‘Someday, we’ll have someone who dies as a direct result of that,’ MPs call for ending all-night Commons votes
MPs are once again calling for changes to the Standing Orders that govern business in the House, warning that all-night Commons voting puts a serious strain on their health, and the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader says it could kill an MP one day. ”We will have literally hundreds of votes. I think […]
Feds pick three vendors to pilot Phoenix replacement projects
The government has chosen three companies to audition for the job of paying its employees as a replacement for the problem-plagued Phoenix payroll system. “We have three vendors that have been selected through our process to date, and those three vendors will go forward with the public servants who are working on this project to […]
New-parent MPs allowed year-long pass from House duties under long-awaited leave changes
Long-awaited parental leave provisions are in the final stretch in the House of Commons, with the proposed new system allowing Members of Parliament to be absent from the House Chamber for up to 12 months after the arrival of a new child. “I feel hard work is accomplished now. But I’m just a little bit […]
Public servants, feds inch closer to contracts with tentative agreements before election
A growing number of federal public service unions have made significant progress in their negotiations with the government, with many securing tentative agreements around wage increases and restitution from the problem-plagued Phoenix pay system. Bargaining units within the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, representing scientists and professionals, have reached tentative agreements with […]
Remains of old barracks, guardhouse focus of ‘significant’ archaeological dig on Parliament Hill
Two “significant” archaeological digs are ongoing east of the Centre Block building, focused on the remains of an old barracks building and a guardhouse that at one point served as Bytown’s first and only jail, uncovered ahead of the official start of renovations on Parliament Hill’s centrepiece building. “We found some interesting things. So, right […]
Bill C-262 too important to reconciliation for Senate delay
With the clock running out on the current session of Parliament, I’m paying close attention to whether the Senate passes a long overdue bill on reconciliation. Bill C-262 was approved by the House of Commons last year but it’s gotten held up in the Senate. What the bill does is set out a framework for […]
SAP Canada pitches NextGen plan to standardize human resources processes
As the federal government looks to replace its disastrous Phoenix pay system through its new “agile” procurement process, SAP Canada says it has a solution. SAP is behind the HR software used by the Canada Revenue Agency. The agency is known to have fewer pay problems and its system was suggested last year for a […]
Feds’ process for screening out partisan ads ‘not sufficiently robust,’ auditor general says
Federal oversight of government ads for partisan messages was “not sufficiently robust” to ensure that Canadians’ tax dollars are not being spent to advance the governing party’s political agenda, according to the auditor general. In one of five spring reports released May 7, the auditor general’s office found that the process the Liberals established to […]
Tentative Phoenix deal reached, but PSAC rejects feds’ offer
After two years of negotiations, the government and 16 federal public sector unions have reached a tentative deal to compensate bureaucrats for the problem-plagued Phoenix pay system. However, the government’s offer was rejected by the largest union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada. The Phoenix pay system was supposed to streamline pay, but instead, public […]
Feds shift to non-traditional workspaces, but not everyone’s happy about it
While the outgoing head of the public service positively portrayed the government’s shift to non-traditional office environments in his final annual report released earlier this month, some public service unions say the changes aren’t conducive to a good workspace, with some employees having no designated desks, leaving little space for personal belongings or accessibility accommodations. […]
