OPENING REMARKS
The President of the AFS Group acknowledged that the lands on which the committee
was gathered are the traditional unceded territories of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg
People. He outlined the importance of reaffirming commitment and responsibility to
improve relationships between nations, and the understanding of local Indigenous
peoples and their cultures. He stated that since they last met in April 2024, Shawn Gillis
has been elected as the AFS vice-president, and himself, Doug Mason, has also been re-
elected by acclamation for a three-year term as the AFS President. He welcomed to the
AFS group Ward Cluff who was recently appointed as Ontario Region AFS
Representative.
He said they were meeting with management in a far less positive atmosphere than they
did on April 23, 2024. In April, AFS received internal survey results showing that the two-
day requirement for on-site office presence had been a “failure due to its negative impact
on the Agency’s productivity and AFS members. He stated that AFS hoped the Agency
would not engage in “an unwanted extension of this mandate.”
He then added that during the last meeting, AFS felt reassured by the Commissioner’s
statement that “nothing was in the works” for this mandate. The AFS President
mentioned the discussion he had with the Deputy Commissioner (DCO) at the time,
Brigitte Diogo, during which she told him that “AFS should comprehend that there are
certain times where management cannot be truthful with the Union.”
The AFS President added that Union representatives follow core values including
respect, and that they commit to being truthful. He then asked the question: ‘will
management do the same?’ The AFS members questioned the reason AFS continues
working with management in the wake of this breach of trust. He responded that it is the
Union’s job to bring AFS members’ concerns forward to management, to make the CRA
the best possible working environment. In doing so, AFS remained in formal and informal
consultations with the Agency. AFS was looking forward to the meeting, hoping it would
help them address their members’ concerns and ensure the collective agreement is fully
implemented and followed.
The Commissioner outlined that Union-Management discussions have always been
helpful and thanked everyone for joining in person. He further stated that management
has always been truthful, transparent, and as open as they could, given that certain
information must be held as confidential. He agreed that they were meeting in a different
atmosphere than last time, given that the environment is evolving at a fast pace. Through
it all, he shared his hope in keeping the lines of communication open and working
collaboratively with the Union on critical issues.
The Commissioner outlined the departure of Brigitte Diogo for Transport Canada and
introduced the new DCO, Jean-François Fortin.
The DCO expressed his eagerness in participating in these exchanges for the first time.
He stated that Union-Management relations are important, and he looked forward to
having meaningful, positive, and constructive discussions. The Commissioner
congratulated Doug Mason, President AFS Group, and Shawn Gillis, Vice-President, on
being re-elected in their respective roles, and was pleased with the resulting stability. He
reminded that the Minister of National Revenue has announced that she will not proceed
with another mandate, and she intends to run for the title of Mayor of the city of
Sherbrooke.
On the hybrid model of work, he mentioned being pleased with how it has been going and
acknowledged that not everything has been smooth. He mentioned that he went across
the country to meet with employees and that most have accepted the hybrid work, and
how it provides opportunities for collaborating in person, in addition to working remotely.
He also shared that “as we go forward, we will be making further changes to make this
work, whether it is in the Information Technology or Real property world, and managers
will find ways to organize their teams to work most effectively.” On refocusing government
spending (RGS), he mentioned the significant size of the Agency and the important
amount of spending implied.
Although management did not have many details to share, the Commissioner stated that
the CRA will have to make tough decisions in reducing spending during phase two of the
RGS. He stated that the CRA has budget constraints and management will have to find
new ways to deliver effectively for Canadians, within the shifting mandate and allocated
financial resources. Finally, he mentioned the launch of the CRA charitable campaign on
September 16, 2024, and outlined the new national champion David Conabree and co-
champion, Melanie Serjak.
1. Refocusing Government Spending (RGS)
AFS previously proposed that the CRA recognizes the service time that term employees
are completing during the RGS phase one, even if automatic conversions are temporarily
halted. The AFS President stated that a response to this proposal would have given
employees reasons to stay at the Agency. The AFS President then added that small-
scale workforce adjustment actions have taken place since they last met, and he was
glad that employees were or will be given reasonable job offers. AFS requested an
update on the anticipated RGS actions that will be impacting their members.
