Provincial and federal departments in Prince Edward Island will soon provide products and services to residents and property owners of Prince Edward Island using EPOST™, the electronic delivery system from Canada Post and Cebra Inc. which can be found on the world wide web at www.epost.ca.
An event to demonstrate the service and announce the partners was held at the Industry Canada Community Access Program (CAP) site in the Kensington Post Office today.
"EPOST is free, easy to use, private and secure," said Minister Mitch Murphy, PEI Department of Technology and Environment. "In PEI, more than half our residents have regular access to the Internet at home, work or a nearby CAP site. EPOST provides new options to use information technology to access services and products."
People are encouraged to register for a free Electronic Post Box™ by accessing any computer with an Internet connection at home, work, a nearby Community Access Program site or Service Canada Access Centre. Once registered, Canadian consumers and businesses choose the mail they wish to receive from a list of participating organizations.
The Provincial Treasury of PEI will present property tax bills through EPOST in late April 2000. By registering with EPOST, residential and business users will receive their bill(s) electronically and will have the option to pay the bill on-line through most financial institutions. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Net Income Stabilization Account (NISA) program will deliver Confirmation Notices to participants in the NISA program in PEI. In addition, Canada Post will present a Request for Re-direction of Mail form.
Catherine Horne, Canada Post's General Manager, Commercial Sales for the Atlantic region said, "Canada Post is pleased to be part of the Service Canada pilot in Prince Edward Island. We expect EPOST will be the place where Canadian consumers and businesses send and receive their mail, deliver and pay bills, order products, access services, find information and interact in an accessible, private and secure environment."
Prince Edward Island is serving as a pilot location as part of a Service Canada project. Service Canada is a federal government project whose aim is to offer one-stop access to government services, helping Canadians receive the services they need quickly, easily and conveniently.
Users of EPOST in Prince Edward Island have the opportunity to win a personal home computer and free Internet access for one year. To qualify for the prize, users must register for an EPOST box™ and activate it by April 19, 2000. Full contest details are available by contacting Technology PEI at 1-877-686-7458.
Participants in the EPOST project of Prince Edward Island include the Province of Prince Edward Island, Service Canada, Canada Post and the Net Income Stabilization Account of Agri-Food and Agriculture Canada.
"This initiative will assist to further Prince Edward Island's reputation as the Smart Province," added Minister Murphy. "As the Smart Province, PEI is becoming renown for its knowledge-based culture, industries, workforce, training capacity, and model application of information technology."
Information brochures will be delivered to all PEI households beginning March 21, 2000. Islanders are encouraged to visit a CAP site for more information or to activate an Electronic Post Office Box. Information can also be obtained by contacting Technology PEI at 368-6435 (local) or 1-877-686-7458 (toll free). For EPOST Customer Service, call 1-877-1212 (24 hour toll free service).