Toronto

Scarborough’s Roy Paluoja says he’ll be severely impacted by Canada Post’s decision to cancel door-to-door mail delivery.

Paluoja, a retired 67-year-old who lives with his wife in the Markham Rd. and Sheppard Ave. E area, has been diagnosed with nerve damage in both legs caused by diabetes. He wears leg braces from ankle to shin, is never without a cane, and walks with a slow, slightly laboured gait. He is considered disabled, as is his 65-year-old wife, Hellen, who has an artificial hip.

Paluoja’s first thought when he heard of the plan to phase out door-to-door mail delivery in urban areas and instead use community mailboxes was what would they do when snow and ice cover the ground?

“I think it’ll be extremely difficult in the winter time … even in an urban area, to get to a (community) mailbox,” Paluoja said Wednesday outside his Sunburst Square home. In bad weather, he would simply have to let the mail pile up in his community mail box until it was safe enough for him to walk to wherever it may be, he said, adding: “You don’t need a lot of people ending up in hospitals with broken legs.”

In addition to the service cuts, Canada Post also announced it will increase the price of a stamp.

A single stamp will rise from 63 cents to $1 as of March 31. Stamps bought in packages will cost 85 cents each.

The changes are part of the Crown corporation’s plan to cope with financial strains because of the proliferation of e-mail and other forms of communication technology.

Gladys Callad, an 80-year-old who lives in a house in the Kingston Rd. and Guildwood Pkwy. area, is concerned about the trek she’ll have to make to pick up something that has traditionally come right to her door.

“Look at me, I’m old,” said Callad, who also walks with the help of a cane. “I’d tell (Canada Post) to think it over, or make special deliveries.”

Susan Eng, vice-president of advocacy for the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, agrees, insisting Canada Post hasn’t done enough planning as to what to do about people with mobility issues.

“What about the people who can’t get out there to pick up their mail?” Eng said, adding that while she sees nothing wrong with Canada Post modernizing its operations, they must “find a way to deal with people with mobility issues.” She suggested it look to the “Carrier Alert” program in the U.S., an initiative where volunteer mail carriers check in on vulnerable seniors.