In June 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a new partnership with Cohere – a Toronto-based AI company. The government billed it as a “Made in Canada” innovation to modernize the public service. Cohere is set to receive $240 million in federal funding under this strategy. 

But the story behind the announcement looks very different. Cohere relies on American firm CoreWeave to run its data centres, tying up Canadian taxpayer dollars in US operations. When asked to name specific government projects that justify the hefty investment, AI Minister Evan Solomon couldn’t provide a single example. And the promised public registry of government AI projects that was meant to ensure accountability still hasn’t been delivered. 

Compounding our concern is the fact that unions like PIPSC – which represent the workers most likely to be impacted by these decisions – have been excluded from discussions and the government’s AI Advisory Committee. Yet, corporations are given seats at the table. This imbalance demonstrates whose needs are shaping this policy. 

A partnership built on secrecy

The federal government’s AI partnership with Cohere was announced last month, but the details remain secret. Ottawa says AI won’t cost jobs, yet Cohere’s “North” tool is already replacing office tasks at Bell and RBC.

When the UK made a deal with Cohere, the scope was public and clear – it included hiring and defence. Why can’t we get the same transparency here? Canadians, including public servants, deserve to know what’s being planned behind closed doors – and unions must be at the table.

Where is the promised public AI registry? Why are unions excluded from the AI Advisory Committee while corporations get privileged access? If the government wants to use smart technology, it should be smart enough to tell Canadians how it will affect jobs, tasks, and the future of public services. Keeping this deal secret only creates more questions – and less trust.

Outsourcing and the looming threat of privatization via AI

This partnership with Cohere is giving $240 million to a company that generates 90% of its revenue outside Canada and uses the US company CoreWeave to operate its data centres. Meanwhile, Canada’s in-house IT professionals, including 20,000 PIPSC members, continue to be sidelined. 

Cohere isn't just partnering with government – it's also cutting deals with private telecom companies to sell AI services back to that same government. Bell Canada has signed a revenue-sharing agreement to market Cohere's AI tools to government and enterprise customers, with both companies splitting the profits from public sector contracts.

This creates a circular profit scheme: taxpayers fund Cohere's development through the $240 million government investment, then pay again when Bell sells Cohere's services back to government departments. 

This approach transforms public services into revenue streams for private companies – a dangerous precedent that threatens the independence and integrity of federal operations.

This isn't Canadian AI leadership or modernization – it's privatization with a Canadian flag on it.

Public service cuts and the Phoenix parallel

The government wants PIPSC members to trust that AI won't be used to replace jobs, but this partnership comes as Ottawa is ordering 15% cuts to public services – the deepest cuts in generations and breaking its first promise to the federal workforce. It raises real concerns that AI will be used to replace workers. 

What’s more, the government is cutting budgets while expecting new technology to magically do more work for less money. We've seen this before with the Phoenix Pay system: it promised savings but instead, replacing humans with technology continues to cost billions of dollars and cause harm nearly a decade later.

Rushing AI implementation without proper safeguards, regulation, or worker consultation risks repeating those costly mistakes on an even larger scale.

It’s a tough time for this government to ask for trust. 

What PIPSC wants to see

We support AI that helps civil servants do more and better work. But federal workers and the Canadians we serve deserve better than AI policies driven by corporate interests and profit-sharing agreements. We need transparency, genuine consultation, and protections that ensure AI serves the public interest – not just private balance sheets.

What we need:

• Transparency: Deliver the promised public AI registry so citizens and workers know how AI is being used
• Real consultation: Include union representatives on the AI Advisory Committee, and commit to ongoing consultation, including at the bargaining table
• Canadian expertise: Use our own federal IT professionals to develop AI tools instead of outsourcing to companies with foreign operations
• Worker protections: Include AI provisions in collective agreements with guarantees for training and protection against mass layoffs
• Independent oversight: Establish AI regulation and oversight to protect workers and all citizens

Cohere may be valued at $6.8 billion, but that valuation is built largely on revenue from outside Canada and partnerships that prioritize corporate profits over public service delivery. The federal government's secretive approach to AI implementation, combined with massive spending on outside contractors while sidelining our own professionals, looks more like privatization than modernization. 

When we outsource critical government functions to foreign-operated data centres and exclude our own experts from decision-making, we weaken Canadian sovereignty and undermine the very public services that define us as a nation. At a time when other countries are questioning Canada's strength and independence, we should be investing in Canadian expertise and transparent governance – not handing over public services to profit-driven partnerships with foreign operations.

This isn't how you build a resilient, sovereign country. It's how you dismantle one, one contract at a time.

