Canada Post will make its last stop at hundreds of rural mailboxes in the Stratford, P.E.I., area, and one man is staging a protest, saying he'll refuse to pick up his mail.

Canada Post has completed its assessment of 1,300 mailboxes in the area and has declared almost 500 of them unsafe for delivering mail.

Hundreds of thousands of rural mailboxes across the country are under review.
(CBC)

On Wednesday, it will make its last delivery to those mailboxes. After that, the families will have to start getting their mail from a community mailbox or from the nearest post office.

Mike Avery doesn't believe his mailbox poses a risk for mail carriers.

He suspects Canada Post is stopping delivery as a cost-cutting measure, so he's delivered his own ultimatum to the Crown corporation. If it won't bring the mail to his home, Avery said Canada Post can keep it.

"Most of it is junk and it wouldn't really matter if it came or not," said Avery.

"The right to have that delivered, though, is more important than getting it delivered."

Avril Vollenhoven, spokeswoman for Canada Post, told CBC News the issue is strictly one of safety. She said there have been 40 accidents and three fatalities involving Canada Post drivers in Canada since January 2004.

"There's a lot more traffic on those routes. The volume of traffic is increasing, the type of traffic is increasing and it's making it very dangerous for our drivers," she said.

Thousands more Canadians will soon be in the same position as the people in Stratford as Canada Post continues its review of 800,000 mailboxes across the country. Mailboxes deemed unsafe in Charlottetown will receive their last delivery Dec. 5.