High-level bureaucrat’s public sector exit prompts shuffle among Phoenix fixers
Assistant deputy minister Danielle May-Cuconato has left the federal public service, forcing a bureaucratic shake-up in the team tasked with fixing the troubled Phoenix pay system. Ms. May-Cuconato left the public service in late June after a long career as a political staffer and public servant. Among other jobs, she was vice-president of corporate services […]
Feds silent on Phoenix damages, union members are ‘out of patience’
As the public service eagerly awaits a settlement on damages for the Phoenix pay system, Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada president Debi Daviau said she has been told the issue is on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s desk. “I hear that we’re waiting for a mandate, that the mandate’s with the prime minister […]
Where’s Wernick? Unions say PCO clerk should be more involved in Phoenix fix
The two largest federal public service unions are frustrated about what they say is Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick’s lack of involvement in fixing the Phoenix pay system, adding that his absence is particularly apparent in light of his recent comments about loosening the rules to fire public servants. But one expert says the top bureaucrat’s role […]
PS unions target Phoenix as next round of bargaining heats up
The Phoenix pay system is at the forefront of the minds of Public Service Alliance of Canada representatives as they ramp up the latest round of contract negotiations with the government, tabling four main demands so far related to the two-year-old payroll disaster. PSAC, which represents about 140,000 federal workers and is the largest public […]
Improve, then use, name-blind recruitment to boost Senate staff diversity: committee
A name-blind recruitment project could help improve Senate staff diversity, but only if done properly, according to the head of a Senate group studying employment equity in the Upper Chamber’s administration. In a report tabled June 21 with the Senate’s Internal Economy, Budgets, and Administration Committee—a powerful group of Senators that handles the Chamber’s legal […]
Public servants ‘pissed’ over PCO clerk’s call to look at loosening rules to fire them
If Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick wants to make it easier to fire civil servants, he should start with the Phoenix pay system executives, say public sector unions ruffled by comments from the nation’s top bureaucrat that MPs should consider loosening the legislative rules around booting employees. Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) national president […]
Phoenix: just another symptom of centralization of power in Ottawa
The recent scathing indictment (“incomprehensible failure”) of the Phoenix pay system by the auditor general, Michael Ferguson, was heartwarming for me and others who have been “Phoenixed.” I was a victim of the Phoenix pay system in 2017. I reimbursed the government for more than $19,000 Phoenix overpaid me. Now I have joined the ranks […]
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 […]
Military supply shortage is embarrassing, but nothing new
OTTAWA—In the past few weeks, one of the news stories buzzing about in Canadian defence circles has been the official plea for soldiers to turn in their spare gear. It turns out that the Canadian Army has a chronic shortage of rucksacks and sleeping bags. Any soldier who has more than one of these items […]
Clerk’s comments ‘not providing leadership’ to change public service culture, say opposition MPs
Canada’s top bureaucrat should have accepted comments made by the auditor general in his scathing report on the Phoenix pay system, say opposition MPs, as his refusal undermines the credibility of the auditor general’s work and shows that the systemic cultural issues noted are alive and well in the bureaucracy’s upper ranks. Liberal MPs, meanwhile, […]
