The New Hope Senior Citizens Centre in Notre-Dame-de-Grace is a place where senior citizens go for lunch, activities or just to chat.

And Wednesday, almost everyone at the centre was talking about the end of Canada Post’s door to door mail delivery.

Executive director Gerry Lafferty said when he first heard the news, he thought it may be a joke.

“I’m very angry about this. Working with seniors you see how much they have to give to our society, what they've already given. Our society is the way it is because of our seniors and to be treated like that, it's an insult,” he said.

For many older Canadians, door to door delivery is a bit of a lifeline – a link to the outside world that can get harder and harder to access with age.

Veronica Kozlyk, who lives on her own, said especially in the winter when the cold and slippery surfaces can make walking treacherous, it’s nice to get her mail delivered to her door.

“I feel this is more important than some of the other things towards which we are paying taxes,” she said.

Pierrette Duchesne said the announcement angered her. She said she feels with this decision, the government is snubbing senior citizens.

“They're just ostracizing the older people. In other cultures older people are supposed to be wise and respected but I find here we are just falling under the cracks,” she said.

Maurizio Ciambella, who has been delivering mail for a decade, said he'll miss the seniors on his route, and he suspects they’ll miss their daily visits from the mailman.

“It’s actually one of the better parts of the job, when you see someone who knows you so well because you deliver to them every day and they bring you an apple or a cookie or anything - it gives them something to look forward to every day too,” he said.

Also part of today’s announcement is that the price of a stamp for a standard letter will increase in March, going from $0.63 to $0.85 for stamps purchased in booklets or coils, and $1 each when purchased individually.

Tom Forestell, who works at Papeterie Westmount, a stationery store, said the hike will make clients think twice before sending a card in the mail, pointing out that “it’s nice to receive something in the mail other than a bill.”

He acknowledged that the price increase is a business decision, and that Canada Post is understandably concerned about their bottom line, and pointed to companies such as FedEx and Purolator that have come up with viable business plans for the digital age.

“It's almost like (Canada Post is) going to go and try to charge double and they're only going to do half the work and not bring it to your house. It's always hard when you get half the service for twice the money.”