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Canada Post to briefly resume mail service in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

Groups in the Downtown Eastside say suspension endangers safety of those who rely on the mail
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Mail boxes are seen at Canada Post’s main plant in Calgary, Alta., Saturday, May 9, 2020, amid a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Canada Post is temporarily resuming service delivery to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside more than a month after it stopped bringing mail to a two-block area over safety concerns.

A statement from the Crown corporation says carriers will be delivering in the area Tuesday to Friday this week, allowing for a temporary return to service.

It says it will also extend the hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Woodland Drive postal facility, the site 14 blocks from the neighbourhood where the mail is being rerouted.

The statement says the post office understands the concerns being raised about the importance of the service and it is working hard to put measures in place to provide that delivery.

Groups organizing an afternoon protest today in the Downtown Eastside say the suspension endangers the health and safety of those who rely on the mail to receive paycheques and social and disability assistance.

Canada Post hasn’t said what set off the suspension of service on March 23, other than to say it has safety concerns for its carriers.

—The Canadian Press

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