Treasury Board’s top bureaucrat to retire, likely to trigger larger DM shuffle, say observers
Expect deputy ministers to be on the move in the coming weeks, say observers, after longtime DM Yaprak Baltacıoğlu, secretary of the Treasury Board, announced her retirement last week. Ms. Baltacıoğlu, who’s been a deputy minister for almost half her 29 years in the public service, is leaving April 3. Thought to be one of the […]
Good grievance! Treasury Board wading through more than 4,000 Phoenix-related complaints
The Treasury Board Secretariat has been hit with more than 4,000 individual complaints from government employees related to the Phoenix pay system, an amount that a labour relations expert says could be a slog to wade through. Kevin Banks, a Queen’s University labour relations law professor, said payroll grievances are “pretty straightforward” but the amount […]
Public service needs better data to measure diversity, says task force
Planning the future of diversity in the public service is not possible with out-of-date data, leaving certain groups unintentionally sidelined, a joint task force studying equity initiatives found, after a months-long examination of inclusion and diversity in the public service. In its final report released Dec. 11—Building a Diverse and Inclusive Public Service—the joint union-management […]
Oft-critiqued Liberal mandate tracker to become ‘more useful,’ says government ‘deliverology’ chief
The government’s oft-maligned online mandate letter tracking tool will be more comprehensive in the next six months, according to the Liberals’ “deliverology” expert, allowing users to track the government’s progress in more detail, more frequently. During a sit-down interview with The Hill Times last week, Matthew Mendelsohn, deputy secretary to the cabinet for results and delivery, said […]
‘Common-sense’ demands: unions want Tax Act exemption, more staff to deal with Phoenix
Imagine someone gives you $30, but you only see $20 of it because of extenuating circumstances. Then they want $30 back, leaving you with $10 less than you started with. On a much larger scale this is what public service employees are experiencing as a result of the troubled Phoenix pay system, which has left […]
The Senate’s turn to fix Bill C-58’s regressive nature
Last month, the House of Commons’ Liberal majority got its way, approving the restrictive, anti-transparency Bill C-58. But once the Senate debates the bill in February, expect pushback and amendments to the legislation updating the Access to Information Act from a reawakened Upper Chamber. And expect Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault, a major critic of Bill […]
Put the spotlight on bad behaviour in the House
Two weeks ago, Conservative Member of Parliament Blake Richards was “named” by the House Speaker and ejected for excessive heckling. It was the first time an MP has been ejected from the House in 15 years. Speaker Geoff Regan has shown a willingness to keep a tighter leash on the debate, which has been worsening […]
Access to information reform a ticking time dud
In the grand scheme of broken promises—or commitments not being pursued—the Liberal government’s handling of its so-called reform of the Access to Information Act ranks well below dropping electoral reform and not balancing the budget, but still manages to get under people’s skin. “Government data and information should be open by default, in formats that […]
Grits name ex-Liberal B.C. president, $30,000-donor to port authority board
A former president of the Liberal Party’s B.C. chapter who has donated $30,000 to the party since 2004 was appointed to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority this month. Transport Minister Marc Garneau (Notre Dame de Grâce-Westmount, Que.) named North Vancouver lawyer Craig Munroe to the 11-member board on Nov. 15 for a three-year term. His […]
In the back hallways, some Liberals talking about prorogation before start of winter session
PARLIAMENT HILL—Political insiders are hinting the Trudeau government will hit the reset button in January over the holiday break and start the winter session with a new Throne Speech, though the federal Liberals are denying any plans to prorogue Parliament. “Why would the government not prorogue?” former Liberal MP and cabinet minister Don Boudria said in […]
