Ladner residents may soon have one less place to buy stamps and send parcels.
Canada Post announced this week it is considering closing the retail portion of the Ladner post office on the corner of Delta Street and 48th Avenue.
Canada Post spokesperson John Caines said if the closure goes ahead, the building would still operate as a letter carrier depot but would no longer be open to the public.
"Our business is changing quite a bit," he said, adding the rising popularity of online shopping and a decrease in carrier mail has forced Canada Post to look at how it operates in order to ensure long-term stability.
If the closure goes ahead, Caines said residents will still have the postal outlet in the Pharmasave in Ladner Harbour Centre.
"We feel our customers will be well served," he said.
The union representing postal workers is upset at the proposed closure.
"The Ladner post office has been at that location for approximately 50 years and they have served customers from that location for many years," said Stephen Gale, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers Fraser Valley West. "This is a blow to the community of Ladner."
Gale said the two employees at the post office will have to move to other locations if the closure goes ahead.
"The two employees that work there have put in over 25 years each with Canada Post and they both live in Ladner," he said. "For them to continue their employment with Canada Post, they will have to commute to either Richmond, Vancouver, North Surrey or Langley if they can obtain a position at one of these locations."
Caines confirmed the two employees do have job security should the post office close.
Gale said the move will result in longer lines at the remaining postal outlet in Ladner.
Canada Post launched a public consultation process Wednesday.
Residents will have 30 days to comment on the proposed closure. Comments can be submitted online at www.canadapost. ca/retail or by mail to: Retail Feedback, 2701 Riverside Drive, Suite N1020C, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0B1.
