Government Operations committee  Yes. Let's be clear here. As I said, we represent 6,600 rural and suburban mail carriers. There have been fewer than 300 complaints with Labour Canada. Of course, not all of this work is unsafe. This work can be done safely. People want to do their jobs. I would say that even tho

Government Operations committee  Two weeks ago, two members in southern Ontario were in a traffic accident while delivering mail on their routes.

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  I don't have the information with me.

Government Operations committee  Yes, we can do that. I was just told that there were 150 successful WSIB, Worker's Compensation, claims last year alone.

Government Operations committee  Rural delivery only.

Government Operations committee  Oh, yes. We don't even want to get started on the inside.

Government Operations committee  We share your concerns. We have serious concerns that the closure of the Quebec City letter sorting facility is the first step in downsizing. There are 22 mechanized postal facilities across the country. In many provinces, there is more than one postal facility, and in some pro

Government Operations committee  In terms of delivery?

Government Operations committee  The best example for us to look at is rural delivery in the United States. In the United States, they use right-hand-drive vehicles to deliver the mail. Of course, that's another option that exists, as these vehicles are in use in the United States, and mail service couriers and

Government Operations committee  A century.

Government Operations committee  I've worked with rural and suburban mail couriers since about 1998, I think. We've been organizing those workers since that time, and we were successful in getting voluntary recognition for them in 2004. So I know these complaints have always existed. These routes that are unsafe

Government Operations committee  Roughly 279 workers have invoked the right to refuse under the Canada Labour Code. All but a couple of those complaints were found to be valid by Labour Canada. There are two types of risk that have been identified. One is regarding the ergonomic effect of reaching across your

Government Operations committee  I can give you two examples. One is what's called Appendix T, a provision in our collective agreement for a joint committee with funding, and with equal responsibility, allowing us to test new initiatives—job creation initiatives and service expansion initiatives. It allows the c

Government Operations committee  Yes, we have 6,600 members across Canada and Quebec who deliver to rural mailboxes and community mailboxes in the area. Prior to January 2004, those 6,600 workers were independent contractors. Their routes came up for tender every five years and they had to bid on their routes.