Open Letter to Canada Post Minister and CEO on closure of Chinatown post office
Open Letter to Canada Post Minister and CEO on closure of Chinatown post office
October 28, 2025
Hon. Joël Lightbound, P.C., M.P.
Minister Responsible for Canada Post
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Via email: [email protected]
Mr. Doug Ettinger
President and CEO, Canada Post
2701 Riverside Drive
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0B1
Via email: [email protected]
Dear Minister Lightbound, and Mr. Ettinger,
Open letter Re: Urgent Concerns Regarding the Closure of the 418 Main Street Post Office in
Vancouver on November 12th
I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the decision to close the Canada Post office
located at 418 Main Street in Vancouver, effective November 12, 2025. This post office serves a
critical role in the lives of many residents in the community, particularly seniors, low-income
individuals, and members of the Chinese-speaking community who rely on it for their daily
postal and financial service needs.
The Main Street post office is more than a place to mail letters or pick up parcels—it is a trusted
and accessible hub for people who face barriers to mobility, language, and digital access. Many
of its regular customers are elderly residents who do not drive and who depend on this location
because it is within walking distance of their homes and community centres. Others are
newcomers or long-term residents with limited English proficiency who feel comfortable using
services in a familiar, culturally accessible environment.
The alternative post office locations blocks away are not truly accessible for many of these
residents. Distance that may seem negligible on a map becomes a serious obstacle for seniors
with mobility challenges or parents managing low incomes and limited transportation options.
The closure therefore raises serious equity and accessibility concerns—particularly given
Canada Post’s public service mandate to provide universal and equitable access to postal
services for all Canadians.
Last year, my riding lost another Canada Post office on Nanaimo Street. There has been a
hollowing out of postal service under the Liberal government.
I urge you, as the Minister and CEO responsible for Canada Post, to intervene and pause the
planned closure until meaningful consultation has been conducted with the affected
community. Canada Post must ensure that decisions of this nature are guided by equity,
inclusion, and accessibility principles—not only by operational or financial considerations.
I also request that your office provide a detailed explanation of the rationale for this closure and
an equity impact assessment outlining how the needs of vulnerable and marginalized residents
have been considered in this decision.
The Main Street post office has been part of the social and economic fabric of Vancouver’s
Downtown Eastside and Chinatown for decades. Closing it without a proper plan to ensure
equitable access to postal services would disproportionately harm those who are already
underserved. I strongly urge you to take immediate action to address this matter and protect
equitable access to essential services for all members of our community.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent issue. I look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
Jenny Kwan
Member of Parliament for Vancouver East
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The federal government’s plans to fast-track permanent residence applications for temporary workers in limbo failed to meet the expectations created by what one opposition MP and immigration experts called “misleading” messaging from the minister.
On May 4, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that it would fast-track permanent residence applications for up to 33,000 temporary workers already living in Canada as part of a one-time initiative—first announced in the 2025 budget—supporting the government’s efforts to reduce the number of temporary residents to less than five per cent of the population by the end of 2027.
NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.), her party’s immigration critic, told The Hill Times in a May 5 email that the language used in the government’s announcement was “misleading and outright deceptive.”
“What they have done is create confusion and fuel opportunities for those who are angling to exploit temporary foreign workers who have been negatively impacted by the drastic changes to Canada’s immigration policies. It is giving false hope to temporary foreign workers,” she said.
*Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.hilltimes.com/2026/05/07/feds-communication-over-permanent-residency-plans-gave-temporary-workers-false-hope-says-ndp-mp-kwan/503085/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NDP Immigration Critic Jenny Kwan’s statement in response to government announcement on accelerating permanent residence for 33,000 workers
The language used in the announcement by the Carney Liberals is misleading and outright deceptive. What they have done is create confusion and fuel opportunities for those who are angling to exploit temporary foreign workers who have been negatively impacted by the drastic changes to Canada's immigration policies. It is giving false hope to temporary foreign workers.
To be clear, this is not a new program. The immigration levels plan is not increasing. Intake for the argi-foods and caregiver programs have been closed since last year. They will not be eligible for PR through this program. All that the Carney Liberals are doing is "accelerating" the processing of 33,000 temporary foreign workers who have been working in the community for 2 or more years and have already applied for PR under the PNP, Atlantic, Rural and Francophone streams. In other words, they are announcing that IRCC will just do their job to processing these applications in a timely fashion - nothing more.
Successive Liberal and Conservative governments have heavily relied on migrant workers to support Canada’s economy. The last time Pierre Poilievre was in government, Conservatives doubled the TFW program —dramatically helping corporate chains treat migrant workers as cheap and disposable.
Then in 2022, Justin Trudeau expanded the use of temporary foreign workers, allowing big businesses to use temporary foreign workers for up to 30 per cent of their workforce, regardless of local unemployment rates. Both the Liberals and Conservatives have turned the TFWP into an ongoing business model that tramples on worker’s rights while suppressing wages in Canada.
Under the constant threat of deportation, workers are often unable to leave their jobs or challenge unfair and unsafe labour practices. They often endure poor and dangerous working conditions, racism, discrimination, wage theft, and are denied fundamental human and labour rights, trapping them in involuntary servitude.
The Liberals say they want to regularize them since 2021, it was even in the former Minister of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship’s mandate letter. But despite this commitment, not only have the Liberals reneged on their promise, they began proactively blame migrant workers, international students and new comers for their failed housing policy and abruptly changed immigration policies that further negatively impacted these workers.
As a result, many of the temporary foreign workers are now finding themselves falling out of status. This is wrong. They are not responsible for the failures of Canada's housing policy.
The NDP is calling for the Liberals to adopt a broad and comprehensive regularization initiative for the workers that are already in Canada so that they have a clear and accessible pathway to permanent residency. New Democrats strongly believe in the principle that if you are good enough to work and study in Canada, you are good enough to stay.
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