The Canada Post Postal Station C building - a federally owned property, sitting in the heart of the West Queen West village has been recently sold to a private developer. 

The West Queen West Community Post group formed in the summer of 2021 to bring attention to the pending transaction and call for a halt to the sale. 

On December 15, 2021 Canada Post Corp. quietly transferred ownership of 1117 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario to , for an amount listed as $0 under the provincial land transfer registry. The property was transferred to a company that was formed in early June 2021, “Queen Street Post Inc.”. Canada Post Corp. did not inform the community about the sale; it was discovered weeks later by local community members.  Of interest, the corporation that bought the building was formed days prior to the call for purchase proposals Letter’s of Intent (LOIs) was announced. 

Prior to the sale, members of the community made many attempts to communicate with Canada Post Corp. with respect to the building’s purchase. Canada Post Corporation would not engage. Several community groups submitted LOIs to purchase the building for public use. Local City Councillor Ana Bailao put forward a motion to Toronto City Council asking for city staff to engage with Canada Post about acquiring the building for public use. To our knowledge, Canada Post Corp did not engage with Toronto City staff.  Local Member of Parliament, (Liberal) Julie Dzerowicz, wrote to Canada Post Corp. asking that they halt the sale process for six months in order to allow community groups to secure more fundings and submit a joint proposal. In response, Canada Post Corp. extended the due date to submit LOIs by only one week. 

The lack of transparency with respect to a publicly owned property has caused concern in the community. The building is a listed heritage building, next to a public park, and was Toronto’s third postal station, known as “Postal Station C”. It is in an area that has experienced extreme gentrification over the last years, and has seen many artists and local residents lose their studio and community space. 

The fact that Canada Post Corp. refused to meaningfully engage with the community is also of concern. Canada Post Corp. has indicated they conducted community consultations; however, the dates, attendance, and scope of these consultations are unknown. It is unclear if anyone attended them. 

This situation represents a concern that all Canadians should have: what is our government doing with our public assets, and at a time when we are in a housing crisis and workers in the arts are being pushed out of their spaces?

Questions the community has:

• What Canada Post Corp property has been sold in the last two years, and is currently slated for sale? How much has Canada Post Corp sold the properties for? 
• And what community consultation has occurred prior to the sales, or community benefit incorporated into the sale?
• Will the government undertake to review the sale of public property owned by Crown corporations and ensure that there is benefit to the public first?