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“The reaction was immediate from every part of this country,” Lemelin said. “People — seniors, people with disabilities, the general public — were against it and demand that the door-to-door delivery be maintained.”

The application will argue that the elimination of home delivery contravenes the section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that gives people the right to equality without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

The third argument Cavalluzzo will make in the federal court application is that the elimination of home delivery violates the United Nations’ convention on the rights of people with disabilities.

Cavalluzzo said when the crown corporation announced they would eliminate home delivery on Dec. 11, 2013, Canada became the first G8 country without it.

Seniors’ groups and organizations for people with disabilities have joined the planned legal challenge.

The Conservatives are trying to distance themselves from the home delivery issue, the union said, adding the government should be held accountable for allowing the decision to be made without proper consultation or debate.

Canada Post said it is confident the plan to do away with home delivery “will withstand any and all legal scrutiny.”

Digital alternatives — such as electronic bills and email — are quickly replacing traditional mail delivery, spokesman Jon Hamilton said.

“The decision to move away from door-to-door mail delivery for a third of Canadian households was difficult,” he said in an interview.

“We understand that two-thirds of Canadian households today don’t have delivery to the door. But we also understood that we needed to ensure as we make these changes, we were taking the approach and ensure that no one was left behind.”