Unions swamped by Phoenix; hiring staff to keep afloat
Several public sector unions say they’re struggling to deal with the fallout of the Phoenix pay system, needing to bring on more staff to help manage the workload brought on by their members having pay issues for more than two years. Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) national president Chris Aylward said in an emailed […]
Use of Indigenous languages on House floor will help reconciliation efforts, say Liberal MP and others
Speaking Indigenous languages in the House of Commons will improve the chances of their preservation, says Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette. Mr. Ouellette (Winnipeg Centre, Man.) said the use Indigenous languages in the House is “a more important step” than many others taken to save the languages. “Who knows if these languages will survive, but at […]
Speaker says precedent-setting $7-billion budget vote can go ahead
NDP MP Daniel Blaikie says he’s exhausted almost every procedure in the book to stop a controversial $7-billion budget vote, but after a Monday night House Speaker’s ruling, he’s not sure what else to do. “We are getting to the point where we have done all that we can do. I really have tried to […]
Limitation period to report, new definition among changes proposed to MP code of conduct
The Procedure and House Affairs Committee recently completed its review of the code of conduct for Members of Parliament and has proposed a number of changes to the existing code, including creating new protocols for how investigators should proceed. “Right now, when the resources officer hires an outside investigator, there was not much instruction as […]
Elections bill poses privacy, foreign funding problems, says Elections Canada head
Canada’s prospective chief electoral officer is recommending seven changes to the Liberals’ elections modernization bill, including rules on how political parties can collect data and closing what opposition MPs have called a loophole in the legislation that still makes it possible for foreign interference. Stéphane Perrault said Elections Canada is “generally in agreement” with Bill […]
‘Bad, bad, bad’: Public service culture could lead to another Phoenix, say experts
A culture in the public service that encourages meeting budgets by any means necessary is being blamed as the true root cause of the Phoenix pay system failure, and experts say those cultural elements that have cost the government $1.2-billion and counting are still there. Former bureaucrat turned Queen’s University professor Andrew Graham, who has […]
MP travel rules relaxed, but family costs make them a target for ‘media scrutiny,’ says Tory whip
Changes made last week to the MP travel policy are aimed at making the Hill more “family friendly,” according to the House of Commons administration, but some MPs on the Board of Internal Economy say the way the rules are now written and the way travel spending is disclosed are still problems. On May 24, […]
PMO, PCO should stay out of appointing parliamentary watchdogs: think-tank report
Staff in the Prime Minister’s Office and its non-partisan support branch shouldn’t control the appointment of parliamentary watchdogs. The decision ought to rest with Parliament, according to a think-tank report released last month with input from former watchdogs, top bureaucrats, and politicians. Over a series of interviews and roundtable discussions, those who participated in the […]
A transparency failure conference, Facebook hijinks and dished-out government ‘info’
OTTAWA—There is no doubt that public mistrust has been heightened by a growing list of government-managed exclusions of ministerial and other records. So it was intriguing to find out that one brainstorming policy idea, found in belatedly received Treasury Board records, was to hold a ‘Failure Conference’ as a way of getting Ottawa to open […]
Conservative ‘political shenanigans’ delay access bill review in Upper Chamber, says Senate sponsor
A sweeping 30-year review of the Access to Information Act is stalled in the Senate, raising some concern it won’t be passed before Parliament adjourns next month. Since December, New Brunswick Independent Senator Pierrette Ringuette, the bill’s sponsor and a former Jean Chrétien-era Liberal MP, said there was an agreement to send Bill C-58 to […]
