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 […]
Union pans $2.6-billion public-private contract to modernize federal heating, cooling
Private-sector consortium Innovate Energy has been awarded a $2.6-billion, 35-year contract by the government of Canada to modernize and operate heating and cooling facilities in the National Capital Region. But the largest federal public service unions are crying foul, saying public-private partnerships “regularly fail.” The current system connects more than 80 buildings in Ottawa and […]
Public servants, feds inch closer to contracts with tentative agreements before election
A growing number of federal public service unions have made significant progress in their negotiations with the government, with many securing tentative agreements around wage increases and restitution from the problem-plagued Phoenix pay system. Bargaining units within the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, representing scientists and professionals, have reached tentative agreements with […]
Feds, Irving need to clean up their act and find a better PR move than threatening reporters
OTTAWA—Last week the Globe and Mail broke the story about Irving Shipbuilding being allowed to claim a $40-million industrial benefit for a french fry factory as part of a contract to build navy ships. As odd as this might sound, that was not the bizarre part of this news story. Shortly after the Globe and […]
Phoenix, defence procurement disasters have a lot in common
According to the CBC, there are now five companies vying for the contract to replace the failed Phoenix pay system. From where I sit, the renewed effort looks more and more like yet another disaster in the offing that will rank among the fiascos that have become the hallmark of Canada’s ‘ugly’ defence procurement systems. What’s the difference […]
Remains of old barracks, guardhouse focus of ‘significant’ archaeological dig on Parliament Hill
Two “significant” archaeological digs are ongoing east of the Centre Block building, focused on the remains of an old barracks building and a guardhouse that at one point served as Bytown’s first and only jail, uncovered ahead of the official start of renovations on Parliament Hill’s centrepiece building. “We found some interesting things. So, right […]
‘Unprecedented’ technical challenge to Centre Block renos means losing familiar spaces, says PSPC
Although the hope is that when Centre Block reopens after years of renovation work it will look as similar as possible to before it shut its doors, there will be some significant changes, Senators were told recently. The necessary upgrades to bring the historic Parliament Hill centrepiece into the 21st century will require losing a […]
Public servants concerned by ‘insulting’ Phoenix damages deal, worried claims process could be emotionally taxing
Some public servants are reacting strongly to the news the government struck a tentative deal with most unions on the Phoenix damages, saying they are concerned about the amount of leave proposed and are worried the claims process will be emotionally taxing on public servants who have already dealt with the pay nightmare for three […]
