Norfolk councilors were intrigued by a pitch from a Canada Post campaign to re-imagine rural post offices for general community use but ultimately decided to simply receive a request for support as information.
Postal worker Derek Richmond appeared before council last month saying Canada Post hopes to set up rural hubs that could serve small businesses and provide banking, e-vehicle charging and high-speed internet for hamlets and villages that don’t have access to such services.
Also explored is the idea of postal carriers checking in on vulnerable customers or delivering groceries to help them remain in their homes longer.
“There’s already a pilot project in place to provide small loans at Canada Post,” said Richmond. “We could provide hunting and fishing licenses, library machines and farmer markets.”
Richmond asked county council to help put pressure on the federal government by endorsing the concept of enhancing and expanding rural post offices.
“I love so many aspects of this,” said Coun. Kim Huffman, wondering if the postal union is in favor of such changes.
Richmond said the proposals are part of a union campaign and something workers have been seeking for years.
count. Chris Van Paassen said he also agreed with many of the concepts but “it’s not our job to dictate the business model” to such a corporation.
Councilors were divided on a motion to support Richmond’s request and asked staff to look into it further.
At a recent meeting, staff informed councilors how 20 other municipal councils reacted to the Delivering Community Power proposal.
Five councils made motions to endorse the request but two of those motions were defeated. Another 15 municipalities simply received the request as information.
The plan got the support of Brooke-Alvinston, Kincardine and Toronto, with Toronto keying in on the need for electric vehicle charging and Canada Post’s push to electrify its fleet.
At its July 12 meeting, Norfolk staff advised that since the Crown Corporation is governed beyond the mandate of Norfolk, no further action should be taken and council agreed.
@EXPSGamble