Hamilton ends super mailbox court battle with Canada Post

Hamilton won't appeal a court ruling that Canada Post can put supermailboxes where it wants on city roadsides nor will it have to pay Canada Post's legal costs in the months-long battle.

City council voted Wednesday to dropits fightagainst Canada Post over whocontrols what happens on city road allowances.

The city passed a bylaw last year saying it could dictate where the mailboxes go on city roadsides, and charge Canada Post a fee to do so. But both Ontario'slower court and appeals court found Canada Post's federal mandate trumps municipal law.

The city could appeal again, but it won't. This isas far as Hamilton will go in the courts, said Janice Atwood-Petkovski, city solicitor. Council will write Ottawa asking it to amend its mailbox regulations so municipalities have more control. But otherwise, it's over.

• Court rules in favour of Canada Post in super mailbox battle

"The city will not be appealing, and Canada Post will not be seeking its costs on application or appeal," she said.

The city spent $75,000 on the appeal. But it could have been on the hook for thousands more had Canada Post fought for Hamilton to cover its legal costs.

The whole battle hasdrawn interest and support from other municipalities.

Last year, Canada Post started its sweeping plan to phase out urban door-to-door delivery, and began installing community mailboxes on the Mountain. The city maintains that the issue isn't the plan itself, buta municipality's right to control what goes on its roadsides.

The appeals court decision wasn't a loss, Atwood-Petkovski said.

While the court did find that Canada Post's federal rules outweigh the city's, it also found that the city's bylaw dictating what goes on its right of ways is valid.

"That's a really important finding for municipalities," she said.

The fight has lost some of its urgency, sincePrime MinisterJustin Trudeau's government halted the transition away from door-to-door delivery last fall, shortly after being elected.