The Commissioner shared that the CRA will have to take actions within the budget
constraints, in ways that best serves employees and Canadians. He stated that more
information on RGS will be shared, and invited AFS to work jointly.
The Assistant Commissioner (AC), Financial Administration Branch (FAB) recalled how
the focus of the 2023 RGS exercise was to find efficiencies while minimizing impacts on
services to Canadians, on revenue generating objectives, and on our employees. As
such, he reminded everyone that the CRA has been developing savings proposals
focused on programs and operations that demonstrated duplication in work, lower value
for money, or a misalignment with government priorities.
The AC, FAB, outlined that CRA’s total reductions amounting to $154.8 million, were
accepted by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and are now published in the Main
Estimates. He mentioned that operational savings began to materialize in fiscal year
2024-2025 and will fully ramp up by 2026-2027. He added that reductions in the areas of
professional services and travel took effect in 2023-2024 as presented in the
Supplementary Estimates B and have fully ramped up. As the CRA continues to
implement the first phase of RGS reductions, he assured that branches and regions will
continue communicating impacts.
The AC, Human Resources Branch (HRB), recalled that the CRA took a phased-approach
whereby workforce adjustment (WFA) exercises would be conducted on a yearly basis
and over a period of three years, as required. Finally, the AC, HRB, indicated that she
continues to work closely with branches and regions to ensure both financial and human
resources goals are met for subsequent years. As done last year, she mentioned that
management will continue informing AFS members of the implementation of the CRA’s
RGS years 2 and 3 proposals.
The AC, FAB, reminded us that the 2024 budget announced further reductions in
government spending. Each department and agency have been called upon to refocus
government spending by reallocating $1.3 billion ongoing toward the 2024 RGS target. He
added that to implement the second phase of RGS, the 2024 budget announced that the
government will seek to achieve reductions primarily through natural attrition in the federal
public service. Starting April 1, 2025, federal public service organizations will be required
to cover a portion of increased operating costs through existing resources.
He also shared that based on historical rates of attrition, the government is expecting the
public service population to reduce by approximately 5,000 full-time equivalent positions
over the next four years.
The AC, FAB, added that the full impact on individual departments was still being
determined and how the CRA undertook early engagement with TBS to present and
validate the strategy. He emphasized that this second phase will be considered cabinet
confidence, and they are committed to sharing information as soon as they can. He added
that savings expected at the Agency will be communicated in the main estimates and will
be tabled around the March 2025 timeline.
For timelines, he shared that further assessments of the potential risks and workforce
impacts will be undertaken in the 2024 fiscal year and the presentation to the Minister will
be done in November 2024. To align with this timeline, the AC, FAB, shared how the CRA
has been proactively engaging with branches and regions to adjust operating budgets
across the organization. He added that the combination of RGS one and two will result in
extremely limited financial flexibility for the Agency. In response to this, management has
been putting together measures and plans.
The AFS President shared that the Union has restarted their regular WFA updates in
committee meetings, and they will continue to work closely with management to ensure
that impacts of job losses on employees are minimized. However, he stated that AFS
remains extremely concerned about ensuring that their members do not pay with their
jobs for the Agency’s decision to incur unnecessary real estate expenditures to voluntarily
adopt increased onsite office presence mandates. He added that office spaces do not
allow for the 60% requirement and how a further increase would be irresponsible.
He said that the CRA cannot afford any more irrational decisions in times where difficult
business decisions as to how the Agency allocates its resources will have to be made. He
stated that it was unconscionable for the Agency to be hiring externally while internal
promotions are on hold and how this particularly resonates in the Western Region. He
concluded by saying that the Agency’s priority must be to put its people first.
2. Update on the implementation of Appendix N – Memorandum of Understanding
with Respect to Flexible Working Arrangements (Flex)
The AFS President stated how the flexible work arrangements program has been
successful in the Québec region for decades, allowing members to have flexible hours on
an unscheduled daily basis. AFS stated that they did not expect the flex program to
replace compressed working schedules since they are enjoyed by members who can
plan consistent working hours over extended periods of time.
