Update on Gateway processing facility in Mississauga
Status Update – February 1, 2021 - Gateway Facility
Our People
As you may also have heard the very sad news, one of our colleagues who worked at Gateway East passed away last week.
Canada Post and Peel Public Health (PPH) continue to work together in response to the situation at our Gateway facility in Mississauga. Peel Public Health has now directed that Canada Post arrange mandatory COVID-19 testing for all employees who work anywhere in the Gateway facility, including those who have already had a test. This on-site mandatory testing began Friday, January 29 th and will continue in larger scale this week.
Combined with employees attending community clinics for testing, we have now seen 273 positive cases since January 1, 2021. PPH has advised it is safe to continue operating. Canada Post will continue to follow the expert advice and analysis of PPH in how we respond to the situation at the facility, while reinforcing our safety protocols with all employees.
- Beginning Tuesday, February 2nd, active screening of employees will occur before they enter the facility, as directed by PPH.
- Employees are required to conduct a COVID-19 self-assessment before each shift and stay home if experiencing any symptoms, even if they are mild.
- Canada Post continues to follow enhanced cleaning and sanitization measures, provide face coverings and hand sanitizer, and reinforce physical distancing protocols throughout the facility. We also conduct floor talks to remind employees of the importance of following the safety protocols.
- When at work, physical distancing must be practised at all times, including on breaks, outside the facility and in common areas. Wearing a face covering is mandatory at all Canada Post facilities, which includes being outdoors on Canada Post property and going to and from a vehicle or transit stop.
Service Impact
Since news of the closure of one shift in Gateway on January 22nd, we have been working and adjusting various contingencies to minimize the impact on the various products that flow through Gateway.
We have been working with select customers to reduce and divert volumes where feasible. We are using processing capacity in our other facilities to help sort and prepare products for delivery wherever we can. Please don’t be alarmed if you are seeing scans from facilities that you normally do not see scans from. We ask that you please do not induct your product into an alternate plant to try and circumvent delays, unless specifically directed to do so. We have posted an alert on CanadaPost.ca website advising customers to expect delays for products going through, or destined for the Greater Toronto Area (identified as postal codes starting with L and M) and have been active with the media to get the message out about delays.
Volumes, however, continue to be very heavy and we are doing our best to manage the situation on a day to day basis. Despite some solid contingencies, we are experiencing a backlog at our Gateway facility. We have provided below some information on the anticipated delays for the various products to assist you and in setting expectations with your customers.
- We have shifted mechanized lettermail and personalised mail (with the exception of oversized
lettermail) to our South Central facility in Toronto and we do not anticipate any delays for these
products. - With the current contingencies in place for the oversized lettermail product, you can expect an
average delay of 2 days. - Neighbourhood mail destined for the GTA or going through Gateway may be delayed 2-4 days.
For domestic parcels and packets, you can expect delays on average of about 4 to 5 days. - The oversized parcels remain our biggest challenge and for this product, customers can expect significant delays.
- For international inbound tracked parcels and packets, customers can expect delays to include on average 8-10 days for processing once the product is cleared from customs.
- International inbound non-tracked parcels and packets, you can expect significant delays.
- International outbound products going through our Toronto Exchange Office are also impacted by processing delays in addition to the lack of, or fewer international flights, and pandemic measures in destination countries are creating delays for customers.
Please encourage customers to track their item at canadapost.ca or on the Canada Post app, our agents at the call centres don’t have any other information.
Thank you again for your patience and understanding as we manage through this very difficult and fluid situation at our Gateway Facility and continue to do our very best to minimize delays.