A survey was conducted on behalf of the Canadian Tax Federation by Leger in July 2025. The poll claims that a majority of Canadians want cuts to the public service, and that a majority believe that service quality has not improved despite the growth in public service. PIPSC has responded with criticism to the survey, and some additional methodological concerns are outlined below. 

Representativeness matters 

The online survey was conducted on a sample of 1,553 Canadian adults. The selection of these adults was based on non-probability sampling (a web panel in the case of this survey). The use of this type of sampling means that the probability of Canadian adults being selected into the sample is unknown or non-random. Simply put, this type of methodology suffers from biases, and it is both impossible and irresponsible to claim with certainty that these results accurately represent the views of Canadians. 

Biased questions lead to biased results

The phrasing of the questions asked provides some information about the numbers and expenses related to the growth of the bureaucracy and is phrased as “According to government records, the federal government added 99,000 additional employees since 2016, which contributed to an increase in the overall cost of the bureaucracy by more than 70 per cent.” The respondents are then asked their opinions on the size and cost of the bureaucracy. Good surveys depend on neutral questions that do not bias the responses. If the survey aimed to provide context and information to respondents, it could have also included why this growth took place. Accompanying information, such as the growth of the Canadian population since 2016, the gaps left behind by cuts from the Harper government, or the trends of the proportionate growth of the public service as a percentage of employment, was not provided. Leading questions or questions that provide incomplete information cannot be expected to produce unbiased results.    

Not supported by other data available 

The sampling and design of the questionnaire lead directly to the concern that the results presented in the survey are not representative of Canadians in general, but of individual respondents who took part in the survey. The claim that a majority of Canadians want cuts to the federal public service does not match up to other data available. For example, other polls show that the Canadian population is still largely supportive of Prime Minister Mark Carney, who ran his campaign on “caps, not cuts” to the public service. 

If you are interested in participating as Chair, Member, or Friend on a standing committee of the Board for 2026, you are invited to submit your expression of interest by completing the prescribed form by the deadline of Monday, October 6, 2025. 
 

Committees of the Board

• By-laws and policies Committee 
• Elections Appeals Committee 
• Elections Committee
• Executive Compensation Committee (See Note 3)
• Finance Committee
• Human Rights and Diversity Committee
• Information Technology Services and Projects Committee
• Professional Recognition and Qualifications Committee
• Science Advisory Committee (See Note 2)
• Training, Education and Mentoring Committee (Chair) (see Note 3)

Note 1: By-Law 17.1.3 Composition -  All Committees shall consist of 5 to 7 members and, unless otherwise specified, shall include 1 member from each Region. Where there is a Vice-President liaison to a committee, the Vice-President does not count as a member of the committee.

Note 2: A call for nominations will not be made for the Science Advisory Committee until 2026 for a term of 2 years (2027-2028).

Note 3: There will be no solicitation process for members of the Executive Compensation Committee or for the Training and Education Committee. Institute By-Laws and policies require that members of these committees be selected from members of the Board of Directors and/or the designated individual from the Chair of the Regional Training Committee, respectively. However, members may indicate their interest in the position of Chair of the Training and Education Committee by filling out the appropriate form by clicking the following link: Nomination Form

Note 4: Only volunteers who have complied with the due-process call for nominations and have adhered to the prescribed timelines, shall be deemed to be eligible candidates.

Application Process

Volunteers are limited to applying to 2 Standing Committees of the Board and must indicate their preferences in priority order.  

Fill out the prescribed form by clicking on the following link: Application form. The instruction process for applying is listed below:

Note: To be able to fill out the application, you must log in to Google with your PIPSC email account.

• Clearly identify the committee(s) by title.  If requesting to volunteer on 2 committees, rank these in order of preference.
• Indicate your Group and Region.
• State whether you are applying as Chair, Member or Friend. 

Note 5: As a condition of your appointment to one of the committees, you may be required to sign a confidentiality agreement and a conflict of interest declaration confirming that, as a member of a committee, you will declare any perceived or real conflict of interest or with the issues discussed within the committee. In addition, you may be required to make yourself available for committee meetings at short notice, in accordance with the applicable By-Laws. 

Note 6: If you are not selected as Chair, you will automatically be considered as a member or as a friend.

Note 7: A “friend” of a committee is a member interested in the activities of the committee, but who is unable to participate as an active member.  Note that there are no “friends” on the Executive Compensation Committee, the Elections Committee, the Elections Appeal Committee, or the Finance Committee.

• List any Committees of the Board on which you served for the past 5 years
• Include a brief rationale (on the prescribed form) outlining the reasons why you wish to be considered and what you would bring to the work of the committee you are applying for 

Deadline

The deadline for expressions of interest is no later than  Monday, October 6, 2025.

