Present: Stan Buday, Tamara Critch, Debbie Butler, Lucille Shears, Patricia Williams, Yvonne Snaddon, Stéphane Aubry, Karim Chiggani, Rob Scott
Staff: Robert Séguin
Virtual: Marc Benoit, Pierre Touchette
Regrets: Jean-Simon Brassard, Giovanni Giolti
Agenda/Ordre du jour
1) Welcome / Bienvenue (Stan)
a) Equity Statement
Adoption of Agenda / Adoption de l'ordre du jour
Moved by Tamara Critch, seconded by Rob Scott
2) Approval of Minutes of Last meeting / Approbation du procès-verbal de la dernière réunion de 10 February/février 2025
a) Moved by Tamara Critch, second by Debbie Butler
3) Business Arising from the minutes/Action Items Affaires découlant du procès-verbal/Points d’action
a) Merging of the Portage, Hull and Gatineau Sub-groups (Pierre, Lucille)
i) ACTION: Lucille and Pierre to meet to address and complete formal paperwork. (Ongoing)
(1) Pierre Touchette advised Hull Sub-group (SG) has their Annual General Meeting (AGM) is tentatively scheduled for May or June. Pierre also stated Portage SG may revive and is working on a plan for an AGM in September. Update on the Gatineau SG that is still in limbo and plan to invite members of the subgroup to the AGMs of Hull and Portage.
(2) ACTION: Pierre to send letter of interest to members in Gatineau SG and invite to AGMs of Portage and Hull.
b) Visibility / visibilité (Robert, Pierre)
i) ACTION: Robert Séguin report back to membership team that IT Executive would like to participate in the brainstorming session. (Completed)
(1) Robert Seguin advised that the team plans to consult with groups and have focus groups.
(2) ACTION: Robert to follow up on plan
ii) ACTION: Pierre Touchette to send a list of remaining swag items to the Executive (Ongoing)
(1) Executive to provide names to Pierre of IT AGM attendees who did not receive a shirt. As well as any other events that may require items to distribute. Pierre advised he has received the mock-up of 3 roll up banners and will green light the work on the others.
(2) ACTION: Pierre bringing shirts for those attending IT AGM and ship the rest to Ontario members, ship shirts for Atlantic Regional Council to the President of the Fredericton SG.
(3) ACTION: All Group Executive to send Canadian made SWAG suggestions to Pierre.
(a) Due to costs and availability, Pierre advised was not able to absolutely observe fully Canadian made but did as much as possible.
c) Navigar (Rob)
i) ACTION: Rob Scott to bring a recommendation from IT Training Subcommittee regarding IT05 and acting positions. (Ongoing)
ii) ACTION: Rob Scott – table an agenda at IT Training Subcommittee to make decisions on the other groups accessing the training fund. (Ongoing)
d) Lobbying (Yvonne)
i) ACTION: Yvonne Snaddon to schedule a zoom session for IT AGM training delegates to prepare for lobbying (Completed)
e) Regulations for Upcoming IT Group National Election (Stan, Karim)
i) ACTION: Stan – go to PIPSC Election regarding adding regulations when Notice already sent (Completed)
(1) Stan Buday advised the regulations are now in effect and confirmed they do not require the Board of Directors approval.
ii) ACTION: Karim to notify candidates of Elections regulations after as soon as possible (Ongoing)
f) AV Equipment (Marc)
i) ACTION: Marc Benoit to provide serial numbers to the Treasurer, Debbie Butler (Ongoing)
(1) Marc advised has provided some numbers to Debbie with more to follow.
g) New Election System (Stan)
i) ACTION: Stan to discuss voting system with PIPSC President, and Elizabeth’s response from voting team then schedule zoom to make decision. (Ongoing)
(1) Stan Buday advised he has not received a response to his email. Discussion ensued on the capability of the new voting system at the time of the last meeting.
(2) ACTION: Stan to follow up with Elizabeth and include Karim.
h) Presentation of COAT Strategic Planning 2025 (Yvonne)
i) ACTION: Yvonne Snaddon to send the COAT Strategic Planning to the Group Executive (Completed)
(1) Yvonne advised that an email was sent to the Executive and accepted secretarially.
i) Subgroup Presidents Meeting (Lucille)
i) ACTION: Lucille Shears to invite Dave Sutherland to Subgroup President’s meeting. (Completed)
(1) Dave and Sean O’Reilly attended as well.
j) IT Group AGM (Stan)
i) ACTION: Stan to contact Chris Roach to chair IT AGM (Completed)
ii) ACTION: Stan and Patricia to contact Professor Hannah Johnston as speaker for IT AGM (Completed)
(1) Stan Buday advised the professor is unable to attend. A fulsome discussion followed on a guest speaker with various suggestions were made. Stan sought and obtained consensus in having PIPSC do an AI on bargaining presentation. Marc Benoit suggested a presentation on MS Co-pilot. Yvonne Snaddon suggested to present to the Executive first and add to next meeting agenda.
