Messages for employees only – Employment and Social Development Canada

Dear colleagues,

This #ThankYouThursday, we are excited to share that the Toronto North York Flagship Service Canada Centre (Flagship SCC) has won the International Social Security Association's (ISSA) Americas Good Practice Award 2023 Certificate of Merit.

It is a testament to Service Canada, Ontario Region's exceptional leadership in delivering innovative and service-oriented solutions to clients. Winning it is no easy feat.

With more than 320 member institutions from over 160 countries, the triannual competition received 163 entries from 33 member institutions in 17 countries this year.

"I would like to express my sincere congratulations to you and your colleagues on this important achievement for your institution," Marcelo Abi-Ramina Caetano, ISSA secretary general wrote to ESDC.

In planning the Flagship SCC, Ontario Region engaged stakeholders and community experts, such as the Inclusive Service Advisory Network (ISAN), who helped identify barriers to accessibility and offered solutions for clients. It also collaborated with partners at Public Services and Procurement Canada and Shared Services Canada. The Flagship SCC is the first of its kind, maximizing technology to move from a traditional, stationary service delivery model to a high-tech, high-touch approach.

The Flagship SCC introduced Roving Citizen Services Officers, empowering staff to move from behind the counter to meet clients in their space. They are equipped with branded Service Canada vests, Wi-Fi enabled tablets, radio headsets, and workstations on wheels, allowing them to proactively greet and triage clients as they arrive, or when they require assistance throughout the centre.

The Flagship SCC also has BlindSquare beacons and tactile flooring to help visually impaired clients navigate the office. Digital signage is also found throughout the office to enhance client flow. Workstations are supplied with Video Remote Interpretation, providing on-demand access to sign language interpreters over video chat for hearing impaired clients.

The Flagship SCC demonstrates our commitment to continually improve our service. Service Canada, Ontario Region, you've made this award a reality through your dedication and hard work. You make us all proud!

Thank you for your continued contributions – Let's celebrate this achievement together.

But hold on, the ISSA did not stop with recognizing the Flagship SCC. There is another award that we will share with you shortly. Stay tuned!

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister and Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Happy Official Languages Day! Today, we celebrate Canada's linguistic diversity and cultural heritage, and recognize the important place official languages hold in our Canadian identity. Shaped by what we have learned through our shared history, Canada's identity is increasingly anchored in celebrating diversity, respecting our obligations and commitments to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, and promoting official languages.

At ESDC, the use of official languages underpins our commitment to excellence in service delivery. We dedicate this #ThankYouThursday to the devoted staff of the Official Languages Centres of Expertise (OLCE) in the Citizen Service Branch, the Human Resources Services Branch and the Strategic and Service Policy Branch, as well as the College@ESDC.

As the largest provider of services to Canadians, ESDC plays a key role in the implementation of the Modernization of the Official Languages Act, the development of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023-2028, and the implementation of the proposed amendments to the Official Languages Regulations, which will help expand bilingual services offered to Canadians. This legislative framework enables ESDC to contribute to the government's ambitious goals of protecting and promoting the country's official languages and ensuring excellence in services to Canadians in the official language of their choice.

Our OLCEs regularly review strategic documents, including Memoranda to Cabinet and Treasury Board submissions, as well as our business processes, so that we are continually improving our bilingual services. Thanks to the centres, we also held our second Bilingo challenge in 2022 (stay tuned for the launch of the third Bilingo challenge this fall) and participated in the Official Languages Best Practices Forum, open to all federal public servants.

In collaboration with departmental partners, College@ESDC employees updated ESDC's Guidelines for Second Official Language Learning. The new guidelines, effective September 29, will modernize second official language training offerings to better meet departmental needs and priorities. Read more about how you can support bilingualism in the workplace in the September edition of Connexion Corner, ESDC's Monthly Learning Bulletin.

Once again, our sincerest thanks to the College@ESDC and the OLCEs for their contributions to meeting our official languages obligations, both to ESDC staff and the Canadians we serve.

Happy Official Languages Day!

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister and Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

At ESDC, we offer newcomers a range of benefits and services that are essential to living and working in Canada. Fundamental to the resettlement process is providing Social Insurance Numbers (SINs) to newcomers as soon as possible because it ensures that individuals can begin working and access government benefits and services without delay.

On this #ThankYouThursday, we’d like to highlight the dedicated employees working in the Citizen Service Branch’s Service Canada Centres and the Community Outreach and Liaison Services teams, who deliver SIN outreach clinics and issue SINs to newcomers quickly.

We’d also like to shine a spotlight on the Integrity Services Branch. Through their ingenuity and agility, they have continuously pivoted their approach to support the current context, thus modernizing the SIN process.

Canada continues to welcome newcomers from around the world. In 2021, the Government of Canada committed to accepting 40,000 Afghan nationals, and in 2022, announced 175,000 Ukrainians would immigrate to Canada over the coming years under the Canada–Ukraine authorization for emergency travel program. Additionally, the Government announced 1.3 million newcomers would immigrate to Canada between 2022 and 2024.

It was imperative that Service Canada Centres explore all options to deliver SIN services quickly and flexibly. Their solution involved information sessions, local events, SIN clinics, community outreach and leveraging existing partnerships.

Since 2021, the department has delivered 1,322 outreach clinics for 41,872 newcomers, in addition to the many thousands of SINs issued through our Service Canada Centres.

Applications for SINs are expected to continue rising sharply in Canada. In response, Service Canada’s Integrity Services Branch has undertaken several SIN modernization initiatives. Some initiatives are already underway, including providing access to SINs on clients’ My Service Canada Account and the ability for clients to view their SIN online, in addition to receiving their SIN Confirmation Letter by mail. Soon, clients will also have the option to choose how they wish to receive their SIN Confirmation Letter: via My Service Canada Account, by mail, or both.

Once a person applies online, they can begin working in insurable employment even before receiving their official SIN.

With post-secondary studies resuming this fall, we’re entering the “peak season” for international students arriving to study in Canada, many of whom will require a SIN. August and September are key months for the Community Outreach and Liaison Services team, with over 307 SIN clinics scheduled over this two-month period.

What these Service Canada teams have done as a cohesive and collaborative unit embodies everything we aspire to offer as a world-class service delivery organization.

Thank you!

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister and Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

With this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to recognize the Service Policy Strategy Directorate (SPSD) in the Strategic and Service Policy Branch.