However, the AFS believes that the flexible work arrangements are a success for
members who require day-to-day flexibility. They are looking forward to the extension of
the Québec Flex program to all AFS members in the upcoming year.
The AC, HRB, stated that the CRA and the PIPSC-AFS Group agreed to the national
implementation of the Québec Region’s flexible work arrangements initiative as part of
the AFS collective agreement signed on December 14, 2023. She shared that the
national implementation will be staggered between the regions with tentative dates of
October 2024 for the Atlantic Region, January 2025 for the Western Region and March
2025 for the Headquarters and Ontario Regions. A national implementation team was
created in June 2024 to lead and oversee the national implementation of flexible work
arrangements and have been meeting bi-weekly since then.
She shared that all relevant documents (Parameters for the Use of Flexible work
arrangements, training material and other documents) have been finalized. The AC,
HRB, also shared that a new InfoZone page on flexible work arrangements has been
created and houses all pertinent information. In addition, a message announcing the
launch of the implementation and the new website page has been posted on InfoZone on
Tuesday October 1, 2024. The AC, HRB, committed to continue providing the Union with
monthly updates on the implementation progress.
The AFS President replied that the Union is committed to working with management to
ensure that the program is rolled out on schedule.
3. Update on the Hybrid Model of Work
The AFS President stated that the CRA indicated they will be using Internet Protocol (IP)
loggings and location to monitor the return of on-site presence compliance and shared
his concerns around privacy impacts on its members. AFS noted that they have been
advised that the Public Affairs Branch (PAB) is responsible for privacy impact
assessments, and they are looking forward to obtaining more information.
The Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC), HRB, shared that HRB had discussions on
the Terms of Reference of the Review Panel committee in mid-November 2023. He
announced that the Terms of Reference were finalized and that the AC, HRB and the
AFS President agreed to sign them during the meeting. The DAC, HRB, shared the
following next steps for the panel: developing a communication strategy for employees;
creating a suite of tools and templates for the efficient processing of the Panel’s
recommendations; and coordinating the logistics of the Panel’s meetings to review
grievances.
He then shared that the CRA and AFS Joint Consultation Committee (JCC) have held
four meetings since being launched. He mentioned the review and finalization in principle
of the Committee’s Terms of Reference as well as having completed a first review of the
current Directive on Virtual Work Arrangements (VWA).
He shared that the next meeting is scheduled for Fall 2024. He noted that most
employees started coming into the office three days a week in September, and how the
implementation has been going smoothly. To seek equitable approaches and take
individual employee realities into consideration, management has provided as much
flexibility when operationally feasible. Management has extended the option of meeting
the on-site requirement through 60% of an employee's regular monthly schedule,
contingent upon operational requirements, real property considerations, and upon
request from an employee.
Management shared that they are continuing to observe many benefits to the hybrid work
model, including taking advantage of the positive qualities of both remote and on-site
work. He stated that regular in-person collaboration provides opportunities to enhance the
Agency’s work culture. He believes that this new reality allows leaders to better support
their employees and provides work-life balance flexibilities.
He added that management remains focused on strengthening the Agency’s
organizational culture in creating a work environment “where employees feel valued, feel
a sense of belonging, and collaborate well.” He also noted that management increased
Agency-wide communications on hybrid and continues to develop the Questions and
Answers section on InfoZone.
He added that information sessions are being held to better equip management and
additional hybrid consultations continues to take place between the Deputy Minister Task
Team, the Public Service Management Advisory Committee, the Assistant Deputy
Minister Interdepartmental Committee, the Agency Management Committee, and the
Unions. Through external consultations, management observed that they are aligned with
other larger departments and agencies, which supports consistency and fairness across
the Government of Canada.
The DAC, HRB, noted that the agency-wide communications have been issued and how
they clearly articulate the Agency’s requirement in monitoring compliance, how it is being
measured, and underscores the expectation for all employees in meeting on-site
requirements, unless a group extension or individual exception exists. He uttered that the
responsibility in verifying compliance at the employee level remains with managers and
that HR processes to address employee’s non-compliance are in place.
