Yellowknife (July 06/01) - Yellowknifers will soon be losing the convenience of the three private postal outlets they have grown accustomed to having at their fingertips.

Reddi Mart Manager Loc Nguyen behind the counter of the postal outlet he will be losing after 10 years of service. - Phil Duffy/NNSL photo

More commonly referred to as retail postal outlets, the three privately-run franchises, located at the Shell station in Frame Lake, the downtown Reddi Mart, and at Weaver and Devore in Old Town will be no more as of Nov. 30.

According to Reddi Mart manager Loc Nguyen, the contract with Canada Post will not be renewed because of the low profit margin and the limited space in his store.

"I will be sad to see it go for the sake of our customers," said Nguyen, "The new rules and demands Canada Post has for a new contract are impossible for us to meet."

"They want us to change our image, and they want us to start handling packages and parcels. We simply don't have the space to do that. As it is we don't make enough of a profit from our postal outlet to pay the wages of a part-time employee," he said.

Bob Taylor is the manager of corporate communications for the pacific region of Canada Post Corporation. He had different views as to why the Reddi Mart won't be posting any more letters this Christmas.

"The Reddi Mart franchise is not wheelchair accessible and since it is important for all our newer outlets to be wheelchair accessible we need to find a more suitable location," said Taylor.

Gulaine Hamer currently uses the Reddi Mart postal outlet because it is open from 7 a.m. until 12 p.m.

"I find this postal outlet very convenient to use during the week because, unlike the main post office, it's open while I'm not at work," said Hamer. "I will definitely miss it."

Weaver and Devore in Old Town did not wish to comment on the reason they won't be running a postal outlet, but Taylor had this news on the future of mailing services in Old Town.

"We are looking at having a stamp shop in Old Town rather than a full service outlet that will mail and receive letters."

As far as the outlet at the Shell Station is concerned, the problem seems to be at the negotiation level.

"We couldn't come to terms on a new lease agreement so Canada Post decided to exercise its option to end the lease," said public relations officer for Shell Canada Lesley Taylor.

Canada Post is looking at replacing the Shell outlet as well as the Reddi Mart outlet.

"Right now we are looking at three businesses in the area," to replace the Shell outlet, said Taylor.

As yet, they have yet to find a business to accommodate their new needs in the downtown area.

Until then, many Yellowknifers can count on standing in line at the post office on Franklin Avenue this winter, especially during the holiday season.