2018 Annual Report

The health and safety of our employees is our top priority. In 2018, we improved safety in some areas, but did not achieve our targets in others. We recognize that we must do better.

Canada Post measures its performance on safety by using two key indicators – total injury frequency (TIF) and lost-time injury frequency (LTIF). TIF is the annualized number of injuries per 100 employees, including injuries that result in lost time, change of duties, professional medical attention, or a fatality. Lost-time injury frequency is the annualized number of injuries per 100 employees that caused an employee to miss at least one day of work after the day of injury.

In 2018, our TIF was 11.17, an improvement of six per cent compared to 2017 and one per cent better than our target of 11.28. The LTIF was 5.22, about two per cent worse than 2017, and short of our target of 4.61. We know there is significant room for improvement. Slips, trips and falls continue to be the largest cause of injuries, followed by manual material handling. The two account for about 80 per cent of all injuries.

Severe weather can pose safety risks. Increasingly, Canadians may notice that we do not send out our employees – or we pull them off the street – if conditions become unsafe. Local operational leaders are empowered to decide whether to temporarily stop deliveries. Canada Post then issues a red alert on canadapost.ca and uses social media to inform customers and communities. To their credit, Canadians have supported this approach to keeping our employees safe. Employees are also aware that they do not have to deliver to any address where conditions are deemed unsafe; they are to report their concern to a supervisor, who addresses the issue with the property owner. We are grateful when Canadians cooperate by repairing stairs and handrails, as the case may be, or shovelling snow and improving traction on icy patches.

To improve safety across the company, we launched Make it safe, Make it home – a more comprehensive approach to health and safety. We updated our safety policies and procedures to better reflect the growth in our parcels business. As part of Make it safe, Make it home, we launched a new internal safety website with the important documents, videos and other resources to help keep employees safe. We’re also further integrating health and safety into how we design our buildings and operations.

Canada Post also continued its partnership with retailers to offer employees discounts of at least 20 per cent on slip-resistant footwear that has been scientifically tested at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute’s WinterLab.

Honouring everyday heroes

Firefighters in Earl Grey, Sask. receive a commemorative plaque of the Emergency Responders stamp honouring Canada’s firefighters.

We paid tribute to Canada’s emergency responders – professional and volunteer, civilian and military – by issuing five stamps over five days at events across the country. The stamps honoured paramedics, the Canadian Armed Forces, search and rescue experts, firefighters and police officers. All five stamps reflect Canadians’ respect and gratitude for the skills, service and sacrifices of the people who protect and help them in times of distress.

Canada Post employees embraced the opportunity to say a special thank you to emergency responders in their communities. Our employees presented close to 2,000 commemorative stamp plaques to emergency responders in every province and territory. They visited police stations, fire halls, military posts, paramedic stations and the offices of other responders, often bringing baked goods with them. Employees organized the individual plaque presentations so they could let responders know how much they appreciate the work they do. It was an unscripted outpouring of emotion and heartfelt thanks for thousands of Canada’s finest.

Canada Post employees say thank you to paramedics in Timmins, Ont.