Toronto man says Canada Post suspended mail to his house over a garbage bin dispute

A Toronto man says mail to his home has been halted because a garbage bin that is a foot below his mailbox is purportedly impeding the Canada Post mail carrier.

“It’s at my shoulder level, and it’s very easy to [open and slide] a letter from outside, or to put inside—is it really blocking? I don’t think so,” Sam Muthusamy told CTV News Toronto.

Security camera footage from his front garage shows a letter carrier approaching from the driveway on Nov. 9. He appears to take photos with his cell phone of the security camera and the mailbox, before leaving without dropping off the mail.

Separate footage from two days prior shared with CTV News Toronto shows a mail carrier believed to be the same man delivering letters without issue.

Muthusamy says there had never been an issue until last week.

“[It’s been] the same setup for the last five years, there were so many mailmen, no problems,” he said.

A spokesperson for Canada Post said the Crown corporation was aware of the situation but unable to provide comment on Wednesday about the specific case.

“Our delivery agents need space to walk up to every mailbox for door-to-door delivery while carrying a mail satchel on either side of their body,” Lisa Liu added in an email. “They need a clear line of sight, free of obstacles, so they don’t have any missteps that could lead to injury.”

Muthusamy says he called the number on the notice left in his mailbox after Nov. 9, which advised him there was a problem delivering his mail. It was then Muthusamy was advised his mail service was suspended, he said.

He says he has 15 days to resolve the dispute or his mail will be returned to its senders, and he says he is waiting on an important package to arrive.

“To me, it’s not fair.”