(2) ACTION: Robert to invite the necessary people and create a presentation of AI on bargaining for IT AGM.
5) Standing Items / Points permanents
a) Bargaining Update / Mise à jour sur les négociations (Rob, Robert)
i) Strategic Bargaining Committee (SBC) (Rob)
(1) Rob Scott, Robert Seguin and Stan Buday attended the SBC on 10 April 2025 and received a presentation from Nate Prier, President of CAPE, on a bargaining strategy called Open Bargaining, a concept where you pull in a much wider number of stakeholders. This is similar to what the IT group had already done with information sessions with the sub-group Presidents after each bargaining session.
Robert Seguin advised on the need to revisit essential services in the coming months. Possibly Pierre Touchette and Stan volunteered, which was accepted.
(2) ACTION: Robert to work with Pierre and Stan the essential services list. (Robert)
ii) Contract proposals meeting (Rob)
(1) Rob advised the Contract Proposals meeting went well with good results and feedback. There was a presentation on the common issues survey and a follow up on the coordination plan, which requires an IT group representative. The Bargaining Officer was suggested and agreed upon by consensus of the Executive. Lucille Shears suggested to nominate new representative after the election in which Rob agreed. Many attendees of the Contract Proposals meeting put forth interest in being part of the Bargaining Team, of which the Bargaining Officer will provide recommendations for selection to the Executive Committee, based on geography, department and skill level.
iii) Training Fund Update (Rob)
(1) Rob advised that 99% of the fund was spent. The latest update from Navigar on Pluralsight they are still working on fixing the onboarding issue of new members. Patricia Williams asked about survey of use, which Rob Stated, Navigar has stats and plans for surveys. Rob advised we have not received feedback information on the instructor-led offerings managed by the employer. Rob also confirmed exam vouchers used any remaining money that are valid for a full year.
iv) IJCC Update (Stan)
(1) Stan Buday attending the meeting on 20 February 2025 to discuss different issues including the in-between authority the co-chairs have, Terms of Reference, official languages, GC Digital Platform and alternation database.
a) Strategic Planning Portfolio Update & Review / Mise à jour et examen du portefeuille de planification stratégique (All)
i) Stan Buday requested the item title change to include Portfolio and that it be assigned to all to ensure we all review and update on a regular basis. (So reflected in these minutes).
ii) ACTION: Review Strategic Planning Portfolios and create report for the IT AGM. (All)
iii) ACTION: Create Strategic Planning Folder under Executive Meetings folder with sub folders of the years starting 2024. (Tamara)
c) Visibility / visibilité (Pierre)
i) Question posed to Pierre regarding available swat for IT AGM. Pierre to confirm and purchase items in time for the IT AGM. Different suggestions were provided by the Executive, including stickers, glass cleaners, and power banks.
d) Return to Office / Retour au bureau (All)
i) Executive provided scenarios being experienced such as number of DTA requests, to possibly circumvent the RTO policy and managers approving is causing issues with valid DTA requests. The issue of the lack of manager training may acerbate the issue. There was suggestion of raising this in consultation to make more courses mandatory.
ii) ACTION: Bring lack of management training to WGC and IJCC and its effects on members (Yvonne and Stan)
iii) ACTION: Add Work Force Adjustment (WFA) item as Standing Item to next agenda (Tamara)
6) New Business / Nouvelles affaires
a) ITYPC Liaison report (Jean-Simon) (Deferred)
b) YPC Update (Jordan)
i) Jordan Loverock advised he has completed the setup of a multi-platform Discord Server which provides multiple channels for members to see updates and have discussions. Next steps is complete a budget for the ITYPC, slowly advertise the Discord server and hold events. Rob Scott suggested a demonstration table be set up at the IT AGM. Next event is scheduled for Ottawa during the IT AGM.
