August 22, 2003 SARS Commission Update
On Aug. 19, OPSEU representatives met with the Hon. Justice Archie Campbell, Chief Investigator Ron Bain and legal counsel Doug Hunt, of the SARS Commission. Representing OPSEU were President Leah Casselman, Patty
Rout, Chair of the Hospital Professionals Division, Sector Supervisor Catherine Bowman, OPSEU General Counsel Tim Hadwen, and Health and Safety Officer Lisa McCaskell. This was a preliminary meeting to raise issues and discuss how the commission will operate.
Public hearings will be advertised in the newspapers shortly. They will be on Sept. 29-30 and Oct. 1 in Toronto. We're urging as open and transparent a process as possible. OPSEU will participate to bring its members' perspectives forward.
For those members who wish to give evidence in confidence, we have been assured by the commission that such individuals will be protected under the Public Inquiries Act and that any interviews will be strictly confidential. No front line workers interviewed will be named in the report.
Over the coming weeks we will be looking for members' stories, and concrete examples of what happened and what needs to be done in the future to prevent a similar situation from occurring. We will be particularly emphasizing health and safety issues, funding problems, and lack of stable employment in the sector. If
members are interested in telling their story to the commission in complete confidence or in providing information to OPSEU for use in our submissions, please contact either Lisa McCaskell or Terri Aversa as indicated below. We also encourage members to fill out the SARS questionnaire on the web site. Questionnaires and questions can be sent to:
Lisa McCaskell or Terri Aversa, OPSEU Health and Safety Unit, 100 Lesmill Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 3P8. 1-800-268-7376
e-mail: lmccaskell@opseu.org or taversa@opseu.org
