The Thompson Nicola Regional District Board will be sending a letter to Canada Post asking it to reconsider closing the McLure Post office as of July 29.

TNRD Director Mel Rothenburger heard about this closure from the Postmasters Association, which represents rural postal workers in Canada.

Canada Post says this closure is due to their inability to find a postmaster to replace the current one that is retiring.

“I have been in touch with Canada Post the last few days here both by email and by phone, and have presented the position that Canada Post would prefer to keep the post office open except for the fact they’ve been unable to find a replacement postmaster for the one who’s retiring.”

Rothenburger told the TNRD Board that Canada Post said they would consider hiring a replacement if they could find one.

“Well there is such a person who lives in the community and is qualified because she has been working both in McLure and at the Barrier post offices,” he said.

“Feedback I have from Canada Post is that they would certainly be willing to consider such an application because they weren’t aware of this individual previously.”

Rothenburger put forward a motion, requesting that the board send a letter to Canada Post to renew its search for a new postmaster, which was passed.

The announcement of the post office in McLure closing got TNRD director Sally Watson to remember back on what she feels was a missed opportunity.

During the pandemic, Watson says she attended the Federation of Canadian Municipalities virtually, where she struck up a conversation with the Union for Postal Workers in Canada, who wanted to do a presentation to the TNRD board.

“Our chair (Ken Gillis) decided that he could not entertain the idea of having the presentation from CUPW regarding Canada Post because that would be interfering with another level of government.”

She says she believes that decision hindered their ability to understand what is going on in the rural post offices.