Pay your federal public servants, because it’s 2016
Public Services Minister Judy Foote, the federal minister responsible for the government’s new and problem-plagued Phoenix payroll system, has inherited a mess. The new computerized pay system has affected the pay for 82,000 public servants. She is promising to fix the massive problem as soon as possible, but still has no idea when that will happen. […]
Newly renovated, swanky Wellington Building to be ready for MPs, committees this fall
Officials from Public Services and Procurement Canada led the media on a tour of the nearly finished renovation of the Wellington Building, at 180 Wellington St., in Ottawa on July 6. The project, which took six years to complete, has come in on budget at $425.2-million and work has been underway since April 2010, Public […]
Public service unions file Federal Court application to force government to pay up for problem-plagued Phoenix paycheque delays
The Public Service Alliance of Canada, the largest union representing federal public servants, along with other unions representing government workers, filed a Federal Court notice of application today to force the federal government to pay its employees impacted by problems with the new Phoenix pay system. In filing the application, PSAC was joined by the Association of Justice […]
Public service negotiations: government gestures well received but contract offers still unpalatable for unions
Despite the Liberals coming into office with the promise of treating the public service with more respect than their Conservative predecessors, most public servants are continuing to work on expired contacts, and government offers remain a long way from what unions are demanding. “This Liberal government has come to the table with the same Conservative […]
Innovation Minister Bains most lobbied minister in Trudeau cabinet
Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains is easily the most lobbied member of the Trudeau cabinet in the Liberal government’s term so far. Mr. Bains (Mississauga-Malton, Ont.), the top official of the newly named department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (formerly Industry Canada), had 116 communication reports filed since the new government took office in […]
Government needs to provide meaningful work to attract millennials to public service: experts
As the federal public service gets older and the government looks for ways to attract younger workers, an idea that comes up regularly from various quarters is that you have to give them the opportunity to “make a difference.” Treasury Board President Scott Brison (Kings-Hants, N.S.) said as much in during an interview in the […]
Major projects in the rehabilitation of Parliament Hill: a primer
1 Wellington St.: Completed LTVP construction work: Interior renovations to provide space for parliamentary committee meetings. Construction began: 2007 Construction ended: fall 2010 Cost: $23.6-million Permanent use: Right beside the Château Laurier, the Rideau Committee Rooms were renovated to serve as long-term parliamentary committee space, but is also a key interim space that was prepped […]
‘Nobody has seen anything bigger,’ West Block masonry restoration project largest of its kind in North America
The extensive work to restore the heritage stone masonry of the West Block building is almost complete, set to “wind up” this summer at a cost of roughly $150-million in all, and PCL construction manager David Jenkins says it’s been “undoubtedly the largest masonry restoration project in North America” to date. “We had a large […]
Defence policy review to be completed by end of year: Sajjan
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says he wants the federal government’s massive defence policy review finished by the end of the year, which includes evaluating Canada’s peacekeeping role, the use of drones, and the possibility of entering the United States ballistic missile-defence shield. In a phone interview with The Hill Times, Mr. Sajjan (Vancouver South, B.C.) said he’s confident the […]
Drones that can be armed make sense, say experts
Buying drones with arming capabilities makes sense to many defence analysts, because it offers more to Canada’s allies in missions. However, the military may need to be more realistic in its expectations of what drones the government will invest in, while the government may want to consider being less overly cautious in procurement. Canadian Armed Forces Chief of […]
