Figures from Privy Council Clerk’s 2015 report on public service
Number of federal employees in 2014: 257,138, down from 262,817 in 2013 Proportion of federal workers in permanent positions in 2014: 86.6%, down from 87.6% in 2013 Proportion of federal workers in term positions in 2014: 8.3%, up from 8.1% in 2013 Proportion of federal workers in casual positions in 2014: 3.1%, […]
Short-term work assignments stymie federal public service renewal: union leaders
Union leaders are calling on the federal government to provide younger employees with clearer paths to long-term careers as a way of making the public service a more attractive place to work for millennials. As government officials, such as Treasury Board President Scott Brison (Kings-Hants, N.S.), wrestle with the problem of large cohorts of public […]
The cause for fairer science, because it’s 2016
OTTAWA—When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made his famous remark—”because it’s 2015″—about gender parity in his newly-appointed Cabinet last year, it attracted a lot of attention at home and abroad. He followed it up with a high-level panel on gender parity at Davos where he promoted women’s rights across the spectrum of society, including science and […]
It’s time to build an inclusive innovation eco-system
Canada has always been a country of innovators, but as countless recent reports and studies have shown, either Canada is slipping, or the rest of the world is catching up and overtaking us. Providing the enabling conditions for the entire Canadian innovation ecosystem to grow and compete at all levels is critical. In order to […]
Government to repeal controversial sick leave measures
The Liberal government will repeal the controversial sick leave and disability measures snuck into the previous government’s final budget implementation bill, Bill C-59. The government gave notice of the bill, “An Act to repeal Division 20 of Part 3 of the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1,” today and Treasury Board President Scott Brison […]
Trudeau needs to rebrand Canada, quickly
OTTAWA—Brands are us. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a hit from the usual suspects for daring to suggest that Canada is more resourceful than resource-based. But it is a song he should keep on singing if we are to staunch the bleeding from a slumping loonie and ongoing economic uncertainty. To most of the world, we are […]
We want a fair and balanced approach to federal labour policy
The Government of Canada recognizes the important role that unions play in protecting the rights of Canadian workers and in helping the middle class grow and prosper. We are committed to fair and balanced federal labour policy. One of the steps we are taking to help achieve this is the repeal of Bills C-377 and […]
Unionized construction workers in Ontario less likely to be injured, less lost time than non-construction workers, says new study
A new study says unionized construction workers in Ontario are less likely to be injured and have less time lost on the job than construction workers who are not in a union, confirming that there is a “union safety effect” on workplaces, according to those behind the study. “For years, the unionized industry has said […]
Labour unions happy so far with new Liberal government, call it ‘fundamental shift’ but also looking for action
Many in the labour movement are happy to see the new government’s positive approach to labour, but caution that there will have to be more meaningful action by the Liberals, and that the unions have to do more as well, if the general public is going to be invested in them. “The new government certainly […]
Liberals plan to repeal ‘anti-union’ bills C-377 and C-525 once House returns
The government will be “putting the furniture back” and will restore Canadian labour laws over the next little while, says Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner, parliamentary secretary to the country’s new federal employment and labour minister. “Really what we saw through, especially the last Parliament, was an unprecedented attack on unions in this country. Bills C-377, […]