(1) ACTION: Provide list of under 40 members in NCR and attending AGM to Jordan (Patricia)
(2) MOTION: To Support the ITYPC Gaming event on 6 June up to $3,000 – moved by Stan Buday, seconded by Patricia Williams. (Carried)
c) Lobbying Update (Yvonne)
i) Yvonne Snaddon advised an email was sent to the lobbying training participants about the the lobbying training and expectations delayed until after National Election.
d) Strategy for Future PIPSC AGMs to Reduce Costs (Yvonne)
i) Yvonne Snaddon provided an update from the most recent AC meeting where concerns were raised about the costs, space and hotel availability for the 2026 PIPSC AGM, and various the various suggestions provided. Also discussed at the AC meeting was the idea of reducing the ratio, which some of the IT Executive voiced concerns of democratic representation. The recommendation to board from the IT Group was for a more inexpensive venue in Ottawa and did not agree with 50/50 in person/virtual attendance.
e) IT AGM (Patricia)
i) Patricia Williams advised delegate selection to be completed by 15 April 2025. Majority of arrangements have been made with the possibility of adding yoga as an activity again. Also, the cut-off date for alternates has been set to 5 days before the IT AGM. Patricia advised that an email template formally asking to Chair the AGM will be kept on the group drive for future use. Patricia to confirm with Chris Roach to Chair the AGM.
(1) ACTION: Confirm hotel space and cost for yoga event (Elizabeth Morin)
f) 2025 Subgroup Presidents evaluations (Lucille)
i) Lucille Shears provided a summary of evaluations and uploaded the document to the group drive. Most of the feedback was favorable with various suggestions to be considered for the next Sub-group President’s meeting.
(1) ACTION: Upload evaluation summary to group drive. (Lucille)
g) WFA (Yvonne)
i) Yvonne Snaddon raised the idea that the group should identify an Executive as a liaison to work on this evolving issue. Pierre Touchette and Karim Chaggani volunteered, with Lucille Shears suggesting Gord Bulmer, who has experience. It was advised that the new NPO at PIPSC was handling this issue.
h) Election Update (Karim)
i) Karim Chaggani advised of a report of election campaigning at a PIPSC event, but there has been no formal complaint. There were questions posed to the Elections Committee regarding the Town Hall questions for the candidates and were answered in turn. Karim also advised that Yvonne Snaddon will be providing support to the committee.
(1) ACTION: Confirm if candidate Town Hall will be recorded and posted. (Karim)
ii) New Regulation Notice to Candidates
(2) ACTION: Send translated New Regulations Notice to Candidates (Karim)
i) Legal Advice (Stan)
Motion: Move to a closed session
Moved by: Stan Buday Seconded by: Tamara Critch
CARRIED
Motion: End closed session
Moved by: Stan Buday Seconded by: Tamara Critch
CARRIED
7) Reports/Activities d’exécutive
(Please file in the Executive Reports sub-directory / A déposer dans le sous-répertoire des rapports exécutifs)
a) President /Président (Stan)
i) Stan Buday provided a summary of his report regarding Federal election strategy. Robert Seguin advised group coordinated bargaining training will occur September 9-11. Robert also suggests doing Executive Training attached to Strategic Planning, but costs and accommodations may be an issue. Decision to be made by zoom meeting.
(1) ACTION: Confirm with Elizabeth availability of adding a day to Strategic Planning meeting (Robert)
b) Vice-President/Vice-président (Pierre)
i) Pierre Touchette provided his update previously for the promotional items and Sub-Group changes.
c) Treasurer/Trésorier (Deb)
i) Debbie Butler provided an update on access to the account and information will be sent by email.
d) Steering Committee & Secretary/Comité directeur et Secrétaire (Tamara)
i) Tamara Critch provided an update on Steering Committee decisions done secretarially.
e) Bargaining / Négociations (Rob/Robert)
i) Rob Scott and Robert Séguin provided their update previously in the Standing Items.
f) NOC/ROC- Mobilization / CNO/ROC- Mobilisation (Stan)
i) Stan Buday advised an update that roster is still in the works.
g) Communications (Marc)
i) Stan Buday advised that podcasts may be considered for use at the Strategic Planning meeting to give portfolio information.
h) Subgroup Officer/Agent de sous-groupe (Lucille)
i) Lucille Shears advised her report is available on the drive for perusal. And, at the request of Guy Abel, raised the possibility of holding the 2026 Sub-Group President’s meeting to coordinate with the Quebec City 50th anniversary.
i) Steward Officer / Agent de délégués syndicaux (Giovanni)
j) Membership Officer / Agente de membership (Patricia)
i) Patricia Williams provided a summary of her report and advised of the success of the RAND drive.
k) Labour Relations & Consultation Officer & Contracting Out Officer / Agente des relations de travail et de consultation et Agente chargée de la sous-traitance (Yvonne)
i) Yvonne Snaddon advised her report is available on the drive for perusal.
l) ITYPC (Jean-Simon)
m) Elections (Karim)
8) Other business & Roundtable / Autres affaires et tour de table
9) Next meeting / Prochaine réunion
a) 6 June 2025 - Delta Ottawa City Centre, Ottawa
10) Adjournment / Ajournement
a) Adjourned at 5 pm