Question Period Note: Canada Post: Health and safety

Canada Post continues to provide a vital service to Canadians under difficult circumstances, with employees continuing to operate in the field delivering parcels, with the Corporation doing everything possible to continue service while keeping the health and safety of its employees as its number one priority.

• Canada Post is taking action to protect the health and safety of customers and employees in line with guidance of public health authorities
  • Canada Post provides hand sanitizer for all customers and requires the use of face coverings by employees, contractors, customers and visitors in all Canada Post facilities
  • Canada Post continues to reinforce rigourous safety protocols with all employees
  • In addition, Canada Post is undertaking screening tests in various locations, supported by 100,000 rapid tests provided by the Government
  • As well, all Canada Post employees have paid sick leave as per their respective Collective Agreements

If pressed on health and safety:

• Canada Post is taking action to protect employees and customers, including:
  • Enhanced cleaning in all of its facilities, extra safety supplies for employees and staggered shifts which minimize everyone arriving at work and having their breaks at the same time. This also allows for enhanced physical distancing in the workplace
  • Door signage and floor decals have been installed at all post offices to encourage physical distancing, limiting the number of customers within each office, and installing clear barriers at the counter to increase safety
  • Post offices are regularly supplied with hand sanitizer for staff andf customers, and staff are also provided disposable gloves, face coverings, and sanitizing wipes and spray
  • Implemented a new process called “Knock, Drop and Go” to minimize contact with the Delivery Agent by eliminating signatures at the door

If pressed on mandatory face coverings for employees, contractors, visitors, and customers:

• Canada Post implemented mandatory face coverings for employees and others in its facilities across Canada
• Employees throughout the organization have been doing their best in difficult circumstances to keep one another safe
• Widespread adoption of this critical preventative measure will help to protect people against the spread of COVID-19 and make all their workplaces as safe as possible

If pressed on Canada Post’s ability to deliver elections materials during a pandemic:

• As Canada Post told the Procedure and House Affairs Committee on December 3, it is working with Elections Canada and has the capacity to process mail volumes far exceeding the demands that are expected if a federal election is called

If pressed on the Ontario provincial inspections and the Gateway facility:

• Canada Post is a federally regulated Crown corporation and as such is subject to inspections by ESDC- Labour Canada
• That being said, since the start of the pandemic, Canada Post has followed the guidance of local public health authorities to implement rigorous measures to keep its employees safe
• At all times, Peel Public Health has confirmed that Canada Post is able to maintain its operations

If pressed on the shift 3 outbreak at the Toronto Exchange Office (at the Gateway facility):

• Canada Post informed employees on Tuesday, April 27,that Peel Public Health had directed that approximately 80 employees from Shift 3 (the afternoon shift) in the Toronto Exchange Office at the Gateway facility leave the workplace and self-isolate for 10 days which ended May 7, 2021 when they will return to work
• In the previous seven days, 12 employees who work in the location had tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in Peel Public Health’s declaration of an outbreak
• Canada Post continues to work closely with Peel Public Health as cases have risen in the community and are in regular contact
• Canada Post also continues to provide voluntary onsite rapid COVID-19 testing to all employees and contractors at the Gateway facility. Any employees who test positive must leave the workplace and self-isolate. In each case, Public Health is notified, and employees and the union are informed. Substantial paid leave provisions are in place to support employees having to isolate at home
• Canada Post will continue to reinforce its safety protocols with all employees, including enhanced cleaning and sanitization measures, and follow any direction they receive from Peel Public Health
• Contingency plans are also being implemented to minimize customer impacts
• Canada Post has implemented segregated work shifts to prevent cross-contamination between shifts
• Canada Post has implemented a voluntary rapid testing program at this facility

If pressed on the retirement party at the Gateway plant:

• Canada Post is aware that a brief gathering was held for a retiring colleague in Gateway West in early April
• Canada Post does not allow gatherings within the facility for any reason. This was an unfortunate and isolated incident

• Canada Post takes this matter seriously and has talked directly to those involved and has also reminded all employees at the facility of the importance of following safety rules

  If pressed on the South Central Letter Processing Plant (SCLPP) at 969 Eastern Avenue in Toronto:

• When an employee tests positive, Canada Post follows a process, which includes informing employees, supporting public health and sanitization measures

• I have been reassured by Canada Post that it works closely with local public health units and share information with employees and their unions as quickly as possible
• In this situation, rapid testing was put in place for employees at the facility as soon as they arrived at work the day after the positive text, in addition to the existing safety measures

If pressed on the vaccination clinic planned for Gateway and a mobile vaccination clinic scheduled in Toronto:

• Canada Post is preparing to operate an on-site vaccine clinic at the Gateway facility in Mississauga thanks to a collaborative effort with Peel Region Public Health Authority and the Province of Ontario
• Through this initiative, they expect their front-line employees and contractors to have the opportunity to receive vaccinations on-site at the Dixie Road facility as early as Friday, May 21
• The clinics will be operated 7 days a week by an experienced third-party health services provider, under the direction of Peel Public Health
• Canada Post has notified their employees and bargaining agents, and they will be working together to encourage those who have not already received a COVID-19 vaccine to sign up. Their employees will be able to start signing up soon, and their participation in the clinics will be voluntary
• As part of this initiative, Canada Post will also provide access to the clinic to the broader community following the employee clinic
• In addition, Canada Post is working with Toronto Public Health and the Ontario Ministry of Health to offer a mobile vaccination clinic on May 18 and 19 at the York Delivery Centre (1860 Midland Avenue). This voluntary clinic is coordinated by the Ontario Ministry of Health and will provide vaccinations to Canada Post employees who work at designated facilities in the area, including their large depot located at 280 Progress Avenue
• Canada Post has continued to work closely with its bargaining agents and public health officials to take measures to keep employees safe during the pandemic. From physical distancing, to mandatory masks to rapid testing, they continue to evolve their approach following the direction from public health

