Pouring rain and gusting wind didn't stop members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers Local 728 from gathering near an advertising billboard on the north end of town. The workers were showing their support for keeping door to door delivery, which Canada Post has announced it would be phasing out.
The gathering is a local part of a new national campaign by CUPW to gather support for preserving home mail delivery.
CUPW also has a legal challenge in the works and is being joined by seniors' groups and organizations for people with disabilities.
Canada Post wants to phase out home delivery in an effort to cope with a revenue squeeze from falling mail volumes.
The postal workers union said the Federal Court challenge, which has not yet been filed, will argue that doing away with home delivery is a decision for Parliament, not Canada Post.
Union president Denis Lemelin told the Canadian Press that the agency is too focused on the bottom line and is ignoring the needs of Canadians.
"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 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.
With files from Canadian Press