Senators worry access bill gives new powers to Speaker, erodes Chamber authority
Two words in a new bill could erode the power of the Upper Chamber and hand it to the Senate Speaker, according to some Senators studying a bill that creates mandatory proactive disclosure of expenses. Bill C-58 amends the Access to Information Act and brings in new quarterly financial disclosure requirements for parliamentary and government […]
Federal Court of Appeal sides with BOIE against NDP in satellite-office battle
The NDP’s court challenge of the House of Commons Board of Internal Economy’s 2014 decisions ordering NDP MPs to repay roughly $4-million has hit a wall, after the Federal Court of Appeal ruled today to strike down the party’s application for judicial review. On Feb. 20, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the court […]
Nearly two-thirds of public servants have unresolved pay issues three years after Phoenix launched, survey shows
More than half of the public servants who experience harassment at work and choose to do nothing about it say they don’t file a formal complaint because they feel it wouldn’t matter, according to the results of the latest government-commissioned survey of federal employees. Meanwhile, 65 per cent of survey respondents say they have not yet […]
Controversial $7-billion fund hasn’t sped up budget implementation: PBO
The Liberal government’s $7-billion fund meant to speed up 2018 budget-implementation measures hasn’t worked, says Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux. In fact, it’s slower than the year before. Outlined in a Feb. 7 report on the second set of spending estimates for the current fiscal year, known as Supplementary Estimates ‘B,’ which were tabled by […]
PSAC threatens strike ‘practice run’ to pressure Trudeau on wage boost
The largest federal public sector union is considering holding a large demonstration to amp up the pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to give his negotiators the ability to offer a larger wage boost to 90,000 of its members. Public Service Alliance of Canada national president Chris Aylward said he’s not afraid of calling a strike, […]
Helping make House history: meet Cree translator Kevin Lewis
The first person to simultaneously translate an Indigenous language in the House of Commons has devoted almost half his life to preserving his language. Kevin Lewis helped make history last week, simultaneously translating the Cree spoken by Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette in the Chamber on Jan. 28—something the rookie Winnipeg MP had been fighting for […]
‘This is something I’ve been fighting for now for two years almost,’ Indigenous language interpretation in the House important symbol for youth, says Liberal MP Ouellette
The federal Translation Bureau has been working to adjust to the new option for MPs to speak in Indigenous languages during House of Commons proceedings, a monumental change passed two months ago and one that Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette, who pushed for the change, calls “significant and very symbolic.” “This is something I’ve been fighting […]
Feds hit the road to seek user feedback for Phoenix replacement
The team behind the replacement for the troubled Phoenix pay system is kicking off a round of informal consultations with public servants across the country in an effort to learn what features the bureaucracy wants in a new human resources and pay system. The Next Generation pay system team, or NextGen for short, is starting […]
Chiefs of staff shuffle follows federal cabinet change-ups
At the same time as the five Liberal cabinet ministers affected by last week’s shuffle were moving into new offices, so too were a number of chiefs of staff, with three such moves confirmed. Tim Powers, vice-chairman of Summa Strategies, said chief of staff changes after a cabinet shuffle are “really not that unusual,” noting […]
Unions praise Brison, optimistic about ‘results-oriented’ Philpott heading Treasury Board
Newly minted Treasury Board President Jane Philpott will have big shoes to fill following Scott Brison’s tenure, say public service observers, but they seem confident she is up to the task. Ms. Philpott (Markham-Stouffville, Ont.) was named to the job in a cabinet shuffle Jan. 14, following Mr. Brison’s (Kings-Hants, N.S.) resignation from cabinet and […]
