Our Union joined members of the Constance Lake First Nation to protest the lack of funding for a full-service post office on their land.

We participated in a protest with members of the Constance Lake First Nations, the mayor of Hearst Ontario, and the NDP Member of Parliament at the Hearst Post Office on Friday September 4, 2009.

Members of the Constance Lake First Nation have not had postal service in their community since November 2008.  They are required to drive over 80 kilometers a day to the Hearst Post Office in order to send or receive mail.

A Meeting with Moya Greene is Necessary

CUPW issued a press release calling on Canada Post President Moya Greene to immediately meet with the leadership of the Constance Lake First Nation to arrive at a fair and just solution to re-establish a full, adequately funded post office for the Constance Lake First Nation.

Last year, in our submission to the Canada Post, we called for improved postal services on all Aboriginal reserves.  Neither Canada Post nor the Canada Post Strategic Review Panel supported this recommendation.

We Have to Work Together to Improve Service to All

However, we are determined to work with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities to ensure they receive decent and adequate postal services.  The Hearst Local of CUPW is working hard to build solidarity links between the postal workers and First Nations people.

Canada Post has made a bad situation worse by not properly staffing the Hearst Post Office.  The understaffed Hearst Post Office has been sorting and distributing the mail for 1,400 additional people.  We have asked CPC to improve public postal services to the people of Hearst.

We have also pointed out that universal postal service means that Canada Post is required to provide postal services to the people of the Constance Lake First Nation and not just cater to the large volume mailers.