Brison’s $7-billion budget vote weakens parliamentary scrutiny of spending: current, ex-PBO
The Liberal government’s effort to align the budget with the main estimates has weakened an already broken system by creating a “massive central vote” that hands $7-billion to the Treasury Board with no scrutiny and nothing to compel promised spending, say Canada’s current and former parliamentary budget officers. Critics have said the “budget implementation vote” […]
‘Disturbing level’ of bullying, intimidation in public service must be rooted out, says PCO clerk
Canada’s top bureaucrat says while the kind of sexual harassment that sparked the #MeToo movement exists within the public service and needs to be addressed, there is a “disturbing level” of other harassment such as bullying, intimidation, and conduct issues. “We need to get to the bottom of where that’s coming from and how to […]
AFN national chief wants Indigenous languages bill tabled this fall
Assembly of First Nations national chief Perry Bellegarde says the Liberals should table legislation protecting and promoting Indigenous languages by this fall or risk not fulfilling a key promise that he considers to be a cornerstone of Canada’s reconciliation efforts. “That’s our hope and our wish,” Mr. Bellegarde told The Hill Times, following an April […]
Feds lowballing parliamentary budget officer’s salary, say ex-PBO officials
The government is looking to pay the next parliamentary budget officer way less than it should, which could lead to it picking the wrong person for the job, say a former PBO and his ex-deputy. As the government searches for a replacement to parliamentary budget officer Jean-Denis Fréchette, whose five-year term expires in September, his […]
Feds sign three more contracts with unions, final four deals held up at labour board
Unions representing the foreign service, border guards, and correctional officers are breathing a sigh of relief, albeit a short one, having recently signed contracts before the next scheduled round of bargaining ramps up once again. The latest agreements bring the total number of negotiated contracts between Treasury Board and its federal employees to 23 out […]
Les Linklater’s job is to fix Phoenix—including for himself
Les Linklater’s job leading the team fixing the Phoenix pay system can be frustrating, daunting, and pressure-filled, but he empathizes with public servants’ payroll frustrations because he’s dealt with them firsthand. His base salary hasn’t been affected, he said, but he has issues related to parking and benefits. “I know they will catch up, but […]
Trudeau government in ‘home stretch’ of mandate, political insiders suggest a reset with Throne Speech, summer cabinet shuffle
With the next election only 19 months away, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should focus on governing and hit the reset button this summer by proroguing Parliament, shuffling his cabinet, and starting the fall session with a new Throne Speech, say political insiders. “At some point during this summer, the prime minister should be meeting with […]
Harassment stats flat, mental health middling among federal employees: survey results
As an employer, the federal government isn’t doing enough to stop harassment within the public service, says a union leader, after results of a large-scale survey of federal employees indicate that workplace harassment has stayed consistent over the past few years. “In my mind, if the government’s doing its job to reduce harassment in the […]
Feds shelled out $73,000 to find new investment agency CEO, an ex-Liberal Party exec
The federal government is spending $158,200 on headhunters to help it staff up Canada’s new foreign investment promotion agency, part of $1.1-million spent on executive searches last year that opposition MPs say raises questions about the effectiveness and cost of what the Liberals say is a merit-based process when it leads to appointees with Liberal connections. […]
Feds shelled out $1.1M to headhunters to search for government appointees in 2017
Eight departments shelled out more than $1.1-million in 2017 on headhunting services to make some long-awaited appointments as part of the Liberals’ new approach to filling executive posts, documents show. Those fees helped fill at least 48 positions, with the priciest searches through the Privy Council Office (PCO), which spent a total of $419,189, Infrastructure […]
