Liberals propose national school meal program as Canada remains back of pack on children’s nutrition
The Liberal government has proposed creating a national school meal program, which, if implemented, would see Canada join most other advanced economies in the world in having a countrywide school food initiative. In yesterday’s federal budget, the government announced its “intention to work with provinces and territories towards the creation of a National School Food […]
PSAC, Treasury Board inch closer in contract talks as election looms
Contract talks for Public Service Alliance of Canada groups representing more than 90,000 bureaucrats seem to have some momentum, but national president Chris Aylward says there needs to be more than just a marginal shift if the two sides want to ink a deal before the election—a window that is “closing very quickly.” The pressure […]
Feds pledge more than $4-billion in pre-election budget for Indigenous file
Indigenous issues held prominence in the Liberal government’s fourth budget, with plans to spend $4.5-billion on reconciliation efforts over the next five years. One entire chapter in the 464-page document tabled on March 19 centred on “advancing reconciliation.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) was elected in 2015 on a promise to renew the government’s relationship […]
No ‘strong commitment’ to improve public service culture, Tory MP says, after government response to committee report
The government has dismissed a House committee’s concerns that turnover at the deputy minister level is too high in some departments, pointing instead to higher churn of top public servants overseas. A unanimous October report from the Public Accounts Committee backstopped former auditor general Michael Ferguson’s concerns about the tenure of the bureaucracy’s most senior […]
Venezuela’s trauma underscores volatility facing Latin America
OTTAWA—Only rarely these days do societies collapse in the way Venezuela has. Once one of the richest countries in Latin America, it has descended into complete disorder, with failing power supplies, severe shortages of food and medicine, rampant political repression, a failing economy, an exodus of 3.4 million residents, and an authoritarian ruler propped up […]
PSPC set to award contracts to speed up Phoenix pay processing, says Linklater, as unions protest third anniversary
Later this month, the department overseeing the fix of the government’s Phoenix pay system will award two contracts to companies in the hopes of speeding up the processing of public servants’ problem pay. Public Services and Procurement Canada associate deputy minister Les Linklater, who is in charge of fixing the pay system, told the House […]
Rewrite Senate anti-harassment policy, says Upper Chamber subcommittee
The Senate needs to start from scratch when it comes to its anti-harassment policy, instead of merely updating its existing decade-old document, says a group of Senators tasked with studying the Upper Chamber’s anti-harassment rules. “When the subcommittee was charged with reviewing the current policy, members knew that they were undertaking a considerably broad task […]
Fair dealing is a right, not a privilege
This week at schools and campuses across the country, teachers, students, and librarians are celebrating Fair Dealing Week. This annual event increases awareness of a little-known—but well-used—feature of the Copyright Act: fair dealing. The Copyright Act touches all Canadians. At its core, copyright determines under what conditions artistic and literary works (including ebooks, computer software, […]
Nearly two-thirds of public servants have unresolved pay issues three years after Phoenix launched, survey shows
More than half of the public servants who experience harassment at work and choose to do nothing about it say they don’t file a formal complaint because they feel it wouldn’t matter, according to the results of the latest government-commissioned survey of federal employees. Meanwhile, 65 per cent of survey respondents say they have not yet […]
Time for the grown-ups to stand up against cyberbullies
Often when we talk about cyberbullying, we focus on children—and rightly so. Nearly half (42 per cent) of school-aged kids have experienced cyber abuse in the past four weeks, and 60 per cent have witnessed others being tormented online. In truth, though, cyberbullying can happen to anyone, including adults. Indeed, in this hyper-connected digital age, […]