He commented that since July 2024, branches and regions have provided regular status
updates on their hybrid activities. He mentioned that the Agency is using this information
to prepare regular dashboards for the Agency Corporate Management Committee. He
added that all branches and regions reported being on track, and reintegration plans are
in place for employees that are still part of group extensions. To enhance employee
experience, he stated that the Agency is exploring the feasibility and costs of providing
assigned lockers to employees and launched pilot projects in the NCR to explore locker
utilization strategies.
He assured that work is underway to establish reintegration plans for employees under
group exceptions for each specific program area subject to space availability analysis,
and it is expected that the reintegration process would be completed by September 2025.
He also noted that real Property swing space exceptions may fluctuate as real property
projects continue, in line with the footprint consolidation efforts. He observed that the
approval process and approval levels for both individual exceptions and for determining
accommodation solutions has not changed because of the increased requirement for on-
site presence.
He insisted that existing approved individual exceptions and accommodation solutions
resulting in full-time telework should not be impacted with the increase to the number of
days per week on-site and each situation is being reviewed on a case-by-case basis. He
further mentioned that in June, the simplified renewal process was introduced for
employees to request a renewal of their approved individual exceptions and full-time
telework as an accommodation under the duty to accommodate, for which the
circumstances have not changed.
He added how additional delegated authority approval of those is no longer required in
the work arrangement agreement system. He reminded that since the summer of 2023,
all CRA employees are required to have an approved Work Arrangement Agreement
(WAA) in place. He further explained that WAAs are used to record an employee’s work
location such as the CRA building they are assigned to as well as their telework location,
and employees can also indicate whether they have an approved exception or an
exception request pending decision.
He stated that further enhancement to the WAA system was released on August 12,
2024, and all previous versions were archived. As such, all employees were required to
update their WAA by October 11, 2024. In addressing the AFS President’s concerns
regarding the compliance aspect, he replied that it is not being recorded at the individual
level.
The AFS President noted that both parties have finalized the Terms of Reference of the
Joint Union Management Review Panel which was created because of the Letter of
Agreement on VWAs signed between the CRA and the PIPSC-AFS Group during
bargaining. He reiterated that the purpose of this panel is to address the dissatisfaction
with decisions stemming from the application of CRA’s Directive on Virtual Work
Arrangements and the Requirement for on-site presence at the CRA. Both parties
convened to meet monthly unless otherwise agreed.
He stated that once a grievance has been referred to the last step of the grievance
process, the employee or the Union may refer the grievance to the Panel, at which point
the grievance will be held in abeyance pending completion of the review. The Panel aims
to provide recommendations to the AC of HRB, or main arguments where consensus is
not reached. The grievance response will detail the AC of HRB’s decisions, and any
corrective measures granted. AFS expects the panel to be busy as their members are
filing grievances against the amendments of their WAAs. The Secretary and CS National
Consultation Representative stated that AFS was hoping to sign the joint consultation
committee’s (JCC) term of references in April and due to changes to the on-site
requirements presence, they could not agree to the terms. The JCC met in July to review
the work arrangement directive and enhancements to the WAA system and will be
meeting again on November 25, 2024.
The AFS President shared many difficulties observed by employees during the increase
to the 60% in-office presence requirement: a lack of overnight and in office storage space
for Agency assets and personal items; many members are forced to report to unsafe
office locations; insufficient desk, office, meeting room, and training facility space;
inadequate cleaning of workspaces; requiring professional employees to perform clearing
duties; incorrect messaging at the local and regional level on what counts as in office
time; commuting to offices to attend virtual meetings in unsuitable noisy conditions;
difficulties in booking quiet spaces for sensitive discussions; unnecessary commuting to
offices when better workspace exists in home locations; and wasted time monitoring in
office presence instead of genuine business priorities such as client service, productivity,
and employee development.
The AFS President stated that he will continue bringing these concerns to management’s
attention and he is committed to make the work environment as positive as possible for
impacted AFS members. He then requested that a joint Union-Management working
group be formed to address these concerns. He suggested converting the existing JCC
into this new working group and to amend the terms of reference and the title.
The Commissioner shared his wish to continue discussing return to on-site presence
irritants. He reiterated that flexibility regarding the return of on-site presence mandate has
been a key discussion. He recognized that the CRA had to manage that transition based
on real property availability and tried to resolve issues as much as possible. On
compliance, he stated that he is looking at this issue diligently and remains open to
assess how privacy is being applied in offices.
