Date: June 20, 2018
Audit, Commerce and Purchasing Group (AV)
Representing AU-CO-PG members in
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
Dear Colleagues,
On June 1st, 2018 a new Group Executive took office after our recent elections. Congratulations to all officials that now hold office.
I am grateful for the opportunity you have given me to be your President.
I wish all the best to former President Ray Paquette, Secretary Lynn Morris, Treasurer Raymond Poon, NCR Rep Margaret Bigras, Member at Large Jennifer Mollins, Sonny Moran and Andrew Wigmore, BC/Yukon Rep Jean Laberge, Ontario Rep Tom Georgas and Prairies/NWT Rep Darlene McKay for their service.
Here is our Group Executive:
President - Peter Gabriel (PG) Vice-President - James Bright (PG)
Secretary - Andrée Doucet (CO) Treasurer - Jason Huang (CO)
Regional Representatives (6)
BC/Yukon : Angela Cowie (PG) Prairies/ NWT : Linda Howes (AU)
Ontario: Emily Beckerman (CO) Quebec: Jacques Laperrière (CO)
Atlantic: David Chu (CO) National Capital : Vania Tsang (PG)
Members at Large (3)
Sydney MacInnis (CO) Philip Wang (CO) Olivia Leung (PG)
(All terms end May 31, 2021)
I will be leading a new team into fulfilling the following mandate over the course of the next three years:
Going forward, I pledge to:
• Protect our current Defined Benefit Pension and advocate to STOP Bill C-27
• Increase member inclusiveness by creating Group Advisory Committees, including one for bargaining
• Transform our Group into a modern-day professional union using digital technology
• Negotiate collective agreements where we gain in salary against inflation!
• Recruit visible minorities and females into Group Executive and Steward positions
• Support a PIPSC Membership Dues Freeze for the next three years to protect your net pay!
Additionally my goals include raising the Professional and Educational (equivalency) profile of AU-CO-PG classifications in the Federal Public Service in order to achieve higher net salary gains for our members.
I have plenty of experience and confidence to guide this Group as evidenced by my PIPSC resume over the past 10 years.
As we head into summer vacation during July and August, our team will be in training and hold our first Group Meeting from June 21-23. The next Group meeting will be in late September.
Bargaining Update:
Our Bargaining Team has just served “Notice to Commence Bargaining” to the Treasury Board of Canada on June 14th. We anticipate to start negotiations this September or October. More information to follow in this area as it becomes available. Bargaining Team training starts in July.
As Bargaining Chair, I pledge to work hard on your behalf in negotiations, this autumn, to achieve salary increases where all members achieve the same gains against inflation, which is now at 2% to 2.25% per year according to Statistics Canada.
Furthermore, to make sure the CO 1, CO 3, CO 4, along with the PG 5 and PG 6, achieve higher raises in this round of bargaining in order to make up for the shortfall from the last round.
I am looking into the possibility of having a major Bargaining Advisory Conference this summer on
July 19th for many members (approximately 30) to participate in discussions on issues and brainstorm with regards to strategy development. I believe we must elevate our bargaining mindset and become more strategic than previous Bargaining Teams. I look forward to your involvement, as our Group will become much bigger than ever before.
Sub-group Update:
The Group will be announcing the formation of a new Sub-group in Victoria, BC by the end of June 2018. Thanks to BC/Yukon Rep and Steward Angela Cowie for putting the team in place to get this sub-group started. An AGM will be their first activity as a Sub-group. An announcement for Victoria members will follow in the weeks ahead.
Other areas on which our Executives and Regional Reps will be focusing will be the Southern Ontario Region from Windsor to Kingston, as this area needs to be energized and new sub-groups need to be created in London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton and Kingston to name a few cities.
As Sub-group Coordinator, I will be working with Group Executives Jason Huang, James Bright, Andrée Doucet and Ontario Regional Rep Emily Beckerman in the creation of new sub-groups, and changing the name of the Southern Ontario Sub-group to a local city name.
Also to be developed is Quebec City and the Greater Montreal area. Our new Montreal Sub-group President Yanick Poulin will be leading our members into a new era of member engagement. Many thanks to outgoing President Damien Noel for his many years of service. I will be working with Executives Jason Huang, James Bright, Andrée Doucet and Quebec Regional Rep Jacques Laperrière as we want to get more subgroups in the Quebec Region.
This outreach will also be applied in other regions as the Prairies/NWT Region Regional Rep Linda Howes and Atlantic Rep David Chu have started already with research on possible new sub-group cities.
If you wish to have a voice as a Steward, or wish to start a Sub-group in your local area, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at peter_gabriel@pipsc.ca or any of the Group Executives, whose contact information can be found on the PIPSC website.
I will close by saying I look forward to working with you as your Group President.
On behalf of the Audit, Commerce and Purchasing Group (AV),
Peter Gabriel
President