Government Operations Committee on May 22nd, 2020

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Actually, I'm going to take over, if I may, Mr. Chair, for Mr. Jowhari.

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Lukiwski]

Please go ahead, Steve. You have four minutes.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Thank you for joining us, Ms. Simpson.

I have visited the distribution centre. So I know a number of your colleagues, as well as people from the union who work here in Gatineau. I see some of them every day. I must thank all those who work to deliver our parcels and our mail every day.

I do not want to scoop you, Madam President, but I want to point out that the attendance of your members, their devotion to the job, their ability to deliver a record number of parcels through a very difficult period, when Canadians are depending on that distribution, is truly remarkable. I want, through you, to convey our appreciation for the work of CUPW and maybe let you comment on the high volumes that you're dealing with.

[Jan Simpson]

Thank you for your question.

Like I said before, our members have been over two years without a new contract—the rural and suburban mail carriers as well as the urban workers. They still go to work every day and ensure the public can stay home, the economy can keep growing and we can flatten the curve.

Our members go to work, but they need to be safe when they go to work so they can return home to their families safe as well. They are part of the community. They love the job they do, but they need to be safe. Hopefully they will have a contract in place soon, because our right to strike has been taken away during these last two rounds of bargaining and the workers are still on the front lines working because that's how important keeping the economy going is to us.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

I want to point out that in addition to COVID we had the floods in Fort McMurray, where I believe, other than a brief interruption, the mail got through. It's just a real tribute to the men and women of Canada Post and CUPW who are devoting themselves to this.

For once I'll agree with Mr. McCauley perhaps and say that it's been a remarkable achievement that we've been able to, in what's been a high-volume period in some very large and sophisticated distribution hubs, stay COVID-free, at least as far as we know, in the workplace.

Thank you for that as well.

[Jan Simpson]

We have to thank the local joint health and safety committees because they're there as soon as a case is pointed out. Right away they ask for deep-cleaning to occur, they inform the members what happened and they're able to trace what has happened.

The public health authority's process isn't the best, it's not very inclusive. I feel it needs to improve and maybe have a three-way call with Canada Post and its members so they're involved from the very beginning of the process.

They also need to come into the workplace, allow the...it's only done over the telephone and that's not acceptable. They need to come into the workplace, talk to the members who are actually affected and also give proper written information on what's happening and how the COVID case is being handled. Even though we are a company under federal jurisdiction, each province has its own practice and it's very different in each province. We need to have a unified practice across the country that can give some security and stability whenever there's a COVID-19 case within a workplace.

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Lukiwski]

Thank you.

We will now go to Mr. Aboultaif for four minutes, please.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you for appearing today.

According to guidance from PHAC and the World Health Organization cited on the Canada Post website, “because of poor survivability of coronaviruses on surfaces, there is a low risk of spread from products or packaging shipped over a period of days or weeks. Currently, there is no evidence of COVID-19 being transmitted by imported goods or packages.”

Do you agree with this assessment?

[Jan Simpson]

I don't know, I'm not a scientist, but this is what we've been told so I'm following what's being said. We've asked the public to wipe down doorknobs, stairwells and mailboxes and possibly leave their packages outside for an extra day to ensure there's no possible tracing of COVID within any kind of package they receive at their home.

Even if you go grocery shopping or go to any store, this should be done as well. Anything that comes into your home from outside should be wiped down to be extra careful, because we cannot guarantee that COVID cannot be transmitted from anywhere.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

That quote is on the Canada Post website.

Do you agree with that assessment, yes or no?

[Jan Simpson]

I don't agree. At this time it's what we have, but it's a quote. I don't know, I haven't seen all the information to verify that, so at this time it's a quote.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Yes it is a quote, but it's now on the official website of Canada Post and you represent the union of Canada Post workers. If you disagree with it.... That kind of statement could carry a risk for the people employed by Canada Post whether in warehouses or outside. I'd like you to clarify that. It's very important to pay attention to such a statement, because I'm sure workers of Canada Post and your members will be reading this statement and may work with it.

[Jan Simpson]

Like you said, it's on the Canada Post website; it's not on our website.

We know COVID-19 information is changing as we go along. Hopefully, they'll update their website as new information comes along. Like I said earlier, at this time there have been no cases within our four walls through our packages, but we never know what could happen later on. We're hoping it'll stay the same to ensure our workers and the public are safe. You also have to take security measures on your own and make sure you wipe down the packages that come to your own home to ensure there's nothing on the packages, whether they are from Canada Post or from the stores you shop at with your families.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

For the last 10 weeks, do you recall whether packages like this coming from overseas or big boxes were being traced back, as being a cause of COVID-19 cases among Canada Post workers?

[Jan Simpson]

Not at this time. At Canada Post, anything coming in from the U.S. is held outside for an extra 24 hours before it comes into the facility. This is to ensure that there is no virus.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

What does that do with regard to safety, having anything on those boxes, basically any risk?

[Jan Simpson]

According to the information that's been provided by the World Health Organization and the Canada Post site, it allegedly stops any kind of spreading of the virus within a package.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

As a union, you monitor these circumstances closely. Do you have your own instructions for that?

[Jan Simpson]

At this time—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Lukiwski]

Give a very brief answer, please.

[Jan Simpson]

—we are following what's been said, but like I said to you before, we have to ensure that all the packages are handled safely. We have wipes for our workers, as well as hand sanitizer, to make sure that they have no opportunity to catch COVID while they are at the workplace.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Lukiwski]

We'll now go to Mr. Weiler for four minutes, please.

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'll be ceding my time today to Ms. May.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

I am so grateful.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to our witness from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. I also want to extent my appreciation through you to all the workers at CUPW who have been continuing to work in these very trying times.

I agree with the comments earlier from my friend, Kelly McCauley, that a lot of credit is due to everyone involved. However, I want to pursue a point that you made: that the reality is that, on the ground, every community has a post office and every community has CUPW workers who are eyes and ears on the ground.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I know there have been a lot of very innovative proposals coming from CUPW for how we could make Canada Post sustainable for the long term, things like pursuing postal banking, as is done in many countries around the world.

I'm wondering if you had included in that what kind of capacity long-term in a pandemic, in a national emergency. I know we included it in the Green Party platform proposal for the future of our post offices, and I think we got the idea from CUPW, so correct me if I'm wrong. What kinds of additional services does CUPW think we could rely on these, essentially, small federal hubs—some large—in every community across Canada for? Is there a long-term lesson post-pandemic about how our post offices can become hubs of PPE distribution, information, checking up on people who are vulnerable, and that kind of range of thinking outside the box of what we usually think Canada Post delivers?