Developing effective government services is a complex undertaking that requires strategic leadership, evidence-based advice, and strong collaboration across various functional areas within our department. SPSD exemplifies this collaborative approach, aiming to enhance service delivery to Canadians by considering the entire policy-to-service continuum.

SPSD works daily to develop sound operational policy advice, measure service performance, and address key knowledge gaps related to our services. It also plays a leadership role in the management of several governance committees, both internal to ESDC and Government of Canada-wide.

The team’s inclusive approach ensures all relevant perspectives across the portfolio are considered. SPSD achieves this by maintaining connections throughout the department, with other federal government organizations and with provincial, territorial, and municipal partners. These links are key to sharing information, gathering intelligence, and identifying best practices as well as reporting to central agencies.

Currently, SPSD is engaged in a variety of important initiatives, including managing the Government of Canada's Service Advisory Committee, providing support to Ministers and Deputy Ministers on key service policy matters, and leading interdepartmental working groups on removing barriers to service.

Additionally, SPSD plays a leading role in the federal collaboration with provincial, territorial, and municipal partners on common priorities, such as increasing benefit uptake for seniors. Co-chairing the Portfolio Research Coordinating Committee on Service Delivery further demonstrates SPSD's commitment to promoting evidence-based decision-making in service management.

With this #ThankYouThursday, we wish to thank the team for their exceptional dedication, unwavering support, and invaluable advice that have consistently enhanced the services we provide to Canadians.

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister and Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

We recently received some unsolicited and welcomed feedback from our colleagues at the Privy Council Office (PCO) which we want to share with you today.

They conveyed to us that ESDC has an exemplary record when it comes to delivering high-quality Memoranda to Cabinet on time. These comprehensive documents are used when a Minister is seeking a Cabinet decision on an important policy proposal. In the past 18 months, ESDC portfolio ministers have submitted more than 30 Memoranda to Cabinet.

PCO has strict timelines for the submissions. All Memoranda to Cabinet must be submitted nine days prior to the date on which Cabinet or its committees meet to discuss it. This time allows all Cabinet ministers to prepare for the meetings. Failure to meet the deadlines may result in our submissions being postponed, which could delay implementation of programming that is important for Canadians’ quality of life.

We know that a lot goes on prior to submission. We very much appreciate that effort, which is why we are highlighting that complex process in today’s #ThankYouThursday.

The coordination and submission of Memoranda to Cabinet is led by the Cabinet Affairs team in the Strategic and Service Policy Branch. Cabinet Affairs works with ESDC policy branches that are developing the proposals and consults broadly within the Department on service delivery and implementation considerations as well as impacts in several mandatory review areas, including Indigenous Peoples, official languages, a strategic environmental assessment and a Gender-Based Analysis Plus review.

Additional program areas are also routinely consulted, including the Office for Disability Issues, Parliamentary Affairs, Legal Services, the Chief Financial Officer Branch, the Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch, and others as required.

Often, there is consultation with other government departments too—and all of this must be accomplished under tight deadlines and done with an eye to precision and accuracy.

PCO has noticed our excellent record of success, and so do we, every day. Thank you to everyone involved for consistently delivering high-quality Memoranda to Cabinet on time!

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister and Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

It was with enormous pride that we witnessed the granting of royal assent for Bill C-22 on June 22, 2023. Slightly more than a year after the Canada Disability Benefit Act was introduced, both the House of Commons and Senate passed it unanimously.

It was the culmination of a great deal of work by many teams at ESDC, led by the Policy Division of the Office for Disability Issues Directorate (part of the Income Security and Social Development Branch). They were supported by other divisions in the directorate, with important contributions from the Legal Services Unit, the Parliamentary Affairs Division, the Cabinet Affairs team in the Strategic Service and Policy Branch and the Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch, among many others.

This #ThankYouThursday is for all those who contributed to this singular and multifaceted success. Your effort is being noticed. “This is a significant milestone,” according to a leading health columnist, “potentially the most important addition to Canada’s social safety net since the Guaranteed Income Supplement for low-income seniors was introduced in 1967.” Please take a moment to consider the value of your accomplishment. But we are not done yet.

The roots of this remarkable success date to the 2020 Speech from the Throne, which committed to the creation of the Canada Disability Benefit as a cornerstone of the Disability Inclusion Action Plan. The Canada Disability Benefit aims to reduce poverty and improve the financial security of persons with disabilities.

The next steps are as important as the previous successes. Building on the policy work already done in collaboration between the Office for Disability Issues Directorate and the Strategic and Service Policy Branch’s Social Policy Directorate, these two teams—in consultation with persons with disabilities, stakeholders, and provinces and territories—will develop the regulations needed to implement the Canada Disability Benefit. As prescribed in the Act, the regulations must be made no later than June 2025.

Thank you for your contributions to making Canada a more inclusive country where no one lives in poverty.

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

More than 40 years ago, Business Week predicted a paperless future for the office. While documents have certainly changed since then, paper remains essential for our programs.

Many of our clients communicate with us using paper documents. These documents must be scanned and filed both physically and electronically so that they are accessible by our staff wherever they work.

The contributions of all mailroom personnel, and in particular their attention to detail (since every document is important), is the subject of today's #ThankYouThursday.

Foundation Services teams in the Western Canada and Territories, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Regions all have mailroom personnel who process millions of documents annually. Our employees work in mailrooms and File Management Centres for ESDC, Service Canada and the Labour Program, including at national headquarters. They open and scan documents, and then they file them, following strict naming conventions, so that they can be easily retrieved by employees including those who evaluate and process applications and claims or complaints for the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, Canada Pension Plan Disability, Federal Workers Compensation Services, Labour Standards, Occupational Health and Safety, the Employment Insurance program and more, as well as for international clients.

It is exacting work, because accuracy and attention to detail are of utmost importance to ensure that every applicant, everywhere, receives the benefit to which they are entitled. Canadians rely on us to deliver our programs every day. Anything less is unacceptable. And, of course, we have employees who deliver mail to all of us internally within ESDC.

Hundreds of mailroom and file management employees across our organization perform incredible work every day throughout the country. Without their contributions, our ability to serve Canadians would be compromised.

With this #ThankYouThursday, we acknowledge the important work performed by mailroom and file management personnel in all of the regions and in headquarters.

We received the idea of this #ThankYouThursday as a result of a call-out in the weekly Intersection newsletter for employees. If there's a team you feel is deserving of recognition in an upcoming #ThankYouThursday, please send us an email, and share your recommendation!

