Back-to-workplace plans still in flux say public service union leaders, as PSAC files mandatory vaccination policy grievances
With yet another wave of COVID-19 coming down on Canadians, return-to-workplace plans for thousands of federal public service workers continue to stall, as the Treasury Board reviews policies around telework, as well as the government’s mandatory vaccination order for federal employees. Union leaders say the majority of employees are continuing to work from home. And […]
Adding Indigenous languages to ballots a step toward reconciliation: Chief Electoral Officer
Enabling the use of Indigenous languages in the federal electoral process is “at the core of reconciliation,” says Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault, but doing so would require sorting out details around which languages to incorporate, where, and how, and would likely mean amending the Canada Elections Act. “The presence of Indigenous languages at the […]
Conservatives, Bloc cite interpreter challenges to push for end to hybrid sittings
Amid continued discussion of the challenges, and injuries, being experienced by interpreters covering events with remote participants, Conservative Whip Blaine Calkins, backed by his Bloc Québécois counterpart, is calling for an early end to the House of Commons’ hybrid sitting arrangement. During the House Board of Internal Economy’s (BOIE) March 3 meeting, Calkins (Red Deer-Lacombe, […]
Feds deny delay as lawyer in multi-billion-dollar Black bureaucrats’ class-action suit calls Crown’s ‘overlap’ arguments ‘insulting’
The leading lawyer in a multi-billion-dollar class-action lawsuit representing current and former Black federal public servants, filed against the federal government and now involving nearly 1,300 individuals, says the government’s lawyers are attempting to delay proceedings by claiming the Black class action overlaps with other ongoing cases—an argument which he calls “insulting.” “It’s not a […]
Alarms still ringing: interpreters continue to face challenges in hybrid Parliament, putting limited workforce at risk
With a workforce in short supply, interpreters supporting Parliament continue to face challenges amid virtual proceedings, and unless more is done to address identified issues and prevent a further dwindling of available interpreters, it could lead to a “critical problem” for Canada’s bilingual Parliament, says Canadian Association of Professional Employees national president Greg Phillips. “They’re […]
Treasury Board should get out of the business of faking disclosures
OTTAWA—The Treasury Board thinks and acts like a privileged cabinet committee yet continues to handle federal disclosure policies with a bureaucratic and regressive fist. So putting Treasury Board in charge of future access policy and an access-to-information review that has taken at least two years instead of one was a calculated and cynical strategy. But […]
Feds cited caretaker convention to justify delays even after it wasn’t in ‘strict application’
In the weeks following the Sept. 20 election, the Liberal government cited the caretaker convention as a reason to delay releasing new policies or information, but, as the prime minister confirmed in information tabled in the House, the convention was not in “strict application” after election night due to results showing a Liberal re-election and […]
Centre Block project demolition and excavation work nearly two-thirds complete, MPs hear
While Centre Block may have looked beautiful from the outside, “its facilities were critically outdated and systems were failing,” a senior Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) official told MPs recently, offering up new words to describe the deteriorated and outdated state of the 100-year-old Centre Block building to remind MPs “why we are doing […]
Sajjan’s mandate offers welcome focus on education in Canada’s international development policy
With its December release of new minister mandate letters, the Trudeau government built on the directions and goals previously stated in the November Speech from the Throne by detailing specific directives to each minister on the priorities of their individual portfolios. As expected, as Canada’s newest international development minister, Harjit Sajjan’s priority is to support […]
‘Do no harm’: A recipe for government to help industries out of COVID storm
“Do no harm,” a recognized universal principle in the field of medicine, means that it is better to avoid exposing people to additional risks through action. Viewed from the lens of public policy development, “do no harm” would mean taking a step back from any direct intervention and look to the broader context to mitigate […]
