Dispute at Canada Post Mississauga facility after COVID-19 outbreak, 182 positive cases since Jan. 1

Canada Post says it’s dealing with a significant COVID-19 outbreak at its Gateway facility in Mississauga with over 150 positive cases since the start of the new year.

“Our total count as of today at the facility is 182 positive cases since January 1,” a spokesperson said.

Canada Post confirms that about 100 Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) staff were pulled out of their work at the Gateway processing plant and inspections of every piece of incoming International mail is on hold until those workers come back.

The union President says CBSA had been told it was only 20 positive cases, so customs inspectors will not be back working on incoming International mail until they trust the plant is safe.

National President of the Customs and Immigration Union, Jean-Pierre Fortin, says CBSA management made the call to pull its workers over a dispute about just how many of them at Gateway have caught COVID-19.

“You’re talking about containers and containers of packages,” Fortin tells 680 NEWS.

“The impact will be immediate on the time of delivery on the packages and mail.”

Fortin says he doesn’t know how much mail is being held back and has no idea how long it will take to resolve this dispute.

Fortin adds that these inspectors cannot simply be replaced by other workers as it’s like screening people airports; only they can do the job of inspecting all the incoming international mail.

Spokesman Phil Legault says the latest cases were detected among workers who were asymptomatic or didn’t believe they had symptoms.

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RELATED: 121 Canada Post employees at Mississauga facility tested positive for COVID-19 since Jan. 1

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Testing of the entire shift was ordered by Peel Public Health and began on Jan. 19.

Legault says Canada Post is now offering voluntary testing to employees working outside the public health-identified shift.

More than 4,500 people work at the Mississauga site.