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“The system now is broken,” says Matt Whitman, about flyer delivery in the municipality.
The Hammonds Plains-St. Margarets councillor is looking to regulate the city’s flyer delivery rules; changing the current system from opt-out to opt-in. Whitman will be asking for a staff report on options at HRM’s next Regional Council meeting.
“I think it’s litter. When you throw something on my driveway that I haven’t requested—it’s litter. I should have to request to get it.”
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It’s not a new topic for city hall.

In 2011, council passed a motion to try and outright eliminate flyer delivery to residential properties. Legal services came back the next year to advice the city that banning flyers was “not legally possible” under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“HRM can enact a bylaw to control unwanted flyers but we cannot outlaw them,” the report reads. “HRM cannot ban a form of expression. HRM can, however, place a reasonable limit on that expression.”
Council instead voted to continue liaising with the province on unwanted flyer distribution.
Nova Scotia’s Environment department and the Resource Recovery Fund Board had been working with members of the newspaper industry on a stewardship agreement, which included better flyer-delivery standards.
Just like the complaints HRM received back in 2012, Whitman says he hears from residents today upset about the unwanted materials, flyers being left at the side the road or in ditches and those pink plastic bags accumulating while residents are away.
Thank you Flyer delivery. Many snowblowers broken today. @chronicleherald . You should have to OPT IN not opt out. pic.twitter.com/ByBAnA6GiC
— HRM DM Matt Whitman (@matlantivex) January 13, 2016
Whitman know this pain, personally. He says it was “an uphill battle” of phone calls and emails to opt-out of flyer delivery to his own home.
An opt-in system, however, would have the side-effect of dealing a financial blow to distributors like the Chronicle Herald—which already isn’t doing so hot right now.
“This is not aimed at anyone in particular; any advertiser or newspaper company,” counters Whitman. “I just think the majority of people never crack open that pink bag.”
Residents who don’t want to receive any unaddressed admail can put a note on or inside their mailboxes stating as such. The Ecology Action Centre also gives out “no flyers” stickers of their own. Homeowners can complain to Canada Post about flyer delivery here, or contact the Herald at…
Dial 9024263031 to cancel your flyer delivery. Our lakes and ponds and ditches will thank you !!! pic.twitter.com/R7S4OfKEGq
— HRM DM Matt Whitman (@matlantivex) January 12, 2016
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This article appears in Jan 14-20, 2016.
Hahaha! I love the Twilight Zone pic! Todays lesson is: pick up the bags of flyers before you use your snowblower.
Election year nonsense.
A fit young councillor using an electric snowblower !!!!!! Saving the environment my ass.
Matt Whitman asking for another expensive staff report on this topic that was already gone over by last council. What has changed, nothing. You can opt out, its that simple. Call and you get no more flyers. So the city will be spending more of your tax dollars on an already discussed topic. What this really is, well its Matt Whitman looking for camera time. The photo of Matt and his snow blower looks staged, I suspect Matt’s wife is the photographer. I ran over my flyers once, they do not come out flat like that. If anyone has a lie detector machine , I wonder if Whitman and photographer are willing to take a test to prove the authenticity of the photo.
The photo is from Facebook and is not the fit young Councillor.
It was simple…..call and cancel. …took 30 seconds
Haven’t had flyers in 8 months
Having them delivered I don’t think is the problem. I think the way they are delivered however, is the problem. Putting signs of “no flyers” on your house mailbox wouldn’t be of any help as the people delivering the flyers never go anywhere near doorsteps. I think it is the responsibility of the advertisers, not the government, to make sure their delivery persons take the time to do the job correctly. Just trowing them from the street into driveways is pure and simple LAZINESS!!! If they would only take the extra time and energy to deliver them to your doorstep instead of your driveway I don’t think we would be having this debate.
I say all of this even though I have not received flyers for over ten years. I do see them strewn all over the neighborhood and think it is a horrible sight.
Don’t we have bigger problems than this? What is it about cats, flyers, and other idiotic matter, that councillors love to go on about and waste time and our money. Fix the roads, water and sewer, Transit, etc, the things the people need.
I wonder when people complain about the flyers getting thrown in driveways and not getting to the mailboxes, if people know what they get paid to deliver them. When I delivered you only got paid less them $.50 a flyer to deliver. so you had to bust yourself to make any money. Just thought I would throw that out there.