The DAC, HRB, outlined that the AFS Union representatives play a significant role in
raising issues to management and the importance of engaging at the local levels. He
agreed to explore the possibilities of establishing a dedicated working group between
management and the AFS Group focused to address and discuss concerns on the Return
to on-site presence.
The AFS President agreed that these issues require committee work and suggested again
extending the JCC for this purpose. The Secretary and CS National Consultation
Representative stated that continuing with the working group is a natural progression
given that AFS still address these issues.
Commitment: The DAC, HRB, committed to explore the possibilities of establishing a
dedicated working group between management and the AFS Group focused to address
and discuss concerns on the Return to on-site presence.
4. Employee Transfers
The AFS vice-president (VP) shared concerns around the period it takes to transfer an
employee’s file to the CRA from other departments and agencies. Since the last meeting,
he stated that there were lots of compensation issues that could not be resolved through
normal channels. He said that AFS worked in collaboration with the Director of Corporate
Compensation Division and most cases were either resolved or information on when they
will be resolved was provided.
He noted the major issue of onboarding from Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS). He
added that the expected wait times are approximately two years for the files to be
transferred from TBS to the CRA. During this time, the member’s pay file remains with
TBS and the members are being paid incorrectly and cannot access their leave banks.
He added that some members are still being paid at the TBS rate and others have not
received their overtime pay. AFS acknowledged that the root of the problem resides with
TBS and not the Agency.
However, he reminded that the employer still has an obligation to pay employees
correctly. With that in mind, AFS worked collaboratively with the Agency to examine ways
to pay members correctly, while waiting for the files to be transferred from the core. Given
the delays and incorrect payments, the AFS President requested that going forward, the
CRA advises potential candidates of these issues prior to their onboarding.
The AC, HRB, replied that employee transfer delays are a major concern and that paying
employees at the appropriate rate is a high priority. She explained that due to the
Phoenix Pay System’s functionalities, the CRA is unable to access pay accounts to
transfer employees until the former department processes their transfer out. She
emphasized that HRB regularly escalates transfers with the Pay Centre when delays
become unreasonable or when there are other individual factors that warrants escalation.
She stated that the CRA amended the Corporate Administrative System (CAS) that is
allowing employees with a pending transfer to key timesheets and obtain system
accesses required for their jobs. However, she clarified that there are still many
limitations related to processing pay transactions to the employee. For example, HRB is
unable to process change in hours, acting appointments or any other pay-related actions
until the transfer out has been completed. Management has been continuously working
with the Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and the Office of the Chief
Human Resources Officer (OCHRO).
In instances where a transfer is outstanding, HRB have implemented the ability for
employees to access accrued leave by providing a personal copy of their leave report
from their former department. This allows employees to start using their leave balances
until the transfer is completed, and HRB can make appropriate adjustment once the
transfer is completed. The AC, HRB, committed to continuing escalating the transfers
issue with PSPC to improve the process and reduce delays.
The AFS, VP, referred to the outstanding cases for over two years and reminded that
members are heavily impacted. He requested that looking forward, the CRA advises
potential candidates of delays before being onboarded.
Commitment: The AC, HRB, committed to exploring options for advising potential
candidates about transfer delays of employees’ file from TBS to the CRA. She will also
be bringing this issue to the ADM committee’s attention.
5. Agency People Strategy (APS)
The AFS President invited management to provide an update on the APS following to the
Union engagement in April 2024 and following to their feedback shared in September
2024.
The AC, HRB, thanked AFS for sharing their comments on the APS and noted that the
Board of Management Human Resources Committee supported the direction of the
strategy along with the proposed initiatives when it was presented in June 2024. She
shared that the Strategy’s intent is to include employees’ perspectives on how to create a
workplace where they feel valued, supported, and motivated. The CRA must continue to
foster equity, diversity, and inclusion, offer growth opportunities to employees, make tools
and resources available, including well-being approaches and support.
She mentioned that the Strategy was shaped by strong employee engagement. In 2023-
2024, HRB gathered feedback, conducted research, and consulted employees from
different branches, regions, and networks. Union representatives participated in many of
these consultations.
