Dean Del Mastro

[Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act, June 25th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, it is remarkable that here we are a couple of days in and we still hear the exact same arguments. In fact, I am sure I have heard that same speech before.

Regardless, we have heard a number of members talk about the wages being paid to the executive at Canada Post.

I received a number of emails from local postal workers in Peterborough. They had no choice about joining the union. It is mandatory. One postal worker wrote to me, and I will just read the part where he said:

This union is corrupt!

This union charges $80 a month in fees and is not accountable to anyone on where that money goes.

This union organizes union conferences for its top brass in foreign countries like Fiji and Maui.

That exact same union will not allow its members to vote on Canada Post's last offer. That union member had no choice about being a member of the union. Now he would like a choice as to whether or not he could accept Canada Post's most recent offer. The NDP is standing in the way of that. Would the NDP not encourage CUPW to allow its membership to vote on the most recent Canada Post offer?

[Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act, June 24th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member has just referred to a document. I would request that the member table that document.

[Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act, June 24th, 2011]

On the same point of order, earlier I asked for unanimous consent to table a document from a local postal worker in Peterborough who I support, who actually referred to the union management as “union thugs”. I asked for unanimous consent to table it. Can I have it now?

[Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act, June 24th, 2011]

Yes, on union dues. Why will they not allow their members to vote on that contract?

[Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act, June 24th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, there has certainly been an awful lot of mischaracterizations about what is going on and how we have arrived at this point. The member in the official opposition continued along that route. He indicated that he thought this was a provocative action in many ways and that it never should have happened.

However, there was no talk of how Canada Post significantly had suffered economically through the rotating strikes, especially when it culminated in Toronto and Montreal. It indicated that some $100 million had been lost by Canada Post. That money belongs not just to the workers of Canada Post, but to all Canadians. That $100 million is real and it really did not have a choice.

This is the position that Canada Post and its workers are in, but it made an offer just last week. The members across the way have constantly talked about the wages in that offer and it seems they are prepared to accept it on behalf of the Canada Post workers. Is that what everyone else is hearing? That is what I am hearing.

I certainly never called CUPW members thugs. I said the union bosses are thugs, the ones that go to Fiji and Maui on—

[Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act, June 24th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, there is quite a bit of inconsistency in the NDP's argument. On one side they say the government should play no role and that we should allow the two sides to bargain. On the other side they accuse the government of somehow being involved in the lockout. Therefore, on one side we are not supposed to be involved, and then they say we are involved. They are all over the road on it.

One thing seems very clear to me. We are calling this a lockout, and my hon. colleague from Tobique—Mactaquac said some time ago that in fact the workers themselves are locked out by their union. They are locked out from having the opportunity to have their say on the most recent contract offer that was made by Canada Post, and I do not understand why. I have letters from postal workers.

I hear the member for Malpeque shouting, but I want to ask this member a very succinct question. I have a number of letters from postal workers in my riding who are experiencing hardship and who want the opportunity to vote on Canada Post's most recent contract offer.

Would this member join me in calling on CUPW to allow its members to vote on Canada Post's offer? Doing that would make this bill redundant.

[Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act, June 24th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would seek the unanimous consent of the House to table a document written by a local postal worker in which he says, “This is for the real workers at Canada Post, not union thugs”. A Canada Post worker used the term.

[Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act, June 24th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I read a number of letters that demonstrate that the NDP is not standing up for workers. In fact, it is beholden to a small group of union boss thugs.

I will read a letter from a local postal worker. The letter reads, “I'm a postal worker. As you know, we didn't get the right to vote on the final offer. Why? The union knew we would have taken the offer. We're being held hostage by them. Plus, the strike vote was unfair and unjust.”

This worker is on sick leave and has lost all benefits and coverage because the union will not allow local members to vote. I want to stand up for my local postal workers and demand that CUPW hold a free vote for its membership. Why are members of the NDP standing in the way of that? Why will they not allow CUPW members to vote? How can they possibly contend that they are standing up for workers in this House?

[Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act, June 24th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, a number of people have been reading things from their ridings. Well, I heard from a postal work in my riding who said that no one in his station voted in favour of striking in the first place, that they were happy with the offer management presented and understood that without modernization their jobs would be gone. He called the union corrupt and said it counted all non-votes as votes to strike. According to him, the union charged $80 a month in fees and was not accountable to anyone for where the money goes. The union, he said, organized conferences for its top brass in places like Fiji and Maui. He thought that the union ought to be investigated and that if employees had been able to vote on this online the strike would never have happened.

Will this member join me in calling on CUPW brass to put Canada Post's most recent offer to a vote by its membership?

[Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act, June 24th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, this is not a point of debate, but the hon. member has made several insinuations about the Prime Minister. Because I am the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, I know what he is saying is absolutely incorrect. However, if he has any evidence, he should table it. Otherwise, he should withdraw those remarks and apologize to the Right Hon. Prime Minister of this country.