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On this #ThankYouThursday, we'd like to thank all ESDC employees who contribute to the Reaching All Canadians (RAC) initiative to improve access to benefits for hard-to-reach clients.

RAC is a collaboration with ESDC national and regional partners, including Citizen Service Branch (CSB), the Chief Data Office, Integrated Services Branch, and Learning Branch (Canada Learning Bond), as well as with other government departments, including the Canada Revenue Agency and Indigenous Services Canada. Through working groups and pilots, the collective goal is to increase awareness and access to benefits for marginalized or vulnerable individuals who often face barriers when accessing government programs. RAC uses a four-pillar approach to remove barriers: simplification, promotion and awareness, direct reach and inclusion.

Many marginalized individuals are not known to our programs and may not reach out to the federal government for assistance. Through RAC, the team is working to identify, locate and connect with individuals not receiving benefits by leaning on partnerships with community organizations who interact with these individuals.

As part of this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to highlight the impactful work of regional CSB staff who support RAC through various initiatives.

In 2021, the Atlantic Region implemented a new approach to refer at-risk individuals directly to Service Canada's Outreach Support Centre (OSC) from the 211 assistance phone line, Canada's primary source of information for government and community-based, social and non-clinical health services.

The Ontario Region is piloting service referral activities in three ServiceOntario sites (Hamilton, Toronto, and Thunder Bay). ServiceOntario will refer clients requiring a higher than usual level of support directly to a local Service Canada employee who will provide service tailored to specific client needs.

Service Québec Montréal and the Quebec Region are experimenting with a new approach to support specific at-risk clients in Montréal. Under Quebec's Social Assistance and Social Solidarity program, individuals aged 64 and older in receipt of last-resort provincial financial assistance are invited to apply for OAS/GIS. Through this pilot, the two organizations are partnering to specifically target this at-risk client segment and proactively offer personalized assistance in accessing OAS/GIS benefits.

Clients facing barriers to services often require assistance from multiple departments and levels of government to access benefits. The Western Canada and Territories Region has been collaborating with Service BC to provide outreach services through “Super Clinics” that offer transactional services, information and better access to benefits. This one-stop shop approach is improving services in rural and remote communities and to underserved populations.

RAC is impacting individuals and changing lives. Thank you to all ESDC employees, who, together with external partners, are making sure more Canadians get the support they need through this important initiative. Learn about how RAC is helping those who need it the most.

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui – He/him/his)
Sous-ministre de l’Emploi et du Développement social
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

This week, we dedicate our #ThankYouThursday to ESDC's Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Corporate Secretariat for their role in keeping all our operations running smoothly.

This small team has a unique and sought-after expertise in parliamentary activities. Portfolio ministers, the senior management team, executives and staff alike benefit from their strategic and non-partisan advice whenever they need to interact with Parliament and central agencies, notably the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Privy Council Office.

Since November 2021, the Parliamentary Affairs Division has contributed to more than 65 appearances before standing committees, including 19 for our ministers, helped prepare 65 Question Period notes, coordinated and supported the response to more than 277 written questions and processed over 150 petitions.

The team has led the passage of five different bills, including Bill C-3 to give federally regulated workers ten days of paid sick leave and Bill C-12 to amend the Old Age Security Act. More recently, Bill C-22 to establish the Canada disability benefit and Bill C-35 on early learning and child care both reached important milestones.

The Parliamentary Affairs Division has proactively delivered dozens of training sessions to ESDC staff on topics such as the legislative process, House of Commons and Senate standing committee activities, Canada's parliamentary system, Question Period and parliamentary debate. The team also provides us with daily updates on parliamentary activities.

The scope of the work of EDSC's Parliamentary Affairs Division is as vast as the programs and services our department manages and delivers. As the largest provider of services to Canadians, we are fortunate to be able to count on a Parliamentary Affairs team of this calibre!

Thank you for your support!

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui – He/him/his)
Sous-ministre de l’Emploi et du Développement social
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we want to recognize and celebrate all of you for your ongoing dedication, support and successes this past year.

As we mark National Public Service Week (NPSW), it is extremely important to us to take the time to recognize and celebrate your tremendous work and willingness to continuously improve our policies, services, benefits, processes and operations.

We want to thank you for your contributions across this organization to help Canadians on what matters to them such as supports for families, workers, communities and students to name a few. We are impressed with the work, the commitment, the creativity and the resourcefulness that we witness every single day.

We could not be prouder of our ESDC, Labour Program and Service Canada colleagues, who continuously get the job done. You make ESDC the remarkable organization that it is.

Today, in particular, we want to highlight the most recent accomplishment through the hard work and determination of the people who brought the Old Age Security on Benefits Delivery Modernization (OAS on BDM) project to life. Earlier this week, the first release of the system went live. It's a major milestone and one that we are particularly proud of because OAS on BDM Release 1 is the first step to delivering a more modern, streamlined and user-friendly service delivery experience. This work will influence the way OAS services are delivered for decades to come. The contributions of this team towards building a more modern and efficient public service inspires us to continue to do our best for Canadians.

We hope that you find time over the week to participate in a few branch and regional activities. If you haven't already done so, please check out our video, blogs and podcast from earlier this week!

Enjoy the rest of NPSW!

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui – He/him/his)
Sous-ministre de l’Emploi et du Développement social
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Having the right tool in your toolkit can make all the difference for the different jobs that you may face. In a similar way, ESDC provides a suite of tools for employees to ensure harmony in the workplace. The Ombuds Office is our recent addition to the toolkit and today’s #ThankYouThursday celebrates the team’s first anniversary.

With its guiding principles of confidentiality, impartiality, informality and independence, the Ombuds Office complements the services already available through the Centre for Informal Resolution and Coaching, and the Harassment and Violence Centre of Expertise among other more formal tools.

We and our executive teams are regularly briefed on the Ombuds Office’s activities by Liz Smith and her team of six specialists. While confidentiality prevents them from disclosing the details of the 500 cases they have received to date, we know that Liz and her team are helping ESDC make progress toward our objective of an inclusive workplace where employees feel safe, proud, supported and empowered.

In his Call to Action, the former Clerk of the Privy Council set  clear expectations and targets. “Building a diverse, equitable and inclusive public service is both an obligation and an opportunity we all share,” Ian Shugart wrote in 2021. “We must advance this objective together, acting both individually and collectively, and recognizing that our progress will rely on amplifying the voices of those within our organizations to help lead the way.”

The Ombuds Office is an important part of our effort at ESDC to build a workplace that recognizes the intersectional dimensions of identity, such as race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, socioeconomic status and other individual characteristics.

