Mr. Speaker, I stand today to present a petition on behalf of Canadian rural and suburban mail carriers. Eleven thousand rural and suburban mail carriers employed by Canada Post are required to use their own vehicles to deliver mail. As the cost of fuel continues to increase, the rates covered, as set by the Canada Revenue Agency, are not coinciding. As a result, workers are increasingly forced to use their own wages just to do their jobs.
This petition calls upon the federal government to temporarily increase the per-kilometre allowance rates by a minimum of 15% until gas prices see a drop below $1.75 per litre, so that these workers are not forced to pay out of their own pockets to do their jobs.
I thank Fiona Gunn and her fellow rural and suburban mail carriers, as well as the 4,729 signatories, for their work to draw attention to this important issue.