Public service grew again in 2018, rebounding from Harper-era cuts
The size of the federal public service grew again in 2018, continuing a trend under Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, and rebounding from cuts made under former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper. Since Mr. Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) became prime minister in 2015, the public service has grown from 257,034 to 273,571 in 2018, with the biggest […]
Feds shift to non-traditional workspaces, but not everyone’s happy about it
While the outgoing head of the public service positively portrayed the government’s shift to non-traditional office environments in his final annual report released earlier this month, some public service unions say the changes aren’t conducive to a good workspace, with some employees having no designated desks, leaving little space for personal belongings or accessibility accommodations. […]
Defeated MPs to get access to more support services to navigate life after the Hill
MPs who get booted out of office in October will have access to more services helping them navigate what those who’ve seen an election defeat call a “terrible blow.” The Board of Internal Economy—a powerful group of seven MPs who make financial, legal, and administrative decisions for the House of Commons—approved on April 11 a […]
ESDC to ‘promote,’ ‘enforce’ labour rights in other countries, under CPTPP trade deal
The Liberal government has assigned its human resources department to begin to monitor and “enforce” labour standards in other countries, under the new Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Budget 2019 redirected $680,000 per year of Employment and Social Development Canada’s budget towards an effort to “promote, monitor, and enforce labour standards […]
‘I’m a pretty impatient minister’: Champagne says he’d like infrastructure money doled out faster, but feds are improving
The federal government has responded to concerns about infrastructure money not getting out the door fast enough, says Infrastructure Minister François-Philippe Champagne. The process can always be improved, and while some delays have been out of federal hands, Mr. Champagne (Saint-Maurice-Champlain, Que.) said, he’s overseen some changes since coming to the job last summer that […]
Recent events have broken trust in Liberal government, say Indigenous leaders, and it could lead to punishment at the polls in October
Indigenous leaders from across Canada say their trust in the Liberal government’s promise of a renewed relationship with Indigenous peoples has been broken and they’re looking for concrete action, soon, or it could mean punishment at the polls in October. “The prime minister may have meant what he said, and I don’t doubt that he […]
Feds get skills training right in budget
You don’t need to be an Uber driver or drone operator to see how technology is impacting professional life. New tools and techniques are changing what we do and how we do it. We’re already seeing how machine learning and artificial intelligence affect nearly all aspects of how we do our jobs, from the security […]
Senate to reconsider short staffer contracts as part of harassment review
The Senate needs to check in more regularly with its staff, and should consider dumping its one-year employment contracts to improve the Red Chamber’s working environment, says a group of Senators tasked with studying its anti-harassment regime. The Human Resources Subcommittee, a subgroup of the Chamber’s Internal Economy, Budgets, and Administration Committee, has recommended that […]
Senate set to ditch Phoenix in January
While the federal government is pumping another half-billion dollars into trying to right the Phoenix payroll-system ship, the Senate will be in its own life raft by next year. On March 21, the Senate’s Internal Economy, Budgets, and Administration Committee, which handles legal and financial affairs for the Upper Chamber, approved a Jan. 1, 2020 […]
House to add 22 new HR jobs, as MPs deal with new workplace standards
Members of Parliament will be getting more support as they learn to navigate being employers in a post-#MeToo world, with the House of Commons administration getting a boost to its human resources department. Members of the Board of Internal Economy—a powerful group of MPs who decide legal, financial, and administrative matters for the House of […]
