TORONTO — Canada Post has directed its carriers to stop raising the flag on mailboxes to indicate they've delivered mail.

The postal service says it's clarifying its existing policy and not instituting a new one, but it could still mean a change for some customers who use the flag to gauge whether they've received a letter.

A Canada Post spokesperson says the red indicator on mailboxes is meant to be used by customers telling their mail carrier that there's outgoing mail, not by the carrier to signal incoming mail.

The Crown corporation says it issued the clarification because customers complained that carriers weren't using the flag consistently.

Some rural residents have taken to online forums to decry the directive.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says it wasn't told about the

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