Hamilton’s city solicitor suspects a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal on whether the city can regulate the installation of community mail boxes may be coming soon.
“We’re hopeful to see a decision in two to four weeks,” said Janice Atwood-Petkovski. “Of course there is no guarantee.”
The city took its case before a panel of three appeal court judges last February after a lower court judge found in June 2015 that a new local bylaw requiring Canada Post to obtain a $200 permit to install the boxes on city-owned land did not apply to the post office.
Atwood-Petkovski said her suspicion that a ruling might be imminent is based on how long it has taken the appeal court to make other rulings.
She noted the length of time may also indicate that the court is giving the case full consideration and that it could rule in the city’s favour.
A ruling to deny the city’s appeal would likely have happened sooner, she said.
The loss of home delivery and the installation of community mail boxes across parts of the Mountain and Stoney Creek last year drew the ire of many residents.
Canada Post put the installation of the boxes on hold following the election of the Trudeau government last October.
Word of the pending decision was welcomed by about 40 people, more than half of them seniors, who attended a town hall meeting about Canada Post at the Sackville Hill Seniors Recreation Centre Thursday night that was hosted by Hamilton Mountain NDP MP Scott Duvall.
The attendees, who broke into discussion groups after some opening remarks, appeared unanimous in their call for the return of five-days-a-week mail delivery and that the crown corporation get into postal banking as competition for the big banks.
Other recommendations from the attendees included: that the Canada post management be fired, lower stamp costs, special rates for Holiday greetings, establish more corporate retail outlets and that Canada Post undergo a forensic audit.
Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, who represent more than 50,000 post office employees, have been in contract talks for several months and the two sides were slated to begin working with a special mediator today.
While the union has given the Canada Post 72-hours notice of job action, Terry Langley, president of CUPW Hamilton Local 548 which represents about 1,300 post office workers between Grimsby and Oakville, told the public meeting the notice was given because the strike mandate was about to expire.
“The union couldn’t allow itself to not have the ability to protect itself against any action by the corporation,” he said.
While the job action window opens at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Langley said the union plans to keep pushing for a negotiated settlement and that includes showing up for work on Monday.
“Our position right now is keep going to work, keep delivering the mail,” he said.
Proposed pension changes, equal pay (with urban carriers) for rural mail deliverers (many of whom are women) and the potential closure of hundreds of retail postal outlets are among the issues.
Duvall told the meeting the input form the residents will be written up and delivered in the fall to the federal task force that is reviewing Canada Post and how it will operate in the future.
Hamilton’s city solicitor suspects a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal on whether the city can regulate the installation of community mail boxes may be coming soon.
“We’re hopeful to see a decision in two to four weeks,” said Janice Atwood-Petkovski. “Of course there is no guarantee.”
The city took its case before a panel of three appeal court judges last February after a lower court judge found in June 2015 that a new local bylaw requiring Canada Post to obtain a $200 permit to install the boxes on city-owned land did not apply to the post office.
Atwood-Petkovski said her suspicion that a ruling might be imminent is based on how long it has taken the appeal court to make other rulings.
She noted the length of time may also indicate that the court is giving the case full consideration and that it could rule in the city’s favour.
A ruling to deny the city’s appeal would likely have happened sooner, she said.
The loss of home delivery and the installation of community mail boxes across parts of the Mountain and Stoney Creek last year drew the ire of many residents.
Canada Post put the installation of the boxes on hold following the election of the Trudeau government last October.
Word of the pending decision was welcomed by about 40 people, more than half of them seniors, who attended a town hall meeting about Canada Post at the Sackville Hill Seniors Recreation Centre Thursday night that was hosted by Hamilton Mountain NDP MP Scott Duvall.
The attendees, who broke into discussion groups after some opening remarks, appeared unanimous in their call for the return of five-days-a-week mail delivery and that the crown corporation get into postal banking as competition for the big banks.
Other recommendations from the attendees included: that the Canada post management be fired, lower stamp costs, special rates for Holiday greetings, establish more corporate retail outlets and that Canada Post undergo a forensic audit.
Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, who represent more than 50,000 post office employees, have been in contract talks for several months and the two sides were slated to begin working with a special mediator today.
While the union has given the Canada Post 72-hours notice of job action, Terry Langley, president of CUPW Hamilton Local 548 which represents about 1,300 post office workers between Grimsby and Oakville, told the public meeting the notice was given because the strike mandate was about to expire.
“The union couldn’t allow itself to not have the ability to protect itself against any action by the corporation,” he said.
While the job action window opens at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Langley said the union plans to keep pushing for a negotiated settlement and that includes showing up for work on Monday.
“Our position right now is keep going to work, keep delivering the mail,” he said.
Proposed pension changes, equal pay (with urban carriers) for rural mail deliverers (many of whom are women) and the potential closure of hundreds of retail postal outlets are among the issues.
Duvall told the meeting the input form the residents will be written up and delivered in the fall to the federal task force that is reviewing Canada Post and how it will operate in the future.
Hamilton’s city solicitor suspects a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal on whether the city can regulate the installation of community mail boxes may be coming soon.
“We’re hopeful to see a decision in two to four weeks,” said Janice Atwood-Petkovski. “Of course there is no guarantee.”
The city took its case before a panel of three appeal court judges last February after a lower court judge found in June 2015 that a new local bylaw requiring Canada Post to obtain a $200 permit to install the boxes on city-owned land did not apply to the post office.
Atwood-Petkovski said her suspicion that a ruling might be imminent is based on how long it has taken the appeal court to make other rulings.
She noted the length of time may also indicate that the court is giving the case full consideration and that it could rule in the city’s favour.
A ruling to deny the city’s appeal would likely have happened sooner, she said.
The loss of home delivery and the installation of community mail boxes across parts of the Mountain and Stoney Creek last year drew the ire of many residents.
Canada Post put the installation of the boxes on hold following the election of the Trudeau government last October.
Word of the pending decision was welcomed by about 40 people, more than half of them seniors, who attended a town hall meeting about Canada Post at the Sackville Hill Seniors Recreation Centre Thursday night that was hosted by Hamilton Mountain NDP MP Scott Duvall.
The attendees, who broke into discussion groups after some opening remarks, appeared unanimous in their call for the return of five-days-a-week mail delivery and that the crown corporation get into postal banking as competition for the big banks.
Other recommendations from the attendees included: that the Canada post management be fired, lower stamp costs, special rates for Holiday greetings, establish more corporate retail outlets and that Canada Post undergo a forensic audit.
Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, who represent more than 50,000 post office employees, have been in contract talks for several months and the two sides were slated to begin working with a special mediator today.
While the union has given the Canada Post 72-hours notice of job action, Terry Langley, president of CUPW Hamilton Local 548 which represents about 1,300 post office workers between Grimsby and Oakville, told the public meeting the notice was given because the strike mandate was about to expire.
“The union couldn’t allow itself to not have the ability to protect itself against any action by the corporation,” he said.
While the job action window opens at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Langley said the union plans to keep pushing for a negotiated settlement and that includes showing up for work on Monday.
“Our position right now is keep going to work, keep delivering the mail,” he said.
Proposed pension changes, equal pay (with urban carriers) for rural mail deliverers (many of whom are women) and the potential closure of hundreds of retail postal outlets are among the issues.
Duvall told the meeting the input form the residents will be written up and delivered in the fall to the federal task force that is reviewing Canada Post and how it will operate in the future.