Allegations of falsified documents. A police complaint. A possible criminal investigation.
The RCMP may be drawn in. Involvement of the Minister responsible for Canada Post.

The media coverage making waves in Québec City may resemble a John Le Carré spy novel or a conspiracy theory but the story underscores the need for transparency around decisions like the closure of the Québec City letter processing facility.

Chapter 1

The story started on May 6, 2006, with a Saturday morning visit by Conservative MPs Luc Harvey and Daniel Petit to the local police station. Luc Harvey filed an official complaint, claiming that documents used to analyze the impact of transferring mail processing from Québec City to Montréal were falsified.

Neither CUPW nor Canada Post know what these “falsified documents” are. The two MPs have scheduled a meeting with the union for May 15.

Radio-Canada reported that the documents relate to Canada Post service standards.

Chapter 2

On May 10, 2006, the Québec City daily newspaper Le Soleil reported that the two MPs had discussed this issue with Lawrence Cannon, the Minister responsible for Canada Post, prior to going to the police. It was Minister Cannon himself who advised the MPs to file the complaint, because these allegations were deemed by Cannon to be serious enough to merit an investigation.

Chapter 3

A police spokesperson explained that the documents will be analyzed to determine whether the local police or the RCMP retains jurisdiction over any criminal investigation into the affair.

Conclusion

CUPW’s Operation Transparency campaign was launched precisely because we wanted Canada Post to publicly release its strategic planning documents, to enable the union and the public to know the impacts of these plans on service.

With the potential for its image to be tarnished, Canada Post should do the right thing and come clean and reveal its plans so that there can be a public debate.

Canada Post must also revisit its decision to close the Québec City facility in light of these allegations.

I would like to urge all members and allies to participate fully in the campaign activities:

• May 16 — It’s the first year anniversary of Moya Greene’s presidency. If you haven’t already signed a letter to Moya Greene, do so today.
  
• May 17 — Search for the missing documents locally. Ask people if they have seen the documents. Use your magnifying glasses to ensure the documents are not hidden somewhere.
  
• June 19 — Direct action in Ottawa — Locals are to get organized and flood Canada Post headquarters with solidarity messages for CUPW.

For more news on our campaign and other issues affecting postal workers, please consult our website: www.cupw-sttp.org