'Stop with the nonsense': Montreal and Canada Post spar over Publisacs

The City of Montreal and Canada Post are facing off over Publisacs, as the postal service has no plans to halt delivery even though City Hall banned the distribution starting next spring.

"We ask Canada Post to stop with the nonsense," said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante Thursday.

The mayor tried to convince the postal service to reverse course with a show-and-tell in Cote-des-Neiges-NDG, holding a news conference in front of 16 tons of paper — the amount of unwanted flyers she says are thrown away every week in the borough.

"Our request today is to tell Canada Post and the federal government to listen to what Montrealers want. They want to stop with the waste," said Plante.

According to the city, 80 per cent of residents toss Publisacs in the bin.

"We have to reach a goal of 75 per cent of recycling," said Massimo Iezzoni, director of the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM), a planning, coordination and financing body representing the metropolis. "We’re actually at 57 per cent. So anything that can give us a gain in recycling, we have to do."

The bylaw banning the distribution takes effect in May 2023. Montrealers who still want them delivered can opt in and continue to receive the flyers in the mail.

Transcontinental, the company behind Publisacs, turned to Canada Post to distribute the flyers because Crown corporations are not bound by municipal regulations.

Canada Post did not respond to CTV News’ request for comment, but in a previous statement, it said it’s obligated to deliver all mail.

"It is our long-standing mandated responsibility, which means we are not in a position to pick and choose what mail is delivered," the company said previously.

Mayor Plante, however, disagreed.

"We went through the law and actually, it’s not true. If there is no address on the Publisac you don’t have to do it,” said the mayor.

Plante is not ruling out taking Canada Post to court.

"We will continue to fight," she said. "I can assure you of that."