Thank you to the Ombuds Office team for helping us work toward a barrier-free, inclusive and diverse workplace!

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui – He/him/his)
Sous-ministre de l’Emploi et du Développement social
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

ESDC has a long history of commitment to advancing gender equality. This history began in 1954, when the Women's Bureau was first established as part of the former Department of Labour. Fast forward to today, where our department is in a unique position to build a stronger and more inclusive Canada and embed intersectional analysis in our policies, programs and services.

For this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to recognize the many teams dedicated to advancing Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus), including the Skills and Employment Branch (SEB) GBA Plus Hub, the GBA Plus Centre of Expertise in the Strategic and Service Policy Branch and ESDC's GBA Plus Community of Practice.

We want to also thank the GBA Plus team, and the many other teams and allies throughout ESDC, for continuing to push the envelope to improve diversity and inclusiveness by:

• Emphasizing intersectional analysis as an important means to assess systemic inequalities and determine how gender and other identity factors may diminish a person's ability to access programs and services.
• Enabling collaboration between the different GBA groups within ESDC to ensure that we are continually building our departmental GBA Plus capacity.
• Having dedicated initiatives such as SEB's GBA Plus Strategy which includes a dedicated GBA Plus Hub. It aims to improve our capacity to measure, monitor and address disparities in the labour market, and it helps underrepresented groups access skills-related programs. To learn more, we invite you to visit the SEB GBA Plus Hub SharePoint site.

We recognize the importance of understanding the experiences of diverse populations, and how we must also examine the impacts of our programs, policies and services across these different groups of Canadians. We are committed to eliminating systemic discrimination and racism in our workplace, in all its forms. As part of our mandate to “build a stronger and more inclusive Canada”, the GBA Plus Centre of Expertise in ESDC developed and launched the Black-Centric Lens. The BCL helps to support ESDC in affecting this systemic change by equipping employees with the necessary knowledge and guidance to take into account the realities of Black Canadians in their work.

While there is a lot of work ahead, we are proud that ESDC continues to work relentlessly to increase the diversity and inclusiveness of our policies, programs and services. Thank you to everyone working to create a more culturally conscious, inclusive and fair department for all.

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

It is hard to believe, but it has been more than three years since we published our first #ThankYouThursday in April 2020. We have enjoyed the experience and the feedback from you. To date, we have published over 140 of them!

We began these tributes following the start of the pandemic. Back then, they were all about the extraordinary effort you put into serving Canadians through a once-in-a-century global health crisis. We wrote about working from home, the new social programs we developed and delivered, and everything in between.

Over those three years, we have expanded the focus beyond ESDC's response to the health crisis to include all the amazing things you do for Canadians. ESDC is the Government of Canada's bedrock for our social programs that have endured decades and decades. Canadians look to us for support throughout their lives. We have highlighted inspirational employees working on everything from Canada Summer Jobs and Occupational Health and Safety to modernizing of the Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance.

Our goal here is to shine a light on the important contributions different teams make, whether directly or indirectly, to improve the lives of Canadians. Recognition matters. You matter.

For today's #ThankYouThursday, we wish to turn the table and acknowledge our readers and our many contributors who have helped us craft our messages each week. If you know of a team that deserves recognition with a #TYT, please reply to this email address and share your thoughts and ideas. Or, if you see one of us at the office, don't hesitate to share your thoughts and suggestions. We always appreciate your feedback.

We hope you have enjoyed reading the #TYTs, as we like to call them, as much as we have enjoyed producing them, along with our support teams and those of you who have provided ideas for #TYTs. Keep those ideas coming!

Thank you.

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Although this year Administrative Professionals Day took place on April 26, during the recent labour disruption, we want to recognize all of our administrative professionals who keep things running smoothly in offices throughout the department every day. Administrative professionals are vital to our workplace, and contribute highly to a positive and productive work environment.

As many employees continue to adapt to the adjusted flexible work model, our administrative professionals across the country have kept us on track and have helped us maintain a real sense of seamless coordination through it all.

These dedicated colleagues have worked steadily behind the scenes to ensure that our day-to-day operations run smoothly and efficiently. Whether providing invaluable insight to help guide management decisions, working with sensitive information, or helping to organize and manage complex and constantly changing schedules, your role is challenging and demanding. What's more, you do essential work so that others can excel and succeed.

For today's #ThankYouThursday, let's take a moment to celebrate our administrative professionals. Your expertise, professionalism, diligence and dedication make us all proud. We wouldn't be able to deliver without you.

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On this #ThankYouThursday, we tip our hats to the Digital Workplace Taskforce (DWT) team (and its many supporting players) for raising the bar on what excellence in internal service delivery looks like.

In 2021, ESDC launched the DWT, a collaboration between the Innovation Information and Technology Branch and the former Transformation Management Branch.

The initiative set out to simplify processes, improve information management practices, and implement new or enhanced digital tools that would improve the way we work by introducing agile solutions.

Fast forward two years, and the DWT is winding down its efforts, having achieved—and surpassed—its four identified priority areas: onboarding, digital signatures, security screening intake process simplification (AEGIS), and email and information management (harmon.ie).

Not only did the DWT team successfully accomplish all that they set out to do, they went above and beyond the scope of the initiative by inspiring and empowering employees to embrace and evolve their digital skills and mindsets. The team created the Digital Booster Sessions, a popular series attended by over 10,000 employees that helped advance ESDC priorities through collaboration.

This small, mighty and agile team thrived on making a positive difference for ESDC employees by simplifying key internal processes and focussing on the employee experience.

Find out how you can adopt a can-do digital mindset by visiting the Digital Workplace Taskforce.

Thank you!

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

A successful advertising campaign is all about getting a meaningful message to the target audience using the best tools.

On March 29, ESDC's Marketing and Advertising team was awarded the Diamond Award of Communications Excellence from the Communications Community Office within the Privy Council for their highly creative and successful National Skilled Trades advertising campaign.

This annual communications awards ceremony brings together the very best and brightest across the federal public service to recognize and celebrate excellence in this highly competitive field. Award winners are selected by a committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers from across government.

The award-winning campaign's objective was to encourage Canadian youth to seek a future in the skilled trades where the current demand for qualified staff far exceeds its supply.

