Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am pleased to table a petition signed by 107 petitioners, who are citizens of Quebec, and of the riding of Verchères—Les-Patriotes, which I have the honour of representing in this House.
The petitioners point out that the rural route mail carriers cannot negotiate a collective agreement for themselves in order to improve their pay and working conditions. Too often, these workers earn less than minimum wage. Their working conditions are of an age we thought long gone, whereas their colleagues in the private sector, who also deliver mail in the rural areas, have the right to bargain collectively as do all employees of the Canada Post Corporation.
The petitioners therefore ask parliament to repeal subsection 13(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act, which deprives rural route mail carriers of their right to collective bargaining.
It seems obvious to me that the government must intervene as quickly as possible to put an end to this discrimination against those delivering rural mail.