CP says no loss of services to the area, Morson post office closes

Ken Johnston
Editor

Canada Post is attempting to deliver answers to the residents of Morson who lost their post office for the first time since the early 1900s last Friday.
With no alternate site for a new post office in the immediately foreseeable future, Canada Post opted to install Community Mail Boxes across from the old post office site; the Morson Shopping Center. However that posed a problem with how residents would get and send parcels. The first option presented by Canada Post was that residents would have to travel about 50 km to Sleeman to pick them up or mail them.
A community meeting was held on July 18, 2001 to discuss the situation with Canada Post Area Manager Trevor Kerr-Taylor. Some 17 residents attended and identified other concerns than the parcel problem. Kerr-Taylor said that concerns included having no place to purchase stamps or money orders, to small a number of community boxes and requests for more than one location for the boxes.
Kerr-Taylor told residents in a letter last Monday, July 23rd, that Zigs Place at Big Grassy First Nation, will accept parcel mailings, sell stamps and money orders. Zigs will also receive incoming parcels in the mail and allow area residents to pick them up there. A parcel notification card will be placed in the recipient’s community mail box.
Kerr-Taylor said that stamp shops will also be set up at the, “Morson Mall and at Big Island.” They will simply sell stamps and envelopes.
As for multiple sites for the community boxes, Kerr-Taylor said that boxes will be installed at the Morson Shopping Center, at Zigs Place and at Big Island First Nation.
“We realize that this was a very quick process and apologize for the inconvenience. However we feel that we have listened to the community, by (making the) changes as requested. Morson will maintain its same Postal Code and Postal Name of Morson, so there is no identity loss to the community and no loss of full postal services,” said Kerr-Taylor.
The previous post office was closed after the owner of the Morson Shopping Center, Stewart Gill, decided it was not profitable for him to keep it open. He said it was strictly a business decision.