Using the focus-tested slogan "Follow your passion. Find your skilled trade," the video ad centres on three people: a female bricklayer, a male chef and a female carpenter. With slick television video spots of 6, 15 and 30 seconds, it shows them grow from hopeful amateurs to successful skilled tradespeople. The hint of humour in their journey was particularly engaging. These ads were the foundation of a suite of products for a wide variety of media used to reach the target audiences—youth (15 to 19), young adults (20 to 34) and their parents.

The advertising campaign rolled out on television during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games and in more than a dozen other platforms including YouTube, Snapchat, Twitch, outdoor advertising and Google. The combined tactics generated 156.4 million impressions and 600,000 clicks. The impressive results outperformed most government benchmarks with a high click through rate and a low cost per click. Every element was carefully orchestrated to obtain maximum exposure with the target audiences.

Well done, team! You are the subject of this week's #ThankYouThursday. Your message obviously resonated with the intended audiences and the selected media tools reached them—the hallmarks of a successful advertising campaign.

Thank you for doing your part to promote the skilled trades and support the needs of employers and congratulations on your award!

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

For today's #ThankYouThursday, we want to send one final big thank you to the Future of Work Secretariat team. After two eventful and exciting years under the leadership of our colleague Deputy Minister Tina Namiesniowski, the Secretariat sunset on March 31.

Launched in the spring of 2021, the Future of Work Secretariat set the direction for the Future of Work at ESDC—post-pandemic and beyond. Since then, they have worked hard to devise a made-in-ESDC approach to guide our transition while preserving our capacity to serve Canadians. This included a pivot following the Treasury Board Secretariat's announcement of a common hybrid work model for the federal public service this past December.

This enormous task couldn't be taken on by one team alone, so today we also want to recognize the ongoing dedicated efforts of the teams and individuals who are working tirelessly to implement ESDC's adjusted flexible work model. Collaboration has been key to getting us to this point. Although there is more work to do, we are far advanced in the implementation of our new model and well prepared for this next chapter - thanks to the great work of so many of you, including:

• Our Regional and Branch Management Services teams, who are at the centre of all things revolving around our workplace, driving operations to connect the parts of our large organization on behalf of their branches and regions.
• The Chief Financial Officer Branch's Real Property team, who are finding innovative ways to use our spaces efficiently and effectively.
• The Innovation, Information and Technology Branch, who are ensuring our technology continues to deliver as we enter this new era to enable us to deliver the most vital services and benefits to Canadians.
• Numerous teams within the Human Resources Services Branch who are providing profound leadership to ensure teams can seamlessly transition in a way that is safe, healthy, fair, inclusive and accommodating for all employees.
• The Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch, as well as enabling branch communications teams, for keeping us up to date, making sense of new policies and procedures, creating our roadmap and providing that central human function: connection.
• Our Integrity Services Branch has been working diligently to ensure our departmental security measures keep our staff and work safe and protected, especially as more of us return to the physical workplace.
• The Chief Data Office for leading the work on a FOW Data Strategy that not only supports our ability to understand building occupancy rates but also our ability to understand how ESDC's flexible work model is helping all employees realize their potential.

As we all enter this new chapter and implement our hybrid work model, we can confidently say that these groups have us well prepared. They have navigated through some tough challenges and are deeply invested in making sure our new workplace works for everyone—after all, they are ESDC employees too.

We thank the Future of Work Secretariat and enabling branches for the support they've given to our senior leadership team, to managers at all levels and to employees for all they have accomplished and for the work many will continue to do to make ESDC a workplace of choice, and to support all employees in our service to Canadians.

Of course, even though the Secretariat sunset, planning for the workplace of the future is an ongoing process. All enabling branches will continue to play a critical role, including HRSB which will help coordinate the department's future of work efforts moving forward, building on the impressive legacy of the Secretariat.

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On March 28, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance presented the second budget of the 44th Parliament.

Budget 2023 is focused on three broad themes: affordability, health and a green economy.

ESDC budget measures will continue to improve the standard of living and quality of life for Canadians. Here are some of the proposals in the Budget related to our programs, benefits and services:

• $813.6 million in 2023-24 to enhance student financial assistance starting August 1, 2023.
• $197.7 million in 2024-25 to the Student Work Placement Program to continue creating quality work integrated learning opportunities for students through partnerships between employers and post-secondary education institutions.
• $625 million in 2023-24 in the Labour Market Transfer Agreements to ensure Canadians continue to have access to the supports they need to get their next job.
• $21.5 million in 2023-24 to continue work on the future delivery of the Canada Disability Benefit, including engagement with the disability community and provinces and territories on the regulatory process.
• Extension of temporary Employment Insurance supports for seasonal workers until October 2024. The cost of this measure is estimated at $147 million over three years, starting in 2023-24.
• $208 million over five years, starting in 2023-24, and $54 million ongoing to expand the Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities to support local official language minority community organizations to deliver employment assistance services.
• $25 million, in 2024-25, for the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative, to continue empowering Black-led and Black-serving community organizations and the work they do to promote inclusiveness.
• $17.7 million over four years, starting in 2023-24, to increase capacity at 1 800 O-Canada call centres, improve Canada.ca, and ensure that Canadians can access information they need about government benefits and services.
• $123.9 million over seven years, starting in 2023-24, to complete Old Age Security IT modernization.

Behind all of these initiatives announced in the Budget and other proposals that were not included, and the subject of our #ThankYouThursday today, lies an enormous amount of work by people at all levels of ESDC.

In addition to the branches and regions directly implicated in all these proposals and initiatives, we want to highlight the key contributions of the Strategic and Service Policy Branch which coordinated the department's proposal development effort and reviewed the Gender-based Analysis Plus and environmental impacts of proposals. As well, the Chief Financial Officer Branch ensured diligence on costing and in securing funds through the Treasury Board Secretariat, and Legal Services provided invaluable advice. Budget coordinators throughout the department also provided key assistance. All were integral partners in developing and submitting complex budget proposals.

Thank you to everyone who worked hard on all budgetary proposals. The work was monumental and will positively impact the lives of Canadians as we start down the road of delivering those initiatives which received funding.

Thank you.

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

With today's #ThankYouThursday, we would like to highlight the always demanding job of keeping track of our ministers' objectives from their mandate letters.

The current mandate letters, published in December 2021, include very specific commitments for ESDC's four portfolio ministers, as well as on youth issues, and on diversity and inclusion.

Under ESDC's portfolio four ministers, there are more than 60 commitments including, for example, establishing a Canada Disability Benefit, modernizing the Employment Insurance program for the 21st century, building 250,000 new high-quality child care spaces, implementing modern, resilient, secure and reliable services and benefit delivery systems for Canadians, eradicating forced labour from Canadian supply chains, and increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors.

