Canada Post proposes neighbourliness?

The card came in the mail yesterday.  “We’ll hold your mail until you get home.”  As if this is a novel and earth-shattering invention of Canada Post.  As if this is not already done everywhere, not only in Canada but also by all post offices in the 191 countries within the Universal Postal Union (founded 1874, currently a specialized agency of the United Nations – www.upu.int

The difference is of course that this will no longer be a free service (as it always was) but that it will now cost money if they hold my mail.  $14 if I go on a two-week vacation, $7 for each additional week.  Canada Post has discovered another way to “download” what was always a “federal responsibility” directly to the taxpayer.

Which made me think:  I have neighbours that I trust.  In the past, I asked them to empty my mailbox when I went on vacation, and some of them gave me the key to their mailbox when they went away for a while.  Isn’t this what neighbours do for each other?

So I will ignore the “Hold Mail” service that is now being offered, just continuing my life without this interference into my lifestyle.  Maybe some of you will act in a similar way, and we can make this expected “cash cow” a loss leader.