Mount Pearl woman furious with Canada Post's use of her property
A Mount Pearl woman is standing in the way of Canada Post's plan to put super mailboxes in her neighbourhood.
Jo-Anne Lyver said she received no notice that workers were coming to install mailboxes on her property Friday morning and she couldn't look on while they tore up her lawn.
"They're just telling me they have rights. Well, I'd like to see that in writing — their rights," she said.
Lyver said she asked the contractors for documentation, but Canada Post could not produce any proof they had permission to install the boxes on her property.
"I don't have to trust what they are telling me. We just need to verify that they are putting their boxes where they're suppose to be put."
Lyver managed to convince the contractors to leave, but they returned later that afternoon.
However, Lyver said she stood on her property and refused to move, even when a crane dangled a large concrete block above her head.
"I said, I'm not moving, this is my land," she said.
"He swung that thing over my head, and then finally he said, 'Ma'am, I'm going to call the police.'"
When the police came, they said that Lyver deserved to know what her rights were.
Not an isolated incident, says union leader
Lyver said that if it turns out Canada Post has legal permission to use the land, she will gladly let them use it.
"I pay taxes on this land, not Canada Post, and they do not have my permission to dig up my property right now," she said.
"If you want to negotiate with me, pay some taxes on the land they're using, maybe we can talk."
Postal workers who came to the scene after they heard about the problem said Lyver's concerns are not isolated and they do not believe her's will be the last dispute.
"It's causing great strife in the St. John's/Mount Pearl area," said Craig Dyer, president of the local Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
"This is very simply resolved. All they have to do is talk to the woman, respect the woman's wishes, not destroy her property... or at least engage her."
As of publication, Canada Post had not responded to CBC's request for comment.