Information

Please consult the information on the Selection Process and Selection Criteria by following these links: 

Committees of the Board, Institute By-Laws and Policy on Committees of the Board of Directors.

If you have any questions, please contact us at: governance@pipsc.ca.

Nomination Forms

Application form

Nomination Form (for Chair of the Training and Education Committee)
 

Committees of the Board

• By-Laws and Policies Committee
• Elections Appeals Committee
• Elections Committee
• Executive Compensation Committee
• Finance Committee
• Human Rights and Diversity Committee
• Information Technology Services and Projects Committee
• Professional Recognition and Qualifications Committee
• Science Advisory Committee
• Training, Education and Mentoring Committee

OTTAWA, September 4,  2025 — The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) is sounding the alarm over federal government cuts at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

Unofficial notification of a work force adjustment (WFA) at PHAC was sent to PIPSC on August 25. While those affected will not know their individual status until later in September, it is clear that critical public health expertise is being eliminated.

PHAC was established to enhance Canada’s ability to prevent and control outbreaks, manage infectious diseases, and protect the health of Canadians. The proposed cuts will affect staff across PHAC, including operations at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg — Canada’s only facility of its kind and a recognized global leader in emergency preparedness. The lab’s vital work in research, diagnostic testing, disease surveillance, and containment plays a critical role in both national and international biosecurity. 

“Eliminating public health positions while Canada’s healthcare system is already stretched to the breaking point leaves Canada dangerously unprepared for the next health crisis and puts lives at risk,” said PIPSC President Sean O’Reilly. “These cuts will pile even more pressure onto the system, while stripping away vital programs that millions benefit from — from Lyme disease research and vaccination programs, to suicide crisis hotlines and chronic disease prevention.”

This work force adjustment is part of the federal government’s Budget Refocusing Exercise. Similar work force adjustments are being implemented across the federal public service to meet spending reduction targets. The government is also directing upwards of 15% public service spending cuts under its Comprehensive Expenditure Review. 

"These are cuts on top of cuts. Work force adjustments and public service cuts have become the government's go-to solution for meeting spending targets, but you can't cut your way to a stronger Canada,” said O’Reilly. “This is Harper-era austerity –– or worse –– dressed in a red tie.”

PIPSC represents over 85,000 public-sector professionals across the country, most of them employed by the federal government. Follow us on Facebook, on X (formerly known as Twitter) and on Instagram.

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For more information: Johanne Fillion, 613-883-4900 (mobile), jfillion@pipsc.ca

Supporting Gender Transition at Work: An Updated Guide for PIPSC Members and Managers was developed to promote gender-inclusion across the Canadian public service. Created in collaboration with union leaders and PIPSC subject matter experts, the guide offers practical resources, tools, and best practices for building workplaces where queer, trans and Two-Spirit workers feel safe and welcome.

READ THE GUIDE

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) stands in full solidarity with the 5,400 Air Canada flight attendants represented by the  Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) who have been forced to issue a strike notice due to their employer's refusal to address fundamental workplace fairness issues.

This labour dispute represents more than just a contract negotiation – it's about the basic principle that workers should be paid for all the time they spend on the job. For too long, Air Canada flight attendants have performed unpaid work, a practice that undermines the dignity of work and sets a dangerous precedent across all sectors of the Canadian economy.

The stark reality that union locals have had to establish food banks in their own offices for junior flight attendants who cannot afford groceries exposes the human cost of corporate greed. No worker in Canada should face the choice between paying rent and buying food, especially while performing essential safety duties that protect the travelling public.

Air Canada's response to reasonable proposals for fair wages and compensation for all work performed reveals a troubling pattern. Rather than engaging in good-faith bargaining, the company has chosen to refuse to pay workers for all time spent on duty, offered wage increases that don't even match inflation, and appealed to the federal government to strip workers of their Charter-protected right to collective action.

This corporate strategy of using government intervention to avoid bargaining responsibilities threatens the fundamental rights of all Canadian workers, including PIPSC members across the federal public service.

The issues at stake in this dispute extend far beyond the airline industry. When employers can avoid paying for all work performed and rely on government intervention to suppress collective bargaining rights, it weakens the position of workers across all sectors.

As public service professionals, PIPSC members understand the importance of essential services and fair compensation for the skilled work we perform. We recognize these same principles in the fight of Air Canada flight attendants, who ensure passenger safety while facing poverty-level wages.

PIPSC proudly stands with our sisters and brothers at CUPE in their fight for workplace justice. Their struggle is our struggle, and their victory strengthens the labour movement for all working Canadians.