She recognized the importance of supporting managers during times of change and
integrating change management practices into all aspects of their communication efforts.
She stated that this Strategy is a crucial investment, serving as the “North Star” to guide
the establishment of people priorities contributing to CRA’s business outcomes.
The AFS President referred to the diagnostic deck which suggests that “hybrid work is an
evolving norm, and employees are not happy with it.” The AFS President said that AFS
finds this statement hard to believe, as CRA internal surveys showed that AFS members
were happy to work from home, if able and willing, and were happy to be able to work in
an office, if desired. He outlined that people became unhappy with hybrid when they were
forced to work in an office without a good reason.
He then referred to the following statement on the diagnostic deck: “Professional
development will help companies prepare for a period of economic uncertainty, and
instead of hiring new talent, managers will train workers to have the needed skills to
sustain their business.” He hoped this means that the CRA will reverse its practice of not
funding professional development for employees.
The AFS President then referred to the statement: “Workers are seeking greater flexibility
to improve work-life balance” and “Workers in Canada can choose jobs anywhere in the
world to meet their desired work-life balance and need.” In the face of this fact, he replied
that “CRA fought to roll back work-life balance collective agreement clauses and to
reverse policies that promote work-life balance. This is why our Union has been warning
management of an exodus of talented employees.”
He then proceeded with AFS comments on the statement “Employees perform at their
best when they feel heard and respected. They like working at the CRA, but do not always
feel valued.” He replied to the following: “If CRA valued their employees, then they should
have paid attention to the employee survey showing the harm done by a two-day on-site
presence without purpose office mandate. The CRA demonstrated to their employees that
they are not valued when they increased the mandate to 60%.”
He then commented on the consultation members list: “It is the legal role of Unions to
represent its members, CRA employees, and yet Unions are not listed as a party to consult.
A last-minute review of completed documents is not consultation.” He recognized that, although their Union members engaged in this review, AFS was not directly listed as a party to consult.
On the statement “a future-ready agency through the use of the CRA future of work
framework and the continued journey toward hybrid,” AFS stated that “This section was
false and misleading since CRA has cancelled its Journey to the Hybrid project and gotten
rid of the staff who led it. The CRA is now enforcing a presence-without-purpose return of
on-site presence, putting presenteeism as the overriding goal of human resource
management.”
On the strategy, AFS provided the following comment: “There are four pillars, none of
them have anything to do with making an employee’s career better or more rewarding. It
is great that we want it to be easier to be a manager, but what about other employees?
The only pillar that relates to employees is culture and values, which is directed at
controlling employee behavior, not enhancing their careers. Having effective HR as a pillar
is incredibly misleading. HR is meant to be a support service, not a driver of agency
business. CRA has really missed the boat with a people strategy that, in our review,
ignores its people.”
Next on, he referred to the APS deck and the following points under Resilient and Modern
objectives: “Expand employee career development so employees can see themselves
and their future within the Agency” and “Prioritize employee development and
enhancement of skills to enable their current and future success.” The AFS President
asked the question: “Since these points are in the Agency People Strategy, what specific
actions does the Agency plan to do in this fiscal year toward these objectives?”
The AC, HRB, specified that this is an Agency-wide people strategy that includes four key
pillars: People-centric, Modern, and Resilient, Data-driven, and Digital and Culture. The
four pillars are all focused on one goal: enhancing the employee experience. By
empowering our leaders, modernizing our tools and processes, using data to guide our
decisions, and creating a work environment where everyone feels like they belong and
can work well together, we are shaping a more high-performing, diverse, and inclusive
workforce.
She noted that defining, creating, and implementing a Hybrid Framework for the Agency
with clear guiding principles and objectives is part of the Strategy’s second pillar: Modern
and Resilient by equipping and enabling the workforce.
Professional development is an important part of this Strategy and reflected in a number
of key initiatives included in the Strategy. She stated that the HRB team will continue to
work closely with AFS to get their views and integrate them in the Strategy.
She reminded that there are twenty initiatives in this Strategy. She assured that the
development and implementation of learning and development approaches and tools
continue to be key human resources priorities for the Agency and its workforce.
