President Debi Daviau presented the Institute’s 2021 Gold Medal to PIPSC member Dr. Sean Li to recognize his pioneering work in the field of vaccine research that has been instrumental in the international fight against viruses and pandemics, including COVID-19.  Dr. Li is a Senior Research Scientist and Head of the Vaccine Research Lab at Health Canada.

Dr. Li developed the world’s first universal antibody-based test for the detection of antigens of influenza viruses. He also evaluates the factors that explain the development of immunization effects in vaccines and the risks of unwanted reactions. His expertise is sought by the World Health Organization, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical industries around the world.

The Professional Institute established the Gold Medal Award program in 1937 to recognize professional public service employees whose outstanding work has led to the improvement and enhancement of public well-being.  The program promotes greater awareness of the role and value of professional public services in Canada and globally.

President Debi Daviau presented awards to deserving members for their exemplary and inspiring leadership, and thanked the members of the Award Selection Panel – Chair Bert Crossman, Ralph Herman, and Nita Saville – for reviewing the nominations and for recommending these laureates.

Life Membership Award

The Life Membership Award recognizes outstanding service of enduring value to the Institute by a regular or retired member of the Institute who has demonstrated leadership for at least ten years.

Stephen Bent (AFS)

Ginette Tardif (SH)

David Young (NR)

President’s Achievement Award

The President’s Achievement Award recognizes members who have promoted professionalism by demonstrating innovative initiative and who have made an exceptional contribution under extraordinary circumstances. 

Award

Dr. Galal Ali (CS)

Dr. Ming Hou (RE)

Institute Service Award  

The Institute Service Award recognizes outstanding service over a significant period of time, above and beyond that which might be expected of any devoted member who has served on many constituent body executives.

Eva Henshaw (CS)

Claude Lord (NFB)

Rob Macdonald (SP)

Colin Muise (SH)

Chris Roach (AFS)

Central Bargaining Team:

Dr. Mehren Alaee (RE) posthumous award; Adam Fenwick (SH); Stéphanie Fréchette (CFIA-S&A); Dale Hudson (NR); Kim McGuire (CP); Dr. Louis Poirier (NRC-RO-RCO); Elizabeth Ptasznik (SP); Robert Scott (CS); Robert Trudeau (AFS); Suzelle Brosseau, negotiator; Ryan Campbell, economist

Please visit the Awards page to learn more about the nomination process.

We are stronger together.

Learn more about the accomplishments and continuous work of Canada’s largest union of professional employees in this year’s annual report.

Read the report

The report includes a message from President Debi Daviau addressing some of 2021’s most pressing issues including the COVID-19 response, bargaining, Phoenix, protecting pensions, defending public science, and more.

A report from Chief Operating Officer and Executive Secretary Edward Gillis outlines how PIPSC kept our strategic focus and invested in the bold and ambitious plans that our members demanded of us.

We condemn the New Brunswick government’s ban on territorial acknowledgements by government employees.

Whether it’s supporting Indigenous History Month, Indigenous Day Live, or the PIPSC Indigenous Caucus, our members regularly take action for reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

Territorial acknowledgements are an important part of this action. We call on Hugh Fleming, New Brunswick Minister of Justice, to immediately cancel this decision. Union members should be allowed to acknowledge the Indigenous territory on which they work.

Contact a steward at your workplace if you face disciplinary measures for using territorial acknowledgements.

We stand in solidarity with the Indigenous peoples of New Brunswick. We also add our voice to the New Brunswick Federation of Labour who called on the New Brunswick government to reverse this directive.

Hugo has been active in the union for over ten years. He is now a steward and delegate for the PIPSC CS group and has been engaged in many projects and campaigns. He believes that there are a variety of ways of being involved and supporting the union, sometimes it’s even as simple as speaking up about what you need in your workplace.

“Our union is not a company that provides services. Our union is an organization that is there for us and it’s driven by the engagement of members,” he says. “By getting involved at different levels, we can stay close to our members. We can ensure that the decisions and actions taken by the union are based on what members want. But, this takes all our engagement.”

Hugo is passionate about meeting the needs of fellow union members – providing information, advocating in the workplace, giving training and encouraging everyone to make their voices heard.

“I’m most proud of my work as a steward to make sure every person is having a good experience,” he says. “When the members are happy and having a good work experience they can have a bigger impact on improving the public service.”

“We can make a difference in the lives of individuals. As a result, we can make a difference in government systems to make workplaces safer and better for every worker,” he says.

Hugo studied Computer Engineering at the University of Sherbrooke before becoming a computer systems analyst at Environment and Climate Change Canada in Montreal. As a child, Hugo was always interested in the latest technologies and developments in engineering which eventually formed his career path and passion.

As a High Performance Computing Application Supervisor, Hugo works on digital models that predict, amongst other things, the paths of forest fires and the concentration of air pollutants. This data is essential for evidence-based decision making that saves peoples’ lives.

In a lot of ways, Hugo sees how the advocacy work he does with the union has a domino effect that ripples from coast to
coast to coast.

“A better Canada has more equity and justice. It means providing people with access to important resources without leaving their pockets empty,” he says. “We don’t just represent our members, but we represent a good portion of the population that has similar issues.”

When we fight for our pensions, we are also fighting for retirement security for all people in Canada. When we push for fair contracts, we are raising the bar for all workers. When we take a stand for pharmacare, it’s in solidarity with workers without health benefits.

Unions must be a part of the movements that improve human rights and the rights of all workers. The strength of our union is found in members like Hugo who stand up for workers’ issues and who make a difference in the everyday lives of people across Canada.
 

On October 26, 2021 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his new cabinet. PIPSC welcomes the appointment of the Honourable Mona Fortier as the new President of the Treasury Board.