If pressed on the outbreak in Montreal at Léo Blanchette:

• The Léo-Blanchette mail processing plant in Montreal has over 3,000 employees, and just over 30 employees have tested positive over the past 2 weeks
• In each case, the Direction Régionale de Santé Publique de Montreal was informed, and Canada Post continues to work closely with them
• Canada Post is providing voluntary onsite rapid COVID-19 testing to all employees and contractors at this facility as of Tuesday, April 13. Any employees who test positive will leave the workplace and self-isolate
• Canada Post has paid leave provisions in place to support employees

If pressed on the employee testing positive in Halifax:

• Canada Post was informed late Wednesday, April 21, that one of its employees at the Halifax mail processing plant on Almon Street had tested positive for COVID-19
• Mail delivery was suspended there onApril 22 for the day, but Canada Post is is putting contingency plans in placeto minimize the impact on delivery services to its customers as service is restored
• Canada Post understands that operating during COVID-19 can cause concerns for its employees. That's why, since the beginning, it has committed to closely following the advice of public health officials at the national and local level in order to keep employees and the people they serve safe

Canada Post has been experiencing “Christmas level” volumes during this pandemic. Canada Post has introduced several measures to encourage physical distancing and limit contact during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a “Knock, Drop and Go” approach for parcel delivery. This change eliminates the need for signatures at the door for many items, speeds up delivery and has greatly reduced the number of parcels sent to post offices for pickup. Items that require signatures due to proof of age or as directed within the Canada Post Corporation Act (Registered Mail or Xpresspost Certified) will be required to be picked up at the retail counter in a more controlled environment, where physical distancing can be accommodated. It has also suspended normal delivery guarantees for its parcel services as delivering safely without overburdening its employees requires more time.

Mandatory face covering for employees, contractors, visitors and customers across the country

Canada Post’s Mandatory Face Covering Practice makes it mandatory for employees, contractors, visitors and customers across Canada to wear a face covering in all Canada Post facilities. This requirement applies to, but is not limited to, plant floors, depots, retail outlets, docks and yards, and administrative sites. It also applies to Canada Post employees while working in other facilities, such as multi-unit residential buildings, stores, offices and their common areas, such as entrances, lobbies and hallways.

Even if provincial or local regulations do not require face coverings, Canada Post’s practice shall apply.

Canada Post expects all employees, contractors, visitors and customers to wear a face covering compliant with PHAC standards, at all times in all Canada Post facilities across the country. The practice applies to all parts of the facilities, including but not limited to work centres, cubicles, cases, washrooms, hallways, entrances, stairwells and break rooms.

The exceptions are:

• persons who are the sole occupant of an enclosed vehicle
• persons who are the sole occupant of an enclosed office or room with a closed door
• persons consuming food or drink in an area designated for this purpose and where 2 metres physical distancing is maintained
• persons engaging in other activities that briefly require the temporary removal of a face covering and where 2 metres physical distancing is maintained (such as taking a drink of water)
• persons receiving alternate accommodations under the Canadian Human Rights Act based on an inability to wear a face covering
• persons under the age of 5

All Canada Post employees are responsible for complying with this practice. Failure to comply with the practice would be inconsistent with public health directives and a serious breach of company safety rules.

Employees who fail to comply with the mandatory face covering practice will face discipline up to and including dismissal from Canada Post. Contractors, visitors and customers who do not comply with the practice will not be permitted access to Canada Post facilities, but Canada Post will work with those who need accommodation on human rights grounds.

May 13, 2021 – Canada Post statement on the on-site vaccination clinic planned for Gateway and a mobile vaccination clinic scheduled in Toronto

Canada Post is preparing to operate an on-site vaccine clinic at the Gateway facility in Mississauga thanks to a collaborative effort with Peel Region Public Health Authority and the Province of Ontario.

Through this initiative, we expect Canada Post front-line employees and contractors to have the opportunity to receive vaccinations on-site at the Dixie Road facility as early as Friday, May 21. The clinics will be operated 7 days a week by an experienced third-party health services provider, under the direction of Peel Public Health.

We have notified employees and our bargaining agents, and we will be working together to encourage those who have not already received a COVID-19 vaccine to sign up. Employees will be able to start signing up soon, once operational details are finalized. Participation in the clinics will be voluntary.

As part of this initiative, Canada Post will also provide access to the clinic to the broader community following the employee clinic. Details will be shared once they are finalized.

In addition, Canada Post is working with Toronto Public Health and the Ontario Ministry of Health to offer a mobile vaccination clinic on May 18 and 19 at the York Delivery Centre (1860 Midland Avenue). This voluntary clinic is coordinated by the Ontario Ministry of Health and will provide vaccinations to Canada Post employees who work at designated facilities in the area, including our large depot located at 280 Progress Avenue.

Canada Post has continued to work closely with its bargaining agents and public health officials to take measures to keep employees safe during the pandemic. From physical distancing, to mandatory masks to rapid testing, we continue to evolve our approach following the direction from public health

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