It is with a profound sense of sorrow and regret that the Institute informs you of the untimely passing of our friend and colleague Kal Sahota, BC/Yukon Regional Director. Kal’s commitment to PIPSC members was deep and unwavering. We will miss him very much. 

Kal served Institute members with distinction in a number of capacities for two decades, notably as a union steward in Vancouver.  In 2014, he was awarded BC/Yukon Steward of the Year.

For years, Kal served as a member of the AFS Executive and Bargaining Team, as well on the PIPSC Finance Committee and AFS Employment Equity Committee.

Kal was also President of the Vancouver CRA Branch.  In November 2021, he was elected to serve on the PIPSC Board of Directors as BC/Yukon Regional Director, beginning January 1, 2022.   

PIPSC extends its condolences to Kal’s family and to the many friends who were privileged to know him.

Funeral: Thursday, August 25, 2022 at 1:00pm at Riverside Funeral Home in 7410 Hopcott Road, Delta, British Columbia.  

Members have created a ‘living legacy’ by planting hundreds of trees across Canada to celebrate PIPSC’s 100^th anniversary.

The trees represent PIPSC members’ ongoing contributions and commitment to assure a strong and healthy future for Canadians.

PIPSC members are proud to promote environmental stewardship, which is more important than ever as we attempt to address the climate crisis by reducing our carbon footprint.

Like PIPSC members who serve Canadians in many ways, trees offer immense value to help Canadians enjoy a better and sustainable future.

PIPSC partnered with Tree Canada, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to planting and nurturing trees. For 25 years, they’ve engaged communities, governments, corporations and individuals in the pursuit of a greener and healthier living environment for Canadians.

Since 1920, PIPSC members have held important roles in collecting data that has confirmed we’re facing a climate crisis. Whether it’s surveying the health of our forests, mapping the stars or protecting the vitality of our marine ecosystems, the services provided by PIPSC members are services that all Canadians rely on.

It is with great sadness that the Institute learned that Judith King passed away on December 4, 2021.

Born in Ottawa to proud members of the federal public service, Judith served Institute members with distinction as an Employment Relations Officer from 1980 to 2005.  

With great composure, Judith was meticulous, methodical and fierce in her advocacy for what was just.

Her sharp intellect, critical thinking, tireless work ethic, and innate human benevolence earned not only the respect of her colleagues, but resoundingly impacted the outcome of favourable resolution throughout her career, improving the lives of many.

Institute members and staff extend their heartfelt condolences to Maureen’s family and friends, and especially Judith’s sister, Maureen, who was also a long-serving member of the PIPSC staff.

On June 2, 2022, Ontario voters re-elected the Ford Conservatives. While this is not the result we were hoping for, it is the reality we face together. We must continue our fight for fair wage increases for our members.

June 2022 marks the 3rd anniversary of Ford’s Bill 124. Bill 124 limits collective bargaining wage increases to 1% per year for 3 years for all Ontario public servants. This includes essential hospital workers.

We refuse to accept Bill 124. 

“My top priority is restoring the right to bargain a fair collective agreement.” said President Jennifer Carr, “Our members have worked tirelessly to provide care and treatment for vulnerable patients throughout the pandemic – Bill 124 completely ignores their hard work.” 

We are working with the Ontario Federations of Labour, other unions to challenge this bill. We have also supported the Ontario Health Coaltion’s efforts to raise awareness healthcare privatization throughout the election campaign. Together we are fighting to restore collective bargaining rights through a constitutional challenge to Bill 124.

It must be repealed.

Our members have provided essential services to Ontarians. We will not stop fighting for you until you get the respect, and wages, you deserve.

PIPSC has partnered with the Future Skills Centre on a new project, Navigar, to help members understand, prepare for, and make the most of opportunities to advance their careers. 

With this new PIPSC initiative, members will have access to evidence-based research and insight into how their careers are changing. It will recommend relevant and accessible training opportunities to keep members ahead of changes in their jobs.

As a thank you, each member who answers will be entered into a draw to win 1 of 40 $25 Tim Hortons gift cards.

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The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) has released its latest guidance on the hybrid workforce.

PIPSC and the other federal public service unions submitted recommendations to the TBS on this issue earlier this year, as part of ongoing discussions around this future public service model – one that TBS President Mona Fortier has publicly committed to.

While the guidance focuses on telework, it is unfortunately based on the current policy that was developed pre-pandemic. We have been pushing the Treasury Board for over 2 years to provide a full, clear and consistent definition of the hybrid workforce. We expected a more substantial document that took our recommendations into account.

At a time when businesses, organizations and other unions across the country have started to embrace the new normal of 21^st century work – a model that includes remote work – the government is showing that it lacks flexibility and remains stuck in a pre-pandemic mentality.

Its failure to evolve means it risks falling behind – and it will likely result in losing experienced public service professionals who will take their talents to employers that better embrace this new way of working.

A recent PIPSC survey found that a majority of our members preferred to continue working from home:

• Over 60% prefer full-time telework
• Over 25% prefer a hybrid model
• 11% prefer returning to the workplace full time, with some flexibility to work occasionally from home

The survey also found that 60% of members indicated they can do all of their work from home. 25% said that most of their work can be done from home. Only 3% said that they cannot work from home.

