail.

That’s why has joined the Canadian Union of Postal Workers along with groups representing seniors and disabled people in launching a constitutional challenge over Canada Post’s plan to end door-to-door home delivery.

“I live a life of a disabled person every day. It’s not a bad life,” said Israel, who lives in a house in North York and works as a program assistant at a social service agency.

“But I shouldn’t have to struggle for basic service,” she said. “I almost feel like a second-class citizen.”

Israel, 62, has a rare genetic condition from birth that affects her mobility. She has used a wheelchair since she was 16. Her husband John, 70, is a paraplegic as a result of a workplace accident almost five decades ago.

Last December, Canada Post announced sweeping changes as part of a five-point action plan to cut costs including eliminating up to 8,000 jobs over the next five years.

In March, it hiked the price of domestic stamps from 63 cents to 85 cents, if bought in bulk, but $1 a stamp for single sales.

Canada Post will target five million addresses across the country over the next five years including the Israel’s and replace their service with community mailboxes, which have served suburban addresses since the 1970s.

Even though Canada Post says people can get an extra key to have a caregiver, relative or friend collect mail from a community mailbox, Israel says seniors and disabled shouldn’t have to impose on others to get their mail.

“Why should I have to give someone a key?” she said. “To me, it’s about privacy. It’s bills, notices and income taxes.”

The post office has offered to accommodate needs including once-a-week home delivery for those who have a medical note. But Israel says she doesn’t feel she should have to give out private medical information to qualify for assistance.

That requirement for notes has also irked Canada’s doctors who were not consulted on the move. The Canadian Medical Association has argued it is not the best use of health care resources, filling out paperwork.

Seniors were also furious with Canada Post CEO Deepak Chopra, who when testifying before a House of Commons committee last December, suggested seniors would welcome the change because they could get more exercise by walking to a community mailbox.

Paul Cavalluzzo, a leading constitutional lawyer, says an application will be filed in Federal Court next week, arguing that the move violates the rights of seniors and the disabled protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“Can you imagine a disabled person in a wheelchair trying to get over a snow bank in front of a community mailbox?” he said. “Community mailboxes are not an adequate accommodation.”

Cavalluzzo added that while Canada Post argues two-thirds of customers already don’t receive door-to-door delivery, many are in apartment or condo buildings where there’s a mailroom in the lobby.

“There’s a big difference between that and climbing over a snow bank in February. They are completely different situations,” he said.

The union is footing the bill for the legal battle, but other groups that have signed on including DisAbled Women’s Network Canada, Alberta Network for Mental Health, National Pensioners’ Federation, and Congress of Union Retirees of Canada.

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Israel and Susan Dixon, who launched a change.org petition, are the two individuals named in the application.

Cavalluzzo will also argue that Canada Post cannot unilaterally change such a policy, but rather it is up to Parliament, which created the crown corporation and defined its mandate.

As well, he believes the changes are a breach of international law because of treaties that Canada has signed to ensure accessible services to disabled persons, as well an international postal agreement to provide “universal, affordable and accessible” mail service.

Canada Post is confident that its plan “will withstand any and all legal challenges,” said spokesman Jon Hamilton.

“Our mandate is to serve all Canadian addresses and to do it in a financially self-sustaining way,” he said. “With the amount of mail on the decline year after year, we have to make changes in order to secure postal service for all.”

Hamilton added Canada Post will ensure that it will not leave anyone behind, promising accommodation where needed.

The first 11 communities including Oakville, affecting 100,000 addresses, will be switched over to community mailboxes in the coming weeks.

Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, who now has a community mailbox serving about 50 homes across from his house, says not all residents are happy with the changes.

“It’s your federal government at work,” he said.

“The reality is 60 per cent of Oakville never had door-to-door delivery,” Burton said. “And the majority aren’t inclined to be upset … It’s a little bit like ‘Welcome to our world.’ ”

Dense neighbourhoods in big cities like Toronto and Montreal will be among the last to change over, in part because the post office still needs to figure out how best to adapt to small lots and narrow streets.

While Canada Post has been suffering financial pressures in recent years, its latest financial report showed it earned a net profit of $42 million in the second quarter, compared to a loss of $71 million in the same period a year earlier.

Its profit before tax for the three months ended June 28 was $53 million, compared to a loss of $104 million a year earlier. It attributed the profit to growth in its parcel delivery business and lower employee benefit costs.

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