Residents of a Milton neighbourhood are upset that their personal letters and packages were left exposed and unattended for several hours after the doors to three attached community mailboxes were left open.
David Semerak discovered that the open mailboxes when he went to pick up his mail Wednesday evening.
“All the mailboxes were open,” he told CTV News Toronto. “I was worried about people taking the packages and stealing them and, of course, my mail. I wanted to get my mail. You know, a little bit upset. I don’t understand why Canada Post is leaving mailboxes open.”
One resident was alerted to the open mailboxes by a neighbour. Inside the mailbox, were two packages of Christmas presents worth about $400.
“I don’t want to point fingers, I don’t know the whole story, but it’s kind of odd that all of them are open. I mean it didn’t seem like vandalism to me,” Amar Bal said.
Some residents told CTV News Toronto they wondered if the incident was related to the postal strike, as the union representing workers had said they would be switching to a campaign of non-violent civil disobedience.
“If this is their way of retaliating, they aren’t winning any public support,” Bal said.
“It could have been a mistake. Who knows? But, it just seems a bit suspect given the timing of the labour dispute,” Semerak said.
In a statement sent to CTV News Toronto, a spokesperson for Canada Post said that the doors were simply “not properly secured.”
“I looked into this and confirmed that the community mailbox at the location you provided was not properly secured,” the statement read. “We apologize for this incident and are following up internally to ensure it doesn't happen again.”
Megan Whitfield, the president of the union representing postal workers, also said she heard from members and that the open mailboxes were a mistake, not an act of civil disobedience.
Canada Post urges anyone who sees an open community mailbox panel to contact customer service immediately at 1-800-267-1177.
With files from CTV News Toronto's Brandon Rowe.