Progress on these commitments is often incremental and always complex. Furthermore, mandate letters are public documents, and Canadians can rightly demand to see that the Government's commitments outlined in the letters are kept.

At ESDC's Strategic and Service Policy Branch and the Labour Program's Strategic Policy, Analysis and Workplace Information Directorate, small teams keep track of all the commitments and report quarterly on progress to the Privy Council Office (PCO) on our behalf. As many commitments involve two or more departments, ESDC's tracker teams liaise with similar teams in other departments to ensure all reports are accurate.

The teams provide ministers and senior officials with a snapshot in time of the progress made on delivering the commitments. They capture details such as progress to date, funding/policy authorities, key milestones, next steps and risk/mitigation strategies.

The information is provided to PCO and used to support a greater understanding of progress and challenges for the Prime Minister, the Clerk of the Privy Council and other decision-makers. Tracking the commitments helps us deliver them.

The work is exacting and meticulous, and the tracker teams rely on the collaboration of their colleagues throughout ESDC to obtain the latest information and report simultaneously through us and our ministers to PCO.

Because we see their excellent contribution every quarter when the reports are due, we are aware of—and appreciate—their hard work and attention to detail. Staying on top of dozens of complex commitments is an important contribution to open government and helps us all focus on the tasks at hand.

Thank you.

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

For the first time since it was established 20 years ago, one of our own has been awarded a prestigious award for outstanding leadership for citizen service in the public sector.

The Institute for Citizen-Centred Service (ICCS) awarded the 2022 Heintzman Leadership Award to Ontario Region Assistant Deputy Minister Mary Ann Triggs for a career with ESDC / Service Canada dating back almost 50 years.

“Throughout her illustrious career in the public service, Mary Ann Triggs has unequivocally and fundamentally transformed the Canadian service landscape,” the ICCS said in its citation.

“Mary Ann's leadership and dedication to delivering and transforming citizen-centred services has resulted in a multitude of trailblazing service improvements for Canadians throughout her career.”

The ICCS used powerful words to describe our colleague. “Visionary. Change Agent. Enduring Collaborator. Champion of Service Excellence.”

We could not agree more. Mary Ann and the more than 9,200-strong workforce behind her in the Ontario Region have been leaders in service delivery for a very long time. The many reasons cited by ICCS include:

• The Government of Canada's Job Bank, a national resource for job posting, labour market trend analysis and career planning inspired by Ontario Region.
• The Reaching All Canadians initiative, which brought the Canada Revenue Agency and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada together with ESDC to reach underserved clients.
• The SIN@Landing in collaboration with the Canada Border Services Agency, pioneered by Ontario Region, that provides Social Insurance Numbers to newcomers upon landing at Pearson International Airport in Toronto.
• In response to COVID-19, the shift of 850 Service Canada employees to support the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and another 61 to the Public Health Agency of Canada to support contact tracing.
• The 2018 launch of the Toronto North York Flagship Service Canada Centre, an innovative in-person client office developed in partnership with persons with disabilities that has paved the way for inclusive tools across Canada.
• Mary Ann and the Ontario Region have also ensured close collaboration with the province of Ontario and other partners in delivering services to citizens, particularly Indigenous communities in northern Ontario.

Join us in celebrating Mary Ann's award that reflects well on the entire Ontario Region and, indeed, all of us.

But don't take our word for it. Janice Charette, Clerk of the Privy Council and former Deputy Minister here at ESDC, wrote in support of Mary Ann's nomination.

“Public servants express great pride in developing and delivering high quality, integrated and citizen-centred programs and services,” she wrote. “Mary Ann Triggs exemplifies this passion for client-centric service excellence. Throughout her career, she has been driven by an unparalleled commitment to client service transformation and building a better future for Canada.”

Congratulations Mary Ann and her team. Well done!

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

We dedicate this week's #ThankYouThursday to the ESDC's Women's Network (WN) who are celebrating their one-year anniversary. The goal of the WN is to inspire and empower those who identify as women to achieve their full potential and create a gender-equal environment through networking, advocacy and support in a safe space. It aims to create an environment where women are valued for their contributions and have equal opportunities. The WN is a led-by-women, for women network that provides the opportunity for members to connect and communicate with other women who share the common goal of a diverse and inclusive workplace.

The WN plays a large role in ensuring that policies and processes are conducive to the wellbeing and personal and professional enhancement of women. It provides members with a safe space to address the challenges that women face in the workplace and come up with positive solutions to remove these barriers. The WN collaborates with other ESDC Diversity Employee Networks and stakeholders to change and adapt policies to meet the long-term needs of women and move the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan agenda forward.

The WN also provides educational resources, workshops and mentorship opportunities to help women develop their skills and knowledge and is committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusivity, and creating a supportive space for all women at ESDC. Intersectionality plays an imperative role in the approach of the WN, as they recognize and address the diverse lived experiences of women, including those from equity and equity-seeking groups, to come together and advance the cause of gender equity.

Yesterday was International Women's Day (IWD), a day to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements and contributions of women around the globe. This year's theme, “Every Women Counts,” is a call to celebrate all the women and girls who inspire us, and a reminder of the challenges they still face in striving for equal opportunities. Take a moment to honour and thank all the women around you who are removing barriers, lifting each other up, motivating you to reach your highest potential and making the world a better place.

We would like to encourage all who identify as women to join the WN. With over 700 members and growing, it is a wonderful way to get involved and make a difference within the ESDC community because your voice matters. In its first year, the WN established their National Executive Committee whose role is to provide leadership in supporting the wellbeing and career advancement of women throughout the department. The WN Champion and members have and will continue to engage with staff from across the department, identifying and working to remove barriers for women at ESDC. Through events such as yesterday's remarkable IWD virtual event and the International Day of the Girl panel discussion this past October, the WN will provide platforms for employees to share their lived experiences. For more information, please visit the WN iService page or email edsc.reseaufemmes-womennetwork.esdc@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca.

Thank you to the WN for your commitment to serving, advocating and supporting all employees who identify as women at ESDC. We would also like to recognize and thank each of you who identify as women here at ESDC, who contribute every day in a positive way to provide service excellence and support to Canadians. You are valued, appreciated and make our organization a better place. We are committed to continuing to strive for a fully diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace for all.

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On this week's #ThankYouThursday, we want to celebrate and acknowledge all employees who have generously supported the 2022 ESDC Charitable Campaign with their time and donations.