Until negotiations between CUPE and Air Canada are resolved, PIPSC members and staff should be advised that: 

• no further travel bookings will be made with Air Canada for PIPSC members or staff travel
• existing bookings with Air Canada may proceed as planned
• a finance administrator may contact you to provide an alternative booking for your existing Air Canada travel itinerary 
• any PIPSC members who are contractually required to report to work at an airport with a picket line should request their manager to provide safe passage through it

TELL AIR CANADA: UNPAID WORK IS A TRUE CRIME

Now is the time to invest in, not dismantle, Canada’s public service infrastructure. While the new government promised “caps, not cuts,” it has simultaneously introduced a directive to cut as much as 15% over three years. 

As the world navigates economic and environmental uncertainty, Canadians need public services they can rely on – services that have been the backbone of national strength and stability for generations. 

We’re calling on the government to keep its promises and take steps to strengthen the public service because Canadians need security and stability now more than ever. 

Reject cuts

Past austerity measures have undermined health care, environmental protections and public safety. Repeating those mistakes today will jeopardize critical public services, raise unemployment, and weaken our country’s ability to respond to crises, from inflation to climate disasters. Cutting so much so quickly would add another destabilizing shock to our country, but unlike the others, this one would be a deliberate choice.  

The government can find savings by decreasing reliance on external consultants and getting rid of unneeded office space by expanding flexible telework arrangements.

Focus on long-term problem solving, not band-aid solutions

The government repeatedly applies short-sighted band-aids to deep structural issues. Instead, it must address the underlying structures, processes and culture flaws that enable issues to grow out of control in the first place. We’re calling for reforms that empower professionals and reward innovation and agility over risk avoidance. 

Adopt AI responsibly

AI should support, not replace, public sector jobs. We’re proposing a Canada-wide strategy for regulating AI, protecting worker rights and maintaining democratic integrity.

Rein in outsourcing

The 2025–2026 budget estimates show spending on outsourcing professional services is on track to hit a record high. That’s unacceptable from a government that pledged to curb outsourcing, let alone one that is cutting full-time public sector jobs. We’re demanding real accountability: transparency measures to track and rein in outsourcing, smarter hiring practices, and renewed investment in upskilling the existing workforce. Cuts must start with consultants—not the public servants who deliver for Canadians.

Rebuild scientific capacity and integrity

Years of political interference and underfunding have taken a toll on public science. We need renewed investment in research, gender equity in STEM, and strong scientific integrity policies to ensure evidence-based decision-making at all levels of government. 

Read the full report below for PIPSC’s detailed recommendations and analysis. 

Read the report

On August 1, 1834, the Slavery Abolition Act ended over 250 years of enslavement throughout the British Empire. This freedom was not granted; it was fought for through decades of resistance by enslaved people, abolitionists, and allies who refused to accept that human beings could be property.

Across what is now Canada, newly freed communities immediately organized celebrations that became powerful acts of resistance against ongoing racism and segregation. These Emancipation Day events strengthened Black communities, exposed injustice, and celebrated hard-won freedom while fighting for true equality.

To our Black members: this day honours your ancestors' struggle and recognizes your continued fight against systemic barriers. Your presence in the federal public service carries forward that legacy of breaking down walls and demanding justice.

At PIPSC, we represent the professionals who preserve our nation's memory – including the archivists and researchers in the Research (RE) Group at institutions like Library and Archives Canada. These dedicated public servants know a troubling truth: when budget cuts come, it's rarely the stories of the powerful that disappear first. It's the testimonies of enslaved people, the records of Indigenous resistance, and the documentation of marginalized communities fighting back.

This erasure is not accidental. Throughout history, controlling the narrative has meant controlling the future. When we underfund archival work, we participate in a deliberate act of forgetting that serves only those who benefit from injustice.

The celebrations that began in 1834 continue today because communities understood that remembering is survival. Our members who preserve these records don't just catalogue documents – they wage a daily battle against historical erasure, ensuring that voices silenced in life are not silenced again in death.

A Call to Action:

On this Emancipation Day, PIPSC calls on all our members – Black members and allies alike – to join us in defending the institutions and professionals who safeguard marginalized voices. Whether you work in archives, research, policy, or any other field, you have a role to play:

• advocate for adequate funding for historical preservation and research
• support your colleagues who do this vital work
• speak up when you see attempts to minimize or erase difficult histories
• remember that preserving truth is an act of resistance

The freedom achieved on August 1, 1834, came through collective action. Protecting the record of that struggle – and all struggles for justice – requires collective action too.

PIPSC stands with all our members in this essential fight to ensure that no voice is lost to history.