The impact of the Canada Post announcements today will be felt by seniors who will have to leave home to get the mail and by thousands of postal workers and mail carriers who will lose their jobs. Small businesses, too, that rely on Canada Post to send out invoices, are also reacting today.  Canadians have reacted angrily in the past to increases in postage stamps of a couple cents.  The jump from 63 cents to 85 cents represents a 34% increase.  If you buy a single stamp at dollar, that's a 59% percent hike.  Add to that the elimination of door-to-door delivery, and the impact is reverberating across this country.For Arlene Lamb, sitting down to write Christmas cards is an annual tradition.  Something she really enjoys; both sending and receiving.

"It's really nice to hear from people,” says Lamb, as she sits at her kitchen table with25 cards in front of her,  “even if they just send a card and they say Merry Christmas, you remember them from that so it's kinda fun.”

Lamb has cut back over the years on how many she's sends out.  News today that the cost of a stamp is going up, way up, will impact that decision even more.

“It's getting expensive and with the price of cards and the price of stamps.”

Small businesses, too, are worried about the increased cost of postage.  European Glass and Paint on Woodward Avenue in Ottawa’s west end, spends $200 a month mailing invoices to customers. That cost is about to go up more than 30%.

“I was shocked,” says Crystal Guindon, who helps manage the store.

 Now the business is considering bypassing Canada Post altogether and using faxes and emails instead.

“If we feel the crunch from that and all the small businesses in Ottawa do the same thing we're doing, then that's a lot of money they're (Canada Post) going to lose.” 

Money and public relations. 

Jetje  Antonietti was shocked to hear her door to door delivery in the Copeland Park neighborhood of Ottawa will disappear in the next few years.  It's a convenience for her but a necessity for her older neighbors.

"It's like a lifeline for them,” says Antonietti, “there's a few 80 year olds in the neighborhood and I can't see them trooping down to the box in the middle of winter.”

Arlene Lamb will likely be one of the few to retain her door to door delivery.  She's in a rural part of Ottawa; though she's not quite sure how long that service is going to last.

"We are concerned about losing it but it's like anything else.  There are so many changes, you just accept them.”

Not everyone is so quick to accept this.  The Council on Aging is meeting next week. This issue will be on its agenda.  The council is hoping it can influence the decision or at least minimize the impact on seniors in our communities.