The 2022 campaign marked 25 years celebrating the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign! Over the years, federal employees have rallied to bring the campaign to life by building a culture of generosity, and this year was no different.

Every year you show up and your contributions are making a difference in the lives of so many Canadians including federal public servants. Donations raised this year will continue to support those struggling with homelessness by providing access to safe lodgings and affordable housing options. We are funding research toward earlier diagnoses, new treatments, and the search for cures to cancer and other chronic diseases. We are empowering children and youth to grow, live healthy lifestyles and thrive through after school programs and community outreach. Your contributions help those in need and ensure charitable partners can advance their critical work.

During this year's campaign, ESDC employees gave over $1.7 million, which was nearly 104% of our campaign target. A big round of applause to the regional campaigns that raised an astounding 120% of their target goal, which was integral to the department reaching its overall goal. Giving to charities and supporting those who need it is something that so many of you care deeply about and you proved that once again.

A big thank you to the 2022 ESDC Charitable Campaign Champion, Guy Morissette; the Youth Co-Champions, Jillian Ripmeester and Dejan Radojevic from YMAGIN; and the ESDC Charitable Campaign Core Team. Your ongoing leadership throughout the campaign helped ESDC achieve and surpass our target!

We would also like to express our gratitude to the branch and regional champions and coordinators for their hard work and dedication throughout the campaign. Last but not least, thank you to the 650+ volunteer ambassadors across the department who were integral to the success of the campaign.

It really is a true team effort to run the Charitable Campaign and without everyone's contributions we would not have had the success that we did!

The ESDC Charitable Campaign gives us all an opportunity to help support the people and the causes we care about.

Together, we have made a difference!

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

In Canada and elsewhere in the world, the pandemic led to an increase in domestic violence as it became more difficult for victims to seek help and escape their abusers. Working from home has also made it more difficult for people to maintain clear boundaries between personal and professional lives.

In response to these broader challenges, Debora Cipriano and Nancy Boudreau of the Benefits Delivery Services Branch wanted to ensure that staff and managers had the tools and resources to seek help or respond appropriately when someone they know is a victim of domestic violence. They came up with the idea to create the Domestic Violence Prevention Project and developed the project under the leadership of Director Patrice Brunet in the Quebec Region and following consultations with the Harassment and Violence Centre of Expertise.

To date, several Service Canada directorates in Quebec Region have attended their information sessions on domestic violence prevention tools, which include a resource library, short videos and a secret code for asking for help without the abuser being aware. The project has been well-received, and other regions have expressed interest in participating. Debora and Nancy's efforts were recognized in 2022 with a Deputy Ministers' Award of Excellence in the category of Excellence in Promoting a Healthy and Inclusive Workplace.

We wanted to dedicate this #ThankYouThursday to Debora Cipriano and Nancy Boudreau, not only to celebrate their outstanding initiative, but also to inform staff of domestic violence training available to staff across the country. And a special thanks to Quebec Region's Benefits Delivery Services Branch team, the ESDC Harassment and Violence Centre of Expertise and employees who have taken the training.

There is no doubt that your collaboration has contributed to making our workplace healthier and safer. Thank you for your commitment to support one another.

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On this #ThankYouThursday, we'd like to recognize and thank the new Black Employee Network (BEN). Serving as a safe forum for Black employees and their allies, and an advisory body on issues that impact Black employees at ESDC, the BEN is indispensable in helping the department meet its commitments to improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The creation of the BEN realizes a key initiative in Supporting a Transformed Inclusive Organization, the first in the three-pillared set of commitments outlined in ESDC's Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) 2020-2024.

New to the ESDC landscape, the BEN held its inaugural event on February 1, the first day of Black History Month. The event, titled “Forging Your Own Path,” focused on the concept of Kujichagulia, or self-determination, which means to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves. The speakers shared how this is the cornerstone of BEN and how it has its place in career development.

During their two-year tenure that begins this year, the newly elected BEN executive team, supported by Network champions, endeavour to engage members in learning about Black history as well as career development and the importance of Kujichagulia in various spheres. The BEN has a close relationship with the Black Engagement and Advancement Team (BEAT), based in the Human Resources Services Branch, working together to identify and implement tangible and sustainable solutions to change and improve the workplace for all Black employees at ESDC.

Diversity networks are spaces for connection and discussion. We embrace the opportunity to support our diversity networks and help build their capacities and capabilities. Whether you identify as a Black employee or an ally, all ESDC employees are welcome to join the BEN by completing the registration form just as all are welcome to join any of ESDC's other diversity networks. These safe spaces allow our employees to engage and share lived experiences, and provide tools and resources to help build understanding and support Black, equity seeking and marginalized employees across the organization.

This year's Black History Month theme is #OursToTell. In these final days of Black History Month, we encourage you to participate in the various learning opportunities and celebratory events during the month and throughout the year.

Thank you and congratulations, BEN.

Andrew Brown
(He/him/his)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

A fair hearing and the right of appeal are bedrock legal principles. It is important that decisions by any government body, including ESDC and Service Canada, uphold these important concepts.

In recent years, the appeal process for our largest social programs, managed by the Social Security Tribunal (SST), was suffering a backlog and was overly complex. So in 2017, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development commissioned a comprehensive third-party review of the SST. It was unanimous in finding the appeal process should be “client-centric, faster and simpler.”

The end result, which is the subject of today's #ThankYouThursday, is a new and improved appeals process for Income Security cases that launched in December 2022. It is the result of intense work behind the scenes over several years led by the Canada Pension Plan Disability team in the Income Security and Social Development (ISSD) Branch, in collaboration with Service Canada and the Skills and Employment Branch.

The most recent changes, implemented through legislative and regulatory amendments, better align the SST appeals process with the needs of appellants, particularly Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Disability clients who have complex and evolving case files. Important changes include:

• Returning to de novo or “fresh” hearings of Income Security appeals to enable appellants to present new evidence;
• Allowing appellants to request their hearing and documentation be kept private; and
• Giving appellants their choice of hearing format to accommodate their needs and circumstances.

As a result, the new SST appeals process for CPP and Old Age Security is simpler, more flexible and more transparent while respecting the privacy of appellants. It also has a new navigator service to help appellants manage their cases.

“We put a lot of work into developing our new processes,” noted Paul Aterman, SST Chairperson. “These changes further advance our commitment to justice that is simple, quick and fair. But they are a milestone, not the end of the road. We will continue to work on improving access to justice.”

