OPSEU to gather evidence for SARS Commission investigation
The Hon. Mr. Justice Archie Campbell has been appointed by the provincial government to conduct “an independent investigation into the recent occurrence and spread of SARS”.
OPSEU will be taking an active role in that investigation. While not a full public inquiry along the lines of the Walkerton Inquiry, the SARS Commission will be looking at how the SARS virus was spread and what efforts were taken to contain the spread and protect health care workers and patients (see the Terms of Reference of the
Commission below).
As a first step, OPSEU President Leah Casselman and other OPSEU representatives will be meeting with Justice Campbell to discuss our issues and concerns directly with him. OPSEU has also begun to gather information to present to the Commission if there is a public hearing this fall.
Many OPSEU members experienced serious health and safety concerns and workload issues during the SARS crisis. Information about those situations must form the basis of our submission and will assist us to make valuable recommendations to the SARS Commission. OPSEU is now developing a list of questions to solicit this important
input from OPSEU members.
A questionnaire will soon be posted on this website and distributed to Locals.
We are especially interested in hearing from health care workers working in facilities that were affected by the SARS outbreak, but any OPSEU member affected by the SARS outbreak is invited to respond.
OPSEU Local executive members and members of Joint Health and Safety Committees may have the most complete information from their locals. However, individual members should also feel free to respond if they are aware of particular situations that should be recorded for the purposes of the inquiry.
We are asking that you take a few minutes to review the Terms of Reference for the Commission and to consult with your Local executive and Joint Health and Safety Committee members to start the process of pulling together as much information as you can about your SARS experience.
Please submit important SARS-related information to Terri Aversa in the OPSEU Health and Safety Unit: taversa@opseu.org
To view the Terms of Reference for the Independent SARS Commission, click here
