Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition which is signed by several hundred residents of the province of British Columbia on the issue of rural route mail couriers.
The petition notes that these people often earn less than the minimum wage and have working conditions reminiscent of another era; that they have not been allowed to bargain collectively to improve their wages and working conditions like other workers; that private sector workers who deliver mail in rural areas have collective bargaining rights as do public sector workers who deliver mail for Canada Post in urban areas; that section 13(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act prohibits these people from having collective bargaining rights; that this denial of basic rights helps Canada Post keep the wages and working conditions at an unfair level and discriminates against rural workers.
The petitioners therefore call on parliament to repeal section 13(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act, a call that I fully support.