By SooToday.com Staff
SooToday.com
Thursday, November 06, 2008

NEWS RELEASE

TONY MARTIN, MP

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Martin presses government on bridge and customs plaza

SAULT STE. MARIE, ON – MP Tony Martin has followed up on his tour last week of the rodent-invested Canadian customs plaza with a letter to three newly appointed cabinet ministers calling for immediate and long-term solutions.

“I was shocked at what I saw and how long this problem has existed,” Martin said. “The action by the ministry to close the building justifies the work stoppage by the union and is a welcome first step.”

Martin wrote Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities Minister John Baird, Labour Minister Rona Ambrose and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan, urging them to support the construction of a new bridge plaza and customs building.

“Clearly, the long-term solution has to be a new facility for the bridge and border, prime candidates for the Building Canada infrastructure fund,” Martin wrote. “I intend to move quickly on this initiative and welcome your support, given the importance of the crossing from an economic and security perspective, situated as it is in the heartland of our continent and serving a vast area of Northern Ontario.

Martin will meet with the bridge authority and also urge a united City and federal pitch to get the project completed.

Martin’s letter to the government ministers follows:

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Nov. 4, 2008

Hon. John Baird
Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure And Communities
330 Sparks Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0N5

Hon. Rona Ambrose
Minister of Labour
Human Resources and Social Development Canada
Ottawa ON K1A 0J2

Hon. Peter Van Loan
Minister of Public Safety
269 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Canada K1A 0P8

Dear Ministers:

On Thursday October 30, 2008, at the invitation of the Customs Excise Union Local 26, I visited the bridge and customs plaza in my riding of Sault Ste. Marie.

Canadian customs officers started a partial work refusal Monday October 27, saying the Canadian Border Services Agency was not doing enough to remove mice from the 46-year-old building.

Feces, large nests and dead rodents have been found in radiators in the immigration office of the traffic building.

As a result, there is a real danger of people getting sick from the contaminated air; I am personally aware of one related illness.

I am shocked and appalled at the safety conditions I saw and how long the problem has been allowed to go unaddressed.

This job action points to the very real concern by the union about the health and safety of their membership.

Health and Safety issues for workers are real and need to be addressed both in both the short term and the long term.

In the short term the building must be cleaned up and CBSA must commit to ongoing monitoring and action.

I welcome the order by the Federal Ministry of Labour to close the building.

This decision justifies the action taken by the union.

Clearly, the long-term solution has to be a new facility for the bridge and border, prime candidates for the Building Canada infrastructure fund.

I intend to move quickly on this initiative and welcome your support, given the importance of the crossing from an economic and security perspective, situated as it is in the heartland of our continent and serving a vast area of Northern Ontario.

The federal government needs to get serious about work conditions and support for customs officers.

New facilities will not only provide safe and healthy work conditions, but will also facilitate the flow of traffic and contribute to efficient and effective border crossing for people and trade.

I thank the union for keeping me informed and involving me in this very important situation.

I look forward to working with you to resolve these issues.

Sincerely,

Tony Martin
Member of Parliament
Sault Ste. Marie

Cc: Sandy Lucio, Customs and Immigration Union
Rick Comerford, Canada Border Services Agency

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