By Andrea Arnold
Between business hours on Tuesday, April 19 and Wednesday, April 20, 2022 someone accessed the Valemount Post Office, and forced open approx. two dozen mailboxes. Some boxes’ doors were completely removed, and others severely damaged. The individual removed the contents of the boxes before leaving the site. Police were called and have begun investigating.
A statement from RCMP Sgt R.J. Dean confirmed that the location has no closed circuit TV system for the police to review. This was a topic of discussion among residents on social media immediately following the incident, expressing their concern regarding the lack of surveillance footage.
On Thursday, Canada Post Media Relations representative Phil Legault reported that their Security and Investigations team is aware of the incident, and the local RCMP is investigating.
“As this incident is being investigated, it would be inappropriate to comment further or provide details,” said Legault.
As repairs are being made, customers will be able to pick up their mail at the post office counter after showing a valid government-issued photo identification. Customers will also receive a letter advising them of the incident.
“We take these matters and the security of the mail very seriously,” said Legault. “We don’t divulge specific security measures or broader information related to our equipment publicly as doing so would hamper their effectiveness.”
Legault said anyone concerned about specific missing mail items should contact the sender. Anyone concerned about identity fraud should contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
“If customers have questions, they can contact Canada Post’s Customer Service team online at canadapost.ca/support or by telephone at 1-866-607-6301 (TTY: 1-800-267-2797),” he said.
Legault asks that anyone who sees suspicious activity at their locations immediately contact the police and Canada Post Customer Service.
“We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and thank them for their patience and understanding,” said Legault.
A notice placed on the Post Office door states that access to mailboxes will be controlled after hours, with the doors locked after 5:00pm Monday- Friday, Saturday from 12:30 on, and all day Sunday.
