This is a rare, if not freakish, occurrence. I'm normally not given to commenting on news items of the day, but the kerfuffle around Canada Post has made me step up to the plate and give voice to my 2 cents.
As we know, Canada Post will end urban door to door delivery within 5 years, and start charging a dollar per first class letter we send. The rationale is simply this: People are not using traditional mail as much as they used to, which is driving up costs and dropping profit.
But recent comments by the head of Canada Post had me scratching my head. Deepak Chopra says seniors (who will be some of the most highly impacted people by the impending end of mail service) want more fresh air and exercise. At least that's what he says they've told the corporation in response to at least one M.P's claim that they will be disadvantaged by the change.
Mr. Chopra's assertion about seniors wanting more exercise and air is fine. As far as it goes. Most seniors do, in fact, like to get "out and about", even in winter. But I can see a problem for those with mobility issues who don't have the good fortune to live in southern Ontario or Vancouver or Victoria.
Quite a few have a walking aid, either a cane or a walker, and I defy anyone who thinks getting around in a Saskatchewan winter is easy to try it themselves. Especially after the winter we had last year.
With all due respect to Mr. Chopra, trying to make our way through the snow we had last year, even fully mobile, was a chore at the best of times. But to compound that by making seniors use a cane or push a walker through those drifts to a communal mailbox seems to me unrealistic.
At least that's my opinion.
TTFN
No comments:
Post a Comment