Ontario labour inspectors are homing in on warehouses and distribution centres, but the site of a major workplace COVID-19 outbreak isn91裸聊视频檛 included in the ongoing inspections: Canada Post.

More than 300 employees at the postal service91裸聊视频檚 Gateway facility in Mississauga, Ont., have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the year and one employee has died. Canada Post advised customers across the country to expect delivery delays as the outbreak impacted operations at the central mail delivery hub.

But because Canada Post is a federally regulated Crown corporation, its inspection falls outside provincial jurisdiction.

The president of the national union representing postal workers said consistent standards should be applied to all workplaces, noting that the outbreak has had an 91裸聊视频渆normous impact on all postal workers.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淭he virus doesn91裸聊视频檛 distinguish between provincial and federal workplaces and neither should inspections,91裸聊视频� Jan Simpson, president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, said in a statement. 91裸聊视频淲orkplaces and workers in the Peel Region have been hit hard by COVID-19. It91裸聊视频檚 in everyone91裸聊视频檚 best interest that all workplaces be inspected to ensure the health and safety of workers.91裸聊视频�

Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said earlier this month that the ministry chose to focus on warehouses and distribution centres in Peel Region - the hard-hit region of the Greater Toronto Area - noting that such workplaces employ a high number of temporary and precarious workers.

91裸聊视频淓very employer, I don91裸聊视频檛 care 91裸聊视频� who they91裸聊视频檙e owned by, knows the rules that they need to follow,91裸聊视频� McNaughton said in an interview when the warehouse and distribution blitz was announced on Feb. 10. 91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 no excuses anymore.91裸聊视频�

In the first week of the inspection 91裸聊视频渂litz91裸聊视频� in Peel Region, inspectors visited 59 warehouses and issued issued 10 tickets and one order. They found compliance was just over 64 per cent, according to the ministry.

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However, McNaughton said the federal government has responsibility for the Canada Post workplace. He said all levels of government need to work together to make sure safety measures are in place.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 all hands on deck, every level of government has to pull their weight,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 certainly ensuring that our ministry is doing everything possible to protect the health and safety of workers.91裸聊视频�

Employment and Social Development Canada confirmed in a statement that the federal labour program 91裸聊视频渆ngaged91裸聊视频� with the Gateway Canada Post facility 91裸聊视频渟everal91裸聊视频� times between March 1, 2020 and Feb.12, including 91裸聊视频渢o investigate refusals to work, to conduct an inspection into the (preventive) measures implemented, as well as to investigate the death of the employee.91裸聊视频�

But it91裸聊视频檚 unclear what, if any, enforcement took place on those visits, or how many of them occurred and when. The department said information on specific findings including tickets issued couldn91裸聊视频檛 be shared publicly unless through an Access to Information request.

The department statement said it works with employers to help them fulfil legal obligations, but added that employers are 91裸聊视频渂est positioned to determine the health and safety measures for their work environment in order to meet legislated requirements.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淭herefore, the Labour Program does not prescribe specific measures to be taken in any federally regulated workplaces,91裸聊视频� spokesperson Marie-Eve Sigouin-Campeau said in a statement.

Peel Public Health, which also supported Canada Post in managing the outbreak by ordering asymptomatic testing of all workers among other measures, also declined to share specific findings.

91裸聊视频淎s this is an ongoing, active investigation we are not in a position to disclose any further details,91裸聊视频� Dr. Lawrence Loh, the region91裸聊视频檚 medical officer of health, said in a Feb. 17 statement. 91裸聊视频淐anada Post continues to co-operate with our investigation, and our joint priority remains protecting the health and safety of impacted employees and our broader community at this time.91裸聊视频�

Tim Sly, an emeritus professor of epidemiology at Ryerson University, said the 91裸聊视频渢angle of power struggle91裸聊视频� between levels of government is a recurring characteristic of public health crisis management in Canada that can erode the public91裸聊视频檚 trust.

91裸聊视频淚t confuses everybody,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭he city says one thing, the province says something else, the feds say something else, and the public is going around in circles saying that nobody knows what they91裸聊视频檙e doing.91裸聊视频�

READ MORE: COVID-19 numbers in the Okanagan fall by more than 50%

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