We need to ensure that access to hybrid and telework arrangements is provided equitably, accommodates member preferences, and is approved without bias or unreasonable criteria. Accessibility and accommodations need to be considered. Home office expenses such as high-speed internet should be paid by the employer.

In addition, measures are needed to protect the right to disconnect and work-life balance. Departments and agencies must be transparent and work with our representatives on their plans to open up worksites. They must respect collective agreements and all applicable legislation.

Finally, there needs to be a clear plan and approach to open offices. Workplace strategies like hot-desking and hotelling need to be re-examined. 

We will continue to push the Treasury Board to improve and deliver on its commitment to a remote and hybrid work model. We will keep our members updated on a regular basis.

1. Fairer taxation and investing in the Canada Revenue Agency: 
PIPSC members at the centre of solutions

We have long advocated for increased tax fairness and investing in the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to go after tax avoiders.

Budget 2022 makes banks and insurance companies pay a little bit more through a 1.5% increase in their corporate income tax rate and a 15% one-time tax on taxable income over $1 billion. That will mean $6.1 billion in new revenue over the next 5 years through fairer taxation. 

The budget also provides $1.2 billion for the CRA over the next 5 years to go after tax cheats and close tax loopholes. This is welcome news. Properly resourcing the CRA to go after tax cheats has been a central demand in our tax fairness campaign. 

All told, action on a fairer tax system is budgeted to raise $16 billion in revenues over the next 5 years. To every member who took action, this win is yours!

Yet, there is so much more to do. While the government has made a new commitment to examine a minimum tax regime, we still have a long way to go to achieve tax fairness. It’s time to change the game – you can learn more about our work on Tax Fairness here.

2. Strategic policy review:
Must not impact the level of services we deliver to Canadians

The past 2 years have shown how vital public service professionals are to Canada. When COVID-19 hit, PIPSC members were ready. You quickly pivoted to working remotely while getting critical new programs running in record time. Public service employees worked on health services, vaccines, research, and keeping our food supply safe.

The surprise announcement of a “Strategic Policy Review” – with projected revenues of up to $6 billion – is a concern to all Canadians who rely on public services. 

We all remember Harper’s strategic spending review. The Conservative government cut services for veterans, people on EI, and so many other Canadians while going after the jobs of 19,000 public servants.

We have serious questions about this review. And we will ensure the review is focused on making government work better – not making the public service smaller. 

3. Mental health supports for Black public service workers:
A positive step, but more must be done to make workplaces equitable and inclusive 

Budget 2022 provides $3.7 million over 4 years for a Mental Health Fund for Black federal public service workers. The program will operate through the Treasury Board but promises Black-led engagement, design, and implementation. 

This is the result of the strong advocacy of Black members of the Public Service. PIPSC along with other allies support the fight for the government to acknowledge the reality of systemic anti-Black racism in the public sector. Action must be taken to remedy the systemic issues that create discriminatory workplaces.

This is a positive step forward, but there’s more work to be done to create more equitable, diverse, and inclusive workplaces.

4. Public Sector Pension Investment Board:
Workers getting seats at the table

Another positive step forward in Budget 2022 was the expansion of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board from 11 to 13 members – adding 2 seats for representatives from public service unions. The government has promised to consult all federal bargaining agents to establish a fair process for selecting the new members. 

Many of us were shocked to learn that our pension plan is the sole owner of Revera Inc – a company that runs long-term care facilities for profit. We don’t want our pension to make money this way. 

Your pension protects your future. You work hard now, and your deferred salary needs to be there when you retire. We’re pleased to see that unions now have a seat at the table.

5. Science and research funding:
Some progress, but still well short of restoring Harper-era cuts

Budget 2022 invests $183.2 million over 7 years in the National Research Council (NRC) for low-carbon construction research. It also invests $144.4 million over 5 years to the NRC and Natural Resources to support research and development around critical minerals. 

The budget also includes a new initiative to explore ways to modernize the NRC and better integrate it with the work of “university researchers and business partners.” Further information will follow as there were no details included. PIPSC will continue to monitor this initiative to ensure public funds support public research.

Budget 2020 commits $34.6 million over 5 years towards Canada’s ability to protect our research, including establishing a Research Security Centre to provide advice and guidance to research institutions. These initiatives are part of a larger investment of $159.6 million next year and $33.4 million annually to protect Canada’s research and intellectual property from foreign threats.

Other new research investments in Budget 2022 include:

• $40.9 million over 5 years to the federal granting councils to support promising Black student researchers.
• $14.5 million over 5 years to support the Canadian High Arctic Research Station.
• $12 million over 2 years for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to investigate the latest detection of potato wart and help prevent its spread.

Overall we are happy to see that support for the broader Canadian science and research ecosystem remains a government priority. However, the cuts to public service science and research from the Harper era run so deep that this does not heal the wounds. Time and more details will show how much this budget supports the federal government’s own scientists and researchers.

6. Review of the Public Service Disclosure Protection Act:
Improving protection for whistleblowers in the public service

Budget 2022 commits $2.4 million over 5 years to a review of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act with the goal of providing better protection for whistleblowers. 

We look forward to working with the Treasury Board on making sure this review leads to concrete improvements and stronger protections for whistleblowers – people who, at great personal risk, provide an invaluable service and help make government work better for Canadians.