Residents throughout the Hazeltons and rural areas have recently been given notice that their mailing address are going to civic instead of rural routes.
People have been asked to fill out forms with their new address as changes are set to be put into motion this summer according to Canada Post spokesperson Lillian Salchner.
“We are upgrading the mailbox service in Kispiox, Gitanmaax, Gitsegukla, South Hazeton and Two Mile on July 18th,” she said. “It will offer a lot of advantages to residents, such as civic addressing is more precise and represents real addresses for emergency, delivery service and mail processing equipment.”
The change is happening to make things easier and more streamlined for mail processing, she explained, as their equipment is set up to process mail with specific addresses.
While the change may cause some residents concern, she assured people that they are trying to make things as easy as possible.
“We sent customer letters out to let them know what the process is and the timing is and each customer will receive one year of free mail redirecting from their old address to the new one,” she said. “They will also receive five free change of address cards.”
The same thing applies for business and she said that they hope people will see the advantages.
“You can get parcel pick up and drop off out going mail and for emergency services, it’s much more efficient for them to locate an address,” she explained. “ We also have a 1-800 number and the customer letters we sent out with instructions on when they will get their keys and other information also has the contact info on it.”
In terms of where the new boxes will be, Salchner said they are still waiting to have several current locations approved by the Ministry of Transportation.
“Most likely we will be putting them in the same locations but we are still working with MOT,” she said.
If anyone has questions or concerns they are asked to call 1800-267-1177 or contact the local Post Offices.