Bid to save Vancouver Chinatown’s last post office, a ‘lifeline’ for community

Everything is done by mail, from paying utility bills to contacting members for an event, just as it was when the Chinese community organization was founded in 1912.

There is no computer at the Wongs’ Benevolent Association in Vancouver’s Chinatown.

Everything is done by mail, from paying utility bills to contacting members for an event, just as it was when the Chinese community organization was founded in 1912, said vice-president Jeffrey Wong.

“We actually stamp and print out invitations and write addresses, and send them all out through the post,” said Wong.

But in a blow to the association, Canada Post has announced it plans to shut Chinatown’s only post office at Main and East Hastings streets on Nov. 12 as part of sweeping cost-saving measures.

It has triggered a campaign to save the facility, which supporters have called a lifeline for the community.

Canada Post said all its retail operations and business decisions go through an extensive review process to evaluate customer needs.

Wong said the post office is vital to the area, while a petition to save it from closure says it serves some of the city’s most vulnerable and marginalized residents.

Wong said it was “definitely a shame” to hear of the planned closure, which would force cultural association operators and seniors in the neighbourhood to find another way to communicate.