Public servants sound off over new return-to-office mandate, while union faces heat over its ‘Buy Nothing’ campaign

Public service union walks back calls to boycott downtown Ottawa business.
New return-to-office mandate for federal public servants kicks off as unions prepare telework campaign

As federal public servants return to the office three days a week, the battle over remote work will head to full court hearings.
Number of students in public service hits 10-year high as union warns against use as cheap labour

The federal student program remains ‘a key recruitment priority’ says the government, as it looks to shrink Canada’s public sector.
Amid brewing ‘recipe for backlash,’ Savoie stresses need for ‘good public debate’ on Canada’s civil service

A public backlash on the horizon if the growing federal civil service doesn’t deliver the goods, says Donald Savoie in his new book.
Feds paid $19.4-million for public opinion research last year, with Public Health Agency and PCO spending the most

Advanis, Ipsos, and Léger were the top three recipients of Ottawa’s research spending last year. These studies have a ‘significant impact’ on government decisions, says former Conservative policy adviser David Murray.
‘The trust has been broken’: accountability for racism in PCO requires resignations, says Black Class Action lead Thompson

The Privy Council Office can’t be relied on to get its own affairs in order after a damning internal report detailing a culture of racism and workplace discrimination, says a coalition of federal employees and civil society groups.
‘A permissive environment’: four security gaps flagged by NSICOP where Ottawa has been slow to act

Former CSIS executive Dan Stanton says the government is ‘playing catch up’ on foreign interference, partly because the ‘subtlety’ of the threat has made it too easy to ignore the issue.
Federal parties face tighter privacy rules after losing ‘unprecedented’ voter data case, but appeal could delay enforcement

Rapid advancement of technology allows for ‘profiling and micro-targeting voters’ and creates ‘risks of misuse’ that ‘could result in the erosion of trust in our political system,’ ruled Justice Gordon Weatherill.
Federal parties in court April 22 after judge denies adjournment request in voter data case

The political parties are demonstrating a ‘lack of respect for Canada’s voters and our democracy,’ says Jim Balsillie of the Centre for Digital Rights.
Liberals, Conservatives, and NDP to argue new electoral reform bill should delay voter data court case

On March 20, the Liberal government tabled Bill C-65. Eight days later, the Liberal Party filed an application to adjourn the coming voter privacy trial with C-65 at the centre of its argument. That application will be heard on April 10.