Assault halts mail delivery to neighbourhood

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This article was published 05/07/2021 (1663 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An assault on two Canada Post employees is believed to have triggered the cessation of home delivery to an east end neighbourhood.

Although the assault reportedly involved one resident, home mail and parcel delivery to more than 40 properties on Alpine Bay and 13th Street East has stopped.

A May 13 Brandon Police Service news release reported that at 2:17 p.m. the previous day, a resident on Alpine Bay “became aggressive with two delivery employees, eventually spitting on one and putting one in a headlock.”

The man was arrested and released to appear in court on Aug. 5.

An area resident said she witnessed the assault, during which she recalled hearing the man “yelling and screaming” at the delivery employees before assaulting them.

On Friday afternoon, a Brandon Police Service spokesperson declined to comment on the matter until today. A Canada Post spokesperson, meanwhile, said they would look into the matter, but nothing came in by Sunday’s deadline.

Area residents report home delivery ceasing around the time of the May 12 incident, though they were uncertain as to when, exactly.

“Who threatens a mailman?” an exasperated area resident who requested he remain anonymous asked while relaying his experience with mail delivery. “I don’t understand.”

On May 21, area residents Tara and Stephane Rousseau received letters from both Canada Post and Vionell Holdings, which manages the townhouse properties along Alpine Bay.

These letters, they said, have been their only update on the situation thus far, and arrived at least a few days after they noticed mail was no longer arriving.

Upon the Sun informing him about the cessation of mail delivery on Saturday, an area resident loading groceries from his vehicle said it was news to him, but that it would explain why he hadn’t received mail in a while.

“Following a serious incident with a resident in your neighbourhood, to ensure the safety of our employees, we are making changes to the way we deliver your mail,” Canada Post wrote in their letter, adding that effective immediately, residents could begin picking their mail up at 914 Douglas St. between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.

“Thank you for your patience and understanding,” the letter continued. “We will resume regular mail delivery as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Vionell Holdings, for their part, wrote that they were “actively addressing this situation.”

“This is obviously a Canada Post decision to stop mail delivery — we had nothing to do with it,” Vionell Holdings vice-president of operations Katie McMillan said Saturday.

“We took the necessary steps to have the tenant evicted from the property, and he will be evicted in the near future, so we hope that will be enough for Canada Post to agree to reinstate the mail delivery service.”

In the meantime, the Rousseaus remain frustrated with a situation they consider both unfair and unnecessary.

It’s particularly troubling this happened now, Tara said, as the COVID-19 pandemic has been a time in which people have been urged to remain at home as much as possible.

They initially picked up their mail at the Canada Post headquarters on Douglas Street, but found it difficult getting there during regular business hours, so they complained to Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire’s office.

Maguire’s office, in turn, linked them with mail pickup at the Canada Post outlet at the nearby Shoppers Drug Mart.

This helped, Tara said, but it tends to be “crazy busy” at this location, where she finds herself waiting in line every day.

For the Rousseaus, picking up mail is a daily task.

“We’re busy people, we have lots of things on the go,” Tara said, adding that included in their mail are timely medical forms and materials Stephane requires to work from home.

Those residents the Sun connected with Saturday who found Canada Post home delivery cease in May were unanimous in hoping it returns as soon as possible.

The woman who witnessed the assault followed the same steps as the Rousseaus and had Maguire’s office line up pickup at the Shoppers Drug Mart.

She doesn’t own a vehicle, has two young kids at home and a husband who works out of town, so she was unable to make it out to the Canada Post headquarters.

Walking to Shoppers Drug Mart with two kids in tow is doable, but she said home delivery would be much preferred.

Still, she clarified she has sympathy for the delivery people who were assaulted.

“I can’t blame them if they’re being assaulted.”

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB