Mail Receptacles Regulations (SOR/83-743)

Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Mail Receptacles Regulations.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations,

apartment building

apartment building means a building containing three or more self-contained dwelling units with a common entrance; (immeuble d’habitation)

business premises

business premises means a commercial building or an office complex; (entreprise commerciale)

commercial building

commercial building means an office building, hotel or multiple use building that

• (a) has multiple occupancy,

• (b) is four or more storeys in height, and

• (c) is not primarily used as an apartment building; (immeuble commercial)

letter chute

letter chute means an enclosed rectangular shaped metal tube extending through each storey of a building in a continuous vertical line leading directly to a mail dispatching facility at the bottom of the tube; (couloir aux lettres)

local postmaster

local postmaster in respect of a building, means the employee of the Corporation who is in charge of the postal area in which the building is located; (maître de poste local)

mail box

mail box means a privately owned mail receiving facility designed for indoor or outdoor use in an urban area; (boîte aux lettres)

mail box assembly

mail box assembly means a privately owned group of mail boxes in an apartment building or office complex designed for the reception of the mail of all occupants of the building or complex and so constructed that each owner or tenant has an individual compartment that is capable of being kept locked; (batterie de boîtes aux lettres)

mail dispatching facility

mail dispatching facility means a receptacle or room designed for the reception of mailable matter that is to be collected by a post office representative for transmission by post; (installation de dépôt de courrier)

mail receiving facility

mail receiving facility means a receptacle designed for the receipt of mail; (installation de réception de courrier)

mail room

mail room means a room designed for the receipt or dispatch of mail; (salle de courrier)

office complex

office complex means a building that is

• (a) used for offices, or

• (b) used for offices and some other purpose

and contains at least three offices; (ensemble de bureaux)

parcel compartment assembly

parcel compartment assembly means all parcel compartment units installed inside or outside an apartment building or office complex; (batterie de casiers à colis)

parcel compartment unit

parcel compartment unit means a cabinet designed for the reception of mail having individual storage compartments that are capable of being kept locked; (casier à colis)

post office representative

post office representative means an employee of the Corporation, a mail contractor, an employee or agent of a mail contractor and any other person authorized by the Corporation to perform a function on behalf of the Corporation; (représentant des postes)

recognized representative of an addressee

recognized representative of an addressee means the person at the addressee’s residence or place of business who usually receives the addressee’s mail or has written authority from the addressee to receive the addressee’s mail; (représentant reconnu du destinataire)

rural mail box

rural mail box means a privately owned mail receiving facility and mail dispatching facility designed for outdoor use in a rural area. (boîte aux lettres rurale)

PART IGeneral

3 The Corporation may install, erect or relocate or cause to be installed, erected or relocated in any public place, including a public roadway, any receptacle or device to be used for the collection, delivery or storage of mail.

4 No person shall relocate or remove any receptacle or device referred to in section 3 without prior authorization by the Corporation.

PART IIPrivate Urban Mail Dispatching Facilities

5 The Corporation may authorize the collection of mailable matter in a commercial building where

• (a) the building has a daily volume of mailable matter to be collected that is sufficient to justify the regular collection of mailable matter; and

• (b) the mail dispatching facility and the letter chute, if any, are constructed and installed at no expense to the Corporation and in accordance with the specifications for such facility and chute set out in Schedule I.

6 The owner of a commercial building may apply to the Corporation to authorize the collection of mailable matter at his building by submitting to the local postmaster an application for that service, in writing, together with particulars of the mail dispatching facility and the letter chute, if any, including

• (a) a copy of the building plans showing complete details of the proposed letter chute, if any, and indicating accessibility and distances to the mail dispatching facility for the purpose of the collection of mailable matter;

• (b) a description of the building and its use or intended use, the number of floors, the number of tenants, the nature of the businesses of the tenants and any other relevant information requested by the Corporation to enable it to determine the volume of mailable matter likely to be deposited at the facility;

• (c) a map of the area showing the parking space allotted to any mail collection or delivery vehicles and the distance between the nearest dispatching facility and that parking space; and

• (d) the proposed effective date of occupancy of the building, if applicable.

7 The Corporation may alter, suspend or terminate a collection service authorized pursuant to section 5 where

• (a) the building ceases to be a commercial building;

• (b) the collection service can no longer be provided on an economical basis; or

• (c) the owner of the building has failed to comply with these Regulations.

8 Where a collection service is provided in respect of a mail dispatching facility, the owner of the building in which the facility is located shall cause the notice referred to in paragraph 1(i) of Schedule I to be placed in each notice frame of the mail dispatching facility and letter chute, if any.

9 Where a collection service in respect of a mail dispatching facility is suspended or terminated pursuant to section 7, the owner of the building in which the facility is located shall forthwith cause a notice to be placed in each notice frame of the mail dispatching facility and letter chute, if any, stating that the service has been suspended or terminated.

PART IIIPrivate Urban Mail Receiving Facilities

10 Where a mail delivery service is inaugurated or extended to serve an area, delivery shall be effected to buildings in that area, subject to the following conditions:

• (a) delivery shall be effected to any building, other than an apartment building, in which mail receiving facilities that comply with the requirements of Schedule II have been installed or in respect of which arrangements have been made with the local postmaster for delivery to an addressee or to the recognized representative of an addressee;

• (b) delivery shall be effected to an apartment building if

  • (i) the apartment building has a central office located adjacent to the main entrance of the building to which mail may be delivered for all occupants, or

  • (ii) the apartment building is equipped with a mail box assembly constructed and located in accordance with the specifications set out in Schedule III;

• (c) delivery shall be effected to parcel compartment units in an apartment building or office complex if the conditions set out in Schedule IV are complied with;

• (d) subject to paragraph (e), delivery shall be effected to a place of business that has not installed a mail receiving facility that complies with the requirements of Schedule II, if

  • (i) the employee of the Corporation delivering the mail is able to enter the place of business, and

  • (ii) personal delivery of the mail can be made at or near the entrance of the place of business to its addressee or the recognized representative of an addressee;

• (e) delivery shall only be effected to the residence or place of business of an addressee if that residence or place of business is not more than 35 m from a municipal thoroughfare or sidewalk unless delivery was effected to the addressee prior to July 1, 1979, or the addressee erects a mail box that is

  • (i) located on the property where the residence or place of business is located, and

  • (ii) adjacent to the thoroughfare or sidewalk;

• (f) delivery shall not be effected to any building unless it is provided with a suitable path or other means of access from the road or sidewalk that is kept in a safe condition during all seasons of the year and is kept clear of any hostile or threatening animal;

• (g) delivery shall not be effected to any building unless it bears a building number that conforms to the municipal plans at or near the entrance at which the mail receiving facility is installed; and

• (h) delivery shall not be effected to any apartment building, commercial building or office complex where the main entrance is kept locked unless a lock provided by the Corporation is installed in such a manner that a post office representative can gain easy access to the building or complex or unless some other satisfactory arrangement has been made for such access with the local postmaster.

11 Prior to the inauguration or extension of mail delivery service in any area, the Corporation shall send a notice to householders and the owners of apartment buildings and business premises in the area stating that if provision is not made for the reception of mail in accordance with these Regulations, mail will not be delivered to that address but will be left with the local postmaster to be collected by the addressee thereof.

12 Where mail delivery service is provided in any area and

• (a) any householder or the owner of any apartment building or business premises fails to provide for the reception of mail in accordance with these Regulations, or

• (b) the mail receiving facility or the means of access to it at any private house, apartment building or business premises in that area becomes unsuitable or unsafe for the reception of mail,

the Corporation shall send a notice to the householder or the owner of and each tenant in the apartment building or business premises stating that if provision is not made for the reception of mail in accordance with these Regulations, mail shall not be delivered to that address but shall be left with the local postmaster to be collected by the addressee thereof.

• 13 (1) Subject to subsection (2), where any householder or the owner of any apartment building or business premises does not make provision for the reception of mail in accordance with these Regulations within the period specified in the notice, mail shall not be delivered to that address but shall be left with the local postmaster to be collected by the addressee thereof.

• (2) In the circumstances referred to in paragraph 12(b) mail delivery service may be continued to the address to which the notice referred to in that section is sent until the termination of the period specified in the notice for rectification of the unsuitable or unsafe mail receiving facility or means of access to it.

14 In the case of an office complex that contains a mail box assembly and a mail room, where items of mail that are too large to be delivered through a mail box in a mail box assembly or the delivery of which requires that the addressee or the recognized representative of an addressee be contacted personally by the post office representative, those items shall be delivered

• (a) through a dutch door from the mail room; or

• (b) in such other manner as may be authorized by the local postmaster.

PART IVRural Mail Boxes

15 Mail may be delivered by means of deposit in rural mail boxes and mailable matter may be collected from rural mail boxes where the rural mail box is

• (a) constructed in accordance with the specifications set out in Schedule VI;

• (b) placed outdoors at a location on a rural mail route approved by the local postmaster; and

• (c) located, erected and identified as required by section 16.

16 A rural mail box shall be

• (a) located along the right hand side of the road according to the courier’s line of travel in a position where the courier can reach and service it from his vehicle without impeding pedestrian or vehicular traffic;

• (b) erected so that

  • (i) the box is securely attached to a fixed post or cantilever arm,

  • (ii) the bottom of the box is approximately 100 cm above the roadway,

  • (iii) the box does not obstruct or obscure other boxes located nearby, and

  • (iv) the box allows the ready delivery or collection of mail; and

• (c) identified by having the following information printed in permanent lettering not less than 2.5 cm high on the side of the box or on a plate securely attached to the box and placed so as to be visible to the courier as they approach the box while driving on the right-hand side of the road according to their line of travel:

  • (i) if civic addressing has been implemented in the municipality and the relevant post office, the civic address or the civic address and the boxholder’s name, and

  • (ii) if civic addressing has not been implemented in the municipality, the boxholder’s name or a specific Canada Post designator in lieu of the boxholder’s name, as arranged with the local postmaster.