A fair and accessible appeals process of ESDC's decisions has two complementary positive outcomes: It improves our decisions concerning the social programs under our jurisdiction, in this case CPP and Old Age Security, and it enhances public confidence in our programs. It is a true win-win situation.

Thank you to the team that helped create an end result that allows Canadians easier access to appeal the department's decisions. It is an important principle to uphold.

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

With our #ThankYouThursday today, we would like to highlight our appreciation for one of the department's unsung heroes, a group of people with whom we work exceptionally closely almost every day but whose critical contribution is often hidden.

It is the Cabinet and Regulatory Affairs (CRA) Division, which is in the Strategic and Horizontal Policy Directorate in the Strategic and Services Policy Branch.

This high performing team works tirelessly behind the scenes, often under intense pressure, to support all of us as deputy ministers as we, in turn, support our ministers in meeting their mandates and commitments. Their strategic and client-centric approach makes their ongoing contributions invaluable. In fact, as deputy ministers, we could not function without them.

The CRA division includes the Cabinet Affairs and the Cabinet Briefings teams, the Regulatory Affairs team as well as two Cabinet Document Controllers who ensure the security and integrity of all products are unambiguous and precise.

The Cabinet Affairs team coordinates the department's Memoranda to Cabinet (MCs) for our ministers to present to Cabinet and its committees. The team liaises between ESDC policy leads and the Privy Council Office (PCO) and ensures that all MCs, which can run several hundred pages, are compliant with strict PCO guidelines and timelines. In 2022, Cabinet Affairs supported the submission of 21 MCs.

The Cabinet Briefings team prepares briefing packages for ESDC Ministers to support their engagement at eight of the 13 Cabinet Committees. With up to 15 agenda items per meeting, and five to six meetings per week, this team works quickly to summarize proposals from other government departments and identify ESDC implications. In all, roughly 170 briefing packages with over 285 briefing notes were prepared by this team in 2022.

The Regulatory Affairs team is responsible for the fulfilment of our obligations and responsibilities under the Cabinet Directive on Regulation, the aim of which is to ensure that regulations result in the greatest overall benefit to Canadians. They also support the approval process for the department's regulatory and Orders in Council initiatives, which in 2022 translated into the submission of 27 Orders in Council and regulatory packages for Treasury Board consideration.

All these functions require attention to detail, building and maintaining relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and an in-depth understanding of how government works. The teams' professionalism gives us great confidence that we are delivering high quality products to our ministers.

With today's #ThankYouThursday, we wish to acknowledge the CRA division's invaluable contributions to the smooth realization of our department's many obligations. Thank you and well done!

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On this #ThankYouThursday, we'd like to shine a spotlight on the Canada Pension Plan Service Improvement Strategy team for their tremendous work to successfully implement more than 30 service improvement solutions for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Canada Pension Plan disability benefits.

Between 2016 and 2022, the CPP Service Improvement Strategy team set out to improve the overall delivery of the CPP and the CPP disability benefits programs by implementing changes that simplify electronic services to Canadians, increase the processing automation of CPP benefits, modernize internal tools, maintain decision-making quality, increase efficiency and decrease operational costs.

Online services were enhanced when the CPP Service Improvement Strategy team introduced the ability for clients to apply for any CPP benefit online using their My Service Canada Account. Currently, clients can also use the document upload feature in support of their CPP disability benefits application, their request for reconsideration, and children's benefits (18 to 25 years old) that require a declaration of school attendance.

The lengthy and often cumbersome CPP disability benefits application process was also simplified. For example, the application can now be saved and completed at the individual's own pace and from the comfort of their home. In addition, the application is interactive and shows only what is relevant, making it simpler for the client to complete the application, while at the same time ensuring that all required information is provided and that timely decisions are made.

These improvements support not only the Canadians who rely on the program now and in the future, but also the ESDC employees who process, adjudicate and deliver CPP and CPP disability benefits. The use of online My Service Canada Account applications significantly reduces the need for paper handling, and incoming applications are automatically assigned for processing. Client information is electronically available to agents, who no longer have to interpret handwriting, and the need for client follow-up is reduced. Repetitive administrative tasks have also been reduced, freeing up time for the agents and allowing them to focus on more value-added work.

We recognize that it took a small village to deliver these important transformation initiatives. It is with thanks and gratitude that we recognize the ESDC employees across Canada who joined the CPP Service Improvement Strategy team, including the NCR employees who were part of the working groups, as well as all the employees from the regions.

We tip our hats to you all. Thank you.

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Throughout the pandemic, one team of 26 employees from Service Canada, Ontario Region worked with their enabling partners throughout Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to keep pace with ever-changing pressures and demands as they served Canadians.

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we want to highlight the efforts of the Equipping Ourselves for the Future: Workplace, Workload and Workforce in our Emerging Work Environment (EOF) team. This important team worked behind the scenes during the pandemic to help keep us safe and to ensure our service in Ontario Region not only continued, but improved. Their contributions earned them a Deputy Ministers' Award of Excellence in Internal Service Delivery category.

Just consider the numbers. Very quickly when the pandemic began, this small team acquired 242,870 pairs of disposable gloves, 84,750 masks, 3,950 canisters of disinfecting wipes and 2,306 hand sanitizers. When KN95 masks became the preferred protection, they acquired another 252,164 of them.

Meanwhile, they managed the retrofit of Service Canada Centres and other ESDC workspaces with new computer equipment. They also installed Plexiglas barriers so staff could work and serve the public while keeping everyone safe. When the Plexiglas and masks made communicating difficult, they acquired and installed the Talk Perfect Speech Transfer System at 99 locations across Ontario Region to overcome it.

In addition, the team ensured the smooth implementation of MS Teams and provided technical support for live events, including a record-breaking Ontario Region National Public Service Week staff meeting of almost 7,000 people.

Andrew Namiesniowski, nominated the team as Acting Director General of the Strategic Services Branch, Ontario Region, and was honoured to introduce the team to Senior Associate Deputy Minister and Service Canada Chief Operating Officer Lori MacDonald during an MS Teams award ceremony on November 2. "The collective efforts of this team ensured the uninterrupted service excellence and without a doubt focused on client and staff safety through unprecedented times," he said.

Lori spoke for all of us when she responded.

"The reality is the work that you did … allowed us to serve Canadians in an in-person environment that we were not able to do. It actually ensured the safety and security in terms of our workplace," she said.

"That is just so critical to an organization like ours that provides services. