Senate picks new post-Phoenix payroll provider
The Senate has signed a contract with a new payroll administrator for more than $902,000 over five years, taking a substantial step in ditching the problem-plagued Phoenix pay system. Ontario Liberal Senator Jim Munson (Ottawa-Rideau Canal), a deputy chair of the powerful Senate Internal Economy, Budgets, and Administration Committee, broke the news Wednesday at a media availability […]
Can young voters break out of the trickle-down trap?
OTTAWA—Assessing the way the rich and the corporate-CEO class have reshaped the distribution of income in their favour, contributing to today’s glaring wealth gap, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz put it like this: “Those at the top have learned how to suck out money from the rest in ways that the rest are hardly aware […]
‘Disturbing level’ of bullying, intimidation in public service must be rooted out, says PCO clerk
Canada’s top bureaucrat says while the kind of sexual harassment that sparked the #MeToo movement exists within the public service and needs to be addressed, there is a “disturbing level” of other harassment such as bullying, intimidation, and conduct issues. “We need to get to the bottom of where that’s coming from and how to […]
‘Canada’s greatest prime minister was a mama’s boy,’ Unbuttoned: A History of Mackenzie King’s Secret Life
Canada’s greatest prime minister was a mama’s boy. Not only that, he was a sexually repressed, hypocritical, ghost-talking, spiritualism practising, guilt-ridden, prostitute-visiting mama’s boy. Or so Canadians learned in 1976. That was Mackenzie King’s annus horribilis, when the “Weird Willie” phenomenon reached a climax amidst a mounting din from books, documentaries, poetry, newspaper stories, and […]
Why girls’ education matters, even in a conflict zone
Growing up in a conflict zone, I know all too well how it feels to be told: “You can’t go to school today. It is too dangerous!” As a girl, I felt the frustration and anger of being stuck in an underground shelter instead of going to school, playing with my friends and learning new […]
‘My first reaction was, ‘Oh my god, my mom’’: Toronto van attack hits home for local MPs
While the Peace Tower flag flies at half-mast in Ottawa, Liberal MP Ali Ehsassi is back in his north Toronto riding of Willowdale to be with his community. He said he never expected a mass casualty attack would happen in Toronto, let alone his unassuming, mostly suburban Toronto neighbourhood. “I would have never imagined this,” Mr. […]
Opposition MPs seek to add teeth to workplace harassment bill
A definition of harassment is among the changes a House committee agreed to Monday as it works its way through amending a government bill aimed at preventing and responding to sexual harassment and workplace violence, including against parliamentary employees. But opposition MPs say there’s more to do to ensure Bill C-65 has “teeth,” and isn’t […]
Feds sign three more contracts with unions, final four deals held up at labour board
Unions representing the foreign service, border guards, and correctional officers are breathing a sigh of relief, albeit a short one, having recently signed contracts before the next scheduled round of bargaining ramps up once again. The latest agreements bring the total number of negotiated contracts between Treasury Board and its federal employees to 23 out […]
Harassment stats flat, mental health middling among federal employees: survey results
As an employer, the federal government isn’t doing enough to stop harassment within the public service, says a union leader, after results of a large-scale survey of federal employees indicate that workplace harassment has stayed consistent over the past few years. “In my mind, if the government’s doing its job to reduce harassment in the […]
$37-million spent on veteran legal costs a ‘broken promise’: critics
The Liberals have spent at least $37-million since January 2016 on legal proceedings with veterans in a move opposition MPs and the veterans they’re fighting in court say represents a broken platform promise. The vast majority—$36.3-million—makes up two years’ worth of budgets for two programs: $18.4-million for the Veterans Review and Appeal Board, a body […]
