The closure of a L’Amable post office at the end of this week has some Bancroft residents worried about declining mail service and the impacts that will have.
A motion in the agenda for Bancroft council’s Tuesday meeting calls on Canada Post to re-consider the move. A a social media post by a L’Amable business owner Talal Al Hamad has also rallied some to voice opposition.
Al Hamad says he uses the post office to send dozens of packages almost daily for his herb business Urban Apothecary. He’s concerned the closure will make Bancroft’s main post office overwhelmed.
“The closing of the post office is going to definitely cause some chaos, not just for L’Amable, but also for Bancroft,” he says. “If you look at the demographic (in L’Amable), we have a lot of seniors and not all of them will have access to go into town regularly to get their mail.”
A Canada Post spokesperson says the closure is intended to be temporary. She explained the L’Amable’s postmaster is retiring. The post office advertised a temporary job to replace that person but didn’t find a candidate. It’s now advertising for a new, full-time postmaster.
She said, temporary community mailboxes are being added to L’Amable and, while they’re being set up, residents there can pick up parcels and access retail service at the Bancroft Post Office on Station Street.
She added more details on the changes will be announced soon.