As the Member of Parliament who represents the riding of Ottawa-Vanier, Minister Fortier has a good understanding of the experiences and challenges faced by professional public service employees, many of whom are her constituents. When the Phoenix fiasco first made headlines, she reached out to us to see how she could help with the situation. We welcomed her engagement at the time, and we will continue to brief her on public service issues from the perspective of our members.

Once the next PIPSC president has been elected, we will be asking for a meeting to discuss our union’s current priorities: flexible work arrangements for our members, safe workplaces, and bargaining (which may potentially start as early as February 2022).

We look forward to a productive and consultative relationship with Minister Fortier.

As workplaces and jobs change, our new application will mean professionals can access trailblazing research, gain valuable insights on how societal changes will impact their jobs, and access professional development opportunities that can help them advance their careers.

An opinion by Debi Daviau

Two years ago, who could have imagined that the tens of thousands of public servants who normally work at locations such as Place du Portage would now be working from their living rooms, bedrooms, and dining room tables? Anticipating changes to labour markets and equipping workers with the new skills needed to adapt to dynamically shifting workplaces is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, writes Debi Daviau. The Hill Times

There are many lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, but surely the greatest lesson is the need to be better prepared. The next crisis is coming and whether it's a cyber security breach, a health crisis, or climate related, our public service must be ready.

To handle these future crises and be prepared to deal with pervasive societal changes, Canada needs a well-trained and resilient public service. Canada's public service has been recognized as one of most effective worldwide, but we need to continue to up-skill public servants so that we can be ready the next time a crisis hits. The reality is that most employers, including the Government of Canada, have not yet begun to seriously address the challenges of rapidly changing workplaces and evolving technologies, like automation and AI. The public service needs to prepare now and gain a better understanding of what skills are needed for the jobs of the future and what kind of training do public servants require.

Change is now the norm for our workplaces and Canada's public service is no exception. Two ago, who could have imagined that the tens of thousands of public servants who normally work at Tunney's Pasture, Place du Portage, and Brooke Claxton would now be working from their living rooms, bedrooms, and dining room tables? Anticipating changes to labour markets and equipping workers with the new skills needed to adapt to dynamically shifting workplaces is one of the most pressing challenges of our time.

To rise to these challenges, employers, workers, governments, and unions must all work together on innovative, new, long-term solutions.

For our part, the Professional Institute for the Public Service (PIPSC) is seeking to use the latest cutting-edge technologies to help Canada's professional public service prepare to succeed in the face of the swirling forces of technological, social, environmental, and economic change. We want to help our members access the career advice and skills they need to thrive professionally and provide exceptional service to Canadians.

With a new investment of $2.6-million from the Future Skills Centre (FSC), PIPSC is now developing a novel tool to help train and educate professional public servants. As workplaces and jobs change, our new application will mean professionals can access trailblazing research, gain valuable insights on how societal changes will impact their jobs, and access professional development opportunities that can help them advance their careers.

We have heard time and again from our members that they want to improve their skills and be prepared for technological change-like growing automation and AI. Our research showed an overwhelming majority-70 per cent of our members-expressed a strong desire for better educational and professional development opportunities. Professional public servants are looking for help to start developing the skills today that will make them successful in tomorrow's workplace.

PIPSC is looking to engage the government in a spirit of collaboration around future workplace planning and addressing the pressing challenge of reskilling and upskilling the public service. The work we are doing will help make sure Canada's professional public service is ready to flourish and meet the next crisis, head on.

Remember, when our public service succeeds, that means the Government of Canada is succeeding in providing everyday Canadians with the services they rely on. Today, tomorrow, and into the future. That is something we should all get behind.

Debi Daviau is president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada

Originally posted on The Hill Times on October 13, 2021.

The Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) is conducting a survey on its communications. We encourage members to share their experiences to help the PSHCP improve its website, newsletters and social media presence.

Take the survey

The Public Service Health Care Plan is an employer-paid healthcare plan that covers most PIPSC members in the core public administration and at separate employers.

As you’ve probably heard by now, the Treasury Board Secretariat has released the final version of its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for all federal public servants, including the RCMP.

We encourage you to review the full details of the policy so that you understand how it affects you.

The Prime Minister announced that Crown corporations, agencies, and other employers in the federal public service will be expected to implement mirror policies, but the Treasury Board has clarified that this policy will not immediately apply to them.

As the union representing the scientists who approved the COVID-19 vaccines, PIPSC welcomes all efforts to increase vaccination coverage in Canada. That includes a vaccine policy that makes vaccines more accessible to our members and accommodates legitimate reasons for which an employee may not be vaccinated.

While an employer can’t force employees to get vaccinated, it can encourage vaccination and even make it a condition of work in certain jobs.

The consultation process with the Treasury Board was rushed and unsatisfactory. Nevertheless, we must work with the policy in its current form.

The consequences for non-compliance are very serious. Our primary concern is ensuring that all PIPSC members are in compliance, either by becoming vaccinated or by receiving accommodation in accordance with the policy.

The policy allows for accommodations in a few specific cases:

• a certified medical contraindication
• religion
• another prohibited ground for discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act

Here’s what you need to do to comply with the policy:

1. If you are not already vaccinated, make an appointment as soon as possible
2. Submit your attestation of vaccination as instructed by your department or agency
3. If you need accommodation, use the tools provided by your department or agency to request one

If your request for accommodation is unreasonably denied, our employment relations experts will then be able to review your individual case and offer recommendations. Please use this special vaccination help form to request help only after your accommodation request has been denied.

Some of you have expressed privacy concerns about providing your attestation of vaccination or other personal medical information to your employer. We will be diligently monitoring this issue to ensure your personal information is protected.

Thank you for your cooperation and patience as we work to ensure all PIPSC members are treated fairly and respectfully.