She concluded by sharing that the Strategy was created on a solid foundation of
consultations across the Agency and she committed to continuing to engage in
meaningful discussions.
6. Classification Reform
The AFS President reminded that the employer committed to providing updates on the
classification modernization at NUMCC meetings, as work progresses. He is concerned
that the Agency is not undertaking the examination of classification standards, as
committed in the collective agreement.
The AC, HRB, mentioned that the CRA committed to examine the possibilities of
modernizing the current classification standards for jobs represented by the AFS Group.
She reminded that modernizing a program requires a significant investment of time,
money, and human resources. She acknowledged that such an exercise mobilizes
multiple employees and requires the involvement of subject matter experts. She stated
that the CRA has been assessing all the priorities related to classification and many
resources are already occupied on short-term priority initiatives.
She mentioned that the CRA is actively working with AFS members and non-represented
employees in the development of the Pay Equity Act (PEA). Given the PEA has been a
top priority for the CRA, she mentioned the urge to respect the engagement took until
2026, as the PEA plan will have to be published by August 31, 2026. She also
emphasized the need to invest the limited resources in classification toward this. For
these reasons, she announced management’s decision to pause the modernization of the
classification reform.
She shared her wish to keep the dialogue open with AFS and the functional branches to
explore different options for modernization, for when the timing is right. She also shared
HRB’s goal to outline classification priorities for the next year.
The AFS President replied that the classification reform is a priority that AFS has been
advocating for a long time. He added that the CRA was aware of the priority of the PEA
when management committed to examining and modernizing the current classification
standards. He stated that a pause of the classification reform is a violation of the AFS
collective agreement.
Commitment: The AC, HRB, committed to engaging in further discussions with AFS on the classification reform and outlining classification priorities for 2025.
7. Implementation of the Pay Equity Act
The AC, HRB, provided an update on the Implementation of the Pay Equity Act (PEA).
She stated that the Pay Equity Committee (PEC) assessed the work intended for the Pay
Equity Plan and how the Agency’s two-year extension was granted by the Pay Equity
Commissioner on August 16, 2024. The Committee reached agreement on requesting two
years, which was considered a reasonable period that will allow sufficient time to complete
the next steps.
She added that members remained committed to completing the exercise within 18
months. The PEC has been working with a consulting firm on reviewing preliminary job
evaluation results, as well as factors in the job evaluation tool and the weighting of each
factor, to ensure accurate job content is being captured. The Agency has also been
working with TBS and PSPC on a common approach for requesting fundings as well as
determining how best to process pay equity payments within the current pay system.
She also shared timelines for the implementation of the PEA:
Evaluation of value of work (including tool development/tailoring /testing) – June
2024 to September 2025.
Wage gap assessment – September 2025 to November 2025.
Drafting and posting of the Pay Equity Plan – June 2026 to August 2026.
Payments – will begin in September 2026.
The AFS President acknowledged that the PEA plan has been progressing steadily and
shared that AFS has full representation at the PEC.
He stated that this work is critical in ensuring the Agency is providing equal pay to women
for doing work of equal value, and AFS will continue providing support toward achieving
this goal.
CLOSING REMARKS
The AFS President expressed his dissatisfaction regarding the discussions on
classification reform. He thanked everyone for participating and gave a special mention to
the Labour Relations, Union-Management Relations team for facilitating the ongoing
consultations with the Agency. He expected that management will continue working with
AFS in addressing issues raised during the meeting.
The Commissioner thanked everyone for the efficient meeting. For APS, he reassured
that the CRA actively consulted with TBS and that they showed interest in developing this
strategy. On the classification reform, the Commissioner mentioned being involved in
many discussions for the past years. In the context of CRA’s shifting priorities, he felt
comfortable with the pause element. However, he acknowledged that classification
remains a critical issue and requires assessment on how it needs to be pursued. He
invited the AFS to have further discussions during this pause as he wants to ensure the
AFS collective agreement remains respected.
He shared that the next meeting would take place on April 15, 2025. He reinforced the
need to keep communicating and working collaboratively on raised issues.
The AFS President asserted that the Union would continue participating actively in Union-
Management consultations.