Grits, Tories back addition of third shipyard to Canadian plan, but questions abound over future boom-bust cycle return
As the Canadian government moves forward with the addition of a third shipyard to its National Shipbuilding Strategy, defence procurement experts are raising questions over whether or not the addition could lead to a return to a boom-and-bust shipbuilding cycle. Under the shipbuilding strategy, Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax and Seapsan in British Columbia were the […]
PSAC head says avoiding Conservative government ‘No. 1’ election issue
The head of Canada’s largest federal public service union says the number one issue for the Public Service Alliance of Canada is “not to end up with another Conservative government” and to “get the NDP elected wherever we can.” “There’s no way we can have more of Stephen Harper, and that’s exactly what Andrew Scheer will […]
Ottawa Lawn Summer Nights raises $97,000 for Cystic Fibrosis Canada; McGuire, Sarazin, MacEachern top fundraisers
The annual Ottawa Lawn Summer Nights lawn bowling fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis Canada wanted to raise $90,000, but raised $97,000 last month, says Amanda Ruddy who’s in charge of the Ottawa chapter. She said she hopes teams will still raise more until the end of August. The Lawn Summer Nights also runs teams across Canada, […]
Build new fighter jets in Canada, says NDP MP Garrison, as feds look for economically attractive bids
After Public Services and Procurement Canada launched its request for bids for 88 advanced fighter jets on July 23, the NDP defence critic says he’d like to see the winning bidder build the jets here in Canada. “We’re going to spend $19-billion, we should get the jets we need for the Canadian Air Force, but […]
Enforce the Veterans Hiring Act, says MP McCauley as committee finds former soldiers still underhired
Despite laws in place to ensure that military veterans get the first crack at federal public service jobs, a recent House committee report says there’s a lack of recognition by managers in the value of hiring vets and a need for clear targets to implement the Veterans Hiring Act, with a Conservative MP calling the federal […]
Approved public service mental health claims pass 50 per cent threshold for first time
Claims involving mental health conditions represented 52 per cent of disability insurance claims approved for federal public service employees in 2018, according to data contained in a Public Service Alliance of Canada presentation on federal public service disability trends. This information was provided to The Hill Times and was based on the contents of a Sun […]
Public servants handcuffed by unreasonable expectations of political neutrality
OTTAWA—On June 25, Blacklock’s Reporter broke a story that a prominent quasi-partisan Twitter personality, Neil Waytowich (a.k.a. “Neil Before Zod” on Twitter), was actually a former public service worker by day and anonymous Twitter political commentator and podcaster by night. Hot on the trail were MPs who quoted the public service code of conduct on […]
Liberals’ public opinion research spending bump an electoral boost, says strategist
Public opinion research spending climbed to $15.3-million during the 2018-19 fiscal year, according to a report by Public Services and Procurement Canada. This brings an end to the Liberals’ two-year decline in spending since 2016, with spending this year topping 2017-18 costs by $3.4-million. According to Conservative strategist Dennis Matthews, a vice-president of marketing and […]
Feds, financial professionals’ union agree to study gender wage gap
Financial professionals in the federal public service have come one step closer to resolving a complaint that their female-dominated ranks are being underpaid compared to their male counterparts. The Association of Canadian Financial Officers (ACFO) is North America’s largest union exclusively representing accountants, comptrollers, auditors and financial professionals, according to their website. The Public Service […]
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 […]
