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.

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 REPORT 

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.

The Liberal government just broke their first promise to federal public servants – and PIPSC is going to the wall to defend what matters.

Following up on President Sean O'Reilly's email to members last Friday, PIPSC's Board of Directors met in an emergency session this week and took decisive action. The Board unanimously condemned Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne's directive for 7.5%, 10%, and 15% spending cuts and authorized significant resources to launch a comprehensive public advocacy campaign.

A promise torched

Let's not forget: this government ran on a promise of "caps, not cuts." That promise has been torched. These aren't caps or "efficiencies" – they're deep, dangerous cuts that put jobs and critical public services at risk. What we're seeing is the most devastating attack on the federal public service in a generation – Harper-style austerity with a red logo slapped on.

Fighting on all fronts

As outlined in our message to members last Friday, PIPSC is mobilizing on all fronts to fight these cuts:

Labour Relations: Our consultation teams are pushing back and demanding to be part of the solution at Union-Management Consultation Committees in each department, where proposals will need to be submitted by late August. They are demanding clear and advanced communication to all employees by the Employer. We are prepared to ensure the Employer respects our collective agreements and will not let violations go unchallenged. Your consultation teams are there to answer questions and to hear your thoughts. FAQs and Webinar recordings are available here to learn more about the workforce adjustment process.

Government Relations: We're booking meetings and making phone calls, taking your message directly to MPs and Ministers. The message is clear: these cuts cannot stand – they will hurt constituents and could cost politicians their seats.

Public Affairs: We're taking this fight public because Canadians didn't vote to gut frontline protections and services. These cuts threaten the scientists who keep drinking water safe, the experts who warn before wildfires strike, and the inspectors who prevent deadly food outbreaks.

Board action: real resources for real results

The Board has now authorized significant resources to fight these cuts on every front. The Board has allocated funding for a comprehensive public advocacy campaign that includes:

• a national advertising campaign across multiple platforms
• targeted outreach to decision-makers and stakeholders
• ongoing advocacy to strengthen support for public services

These cuts are not inevitable

Let's be blunt: this government is doing this without a budget, without a vote in Parliament, and without a shred of transparency or democratic accountability. No debate. No public input. No consultation with unions. Just a backroom directive.

But here's what we also know: resistance works. Public pressure works. Remember that public backlash helped sink Harper's government. The Liberals know they could be next if Canadians realize what they're about to lose.

These cuts pose the biggest threat we've faced together in almost 20 years, and the Board has made fighting them our #1 priority. These cuts are not inevitable – they're a political choice, and we won't let this government quietly dismantle what generations of public servants have built.

The message to Prime Minister Carney

If Prime Minister Carney thinks he can scapegoat public servants to cover for flailing trade talks, he's got another thing coming. We know that public servants aren't an expense line – they are the engine of delivery for the programs and services Canadians depend on.

Standing together

As we move forward with this campaign, we will continue to keep members informed about our advocacy efforts and opportunities for you to get involved. This is the biggest fight we've faced together in almost 20 years, but we can and will win.

The Board has committed significant funding to ensure this campaign reaches every corner of the country. We are prepared to use every tool at our disposal to defend public services, protect our members' jobs, and hold this government accountable for breaking their promises.

We're going to fight these cuts tooth and nail – and we're just getting started

This week, we watched fires and floods force people from their homes. At the same time, governments pushed forward laws to fast-track pipelines, mines, and ports. They call this the national interest. We ask what kind of interest ignores the land, the people, and the voices of Indigenous Nations.

Canada is in a climate crisis. Projects that harm the land continue without real consultation. Bills like C-5 and Bill 5 were created without including Indigenous Peoples. These laws ignore treaty rights and break Canada’s promise to follow the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

We support the First Nations who are standing up in court. Alderville, Apitipi Anicinapek, Aroland, Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, Ginoogaming, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Oneida Nation of the Thames, and Wabauskang are protecting the land and their rights.

We are Indigenous public servants. We know what happens when governments make decisions without listening. It causes harm. It creates mistrust. It does not reflect reconciliation.

We call on all governments to stop and listen. Indigenous Peoples must be part of decisions from the start. Respect for the land must guide every step forward.

CHALK RIVER, ON, July 11, 2025 — Members of the Chalk River Professional Employee Group (CRPEG)—represented by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC)—have voted to ratify their tentative agreement with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), bringing their historic labour dispute to a successful conclusion.

The ratification vote concluded today at noon, with CRPEG's 800+ nuclear scientists and engineers voting to accept the agreement that includes hard-fought improvements over CNL's original offers.

"Our members have spoken, and they've chosen to accept an agreement that recognizes their professional value and the critical work they do for Canada," said CRPEG President Jonathan Fitzpatrick. "This victory demonstrates the power of standing together and fighting for what's right."

The ratified agreement includes improvements secured through the union's historic strike action:

• $2 million increase to company-wide benefits program, benefiting all CNL employees (the first in 25 years)
• $1,700 lump sum payment to every CRPEG member
• 10.5% salary increases over three years with improved distribution (4.0% in 2024, 4.0% in 2025, and 2.5% in 2026)

The five-day selective strike marked the first PIPSC strike action in over 30 years and demonstrated the critical importance of CRPEG members' work in ensuring nuclear reactor safety, managing radioactive waste, and conducting nuclear medicine research.

"This agreement shows what's possible when professional workers stand together," said PIPSC President Sean O'Reilly. "Despite facing aggressive tactics from CNL, our members stayed strong and secured gains that benefit not just CRPEG, but all workers at the facility."

CRPEG members will return to their vital work ensuring Canada's nuclear safety and security. Their expertise supports reactor operations, radioactive waste management, environmental remediation, and nuclear medicine research that serves Canadians across the country.

The agreement concludes a dispute that began when the previous collective agreement expired on December 31, 2023, following 18 months of negotiations.

PIPSC's unfair labour practice complaint regarding CNL's cancellation of vacation leave perceived by members as retaliation for opting to exercise their right to strike continues through the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

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