The Liberal member of Parliament for Halifax is pushing for Canada Post to unload a prime plot of land in the city core to be redeveloped as housing.
But the Crown corporation is resisting, saying it has informed Halifax city planners that there are no plans to relocate the mail sorting facility.
MP and former urban planner Andy Fillmore says Canada Post should consider moving its Almon Street plant out of the city centre so the public land can be used to build up to 5,000 housing units.
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Fillmore says the six-hectare site could house up to 10,000 people, and federal regulations would ensure that 20 per cent of the new housing units would be “deeply” affordable.
Canada Post declined an interview, but spokesperson Lisa Liu said in an emailed statement that the Halifax plant is central to mail service in Atlantic Canada.
Fillmore says the postal service could follow the lead of such cities as Vancouver and Toronto and set up a more efficient mail sorting facility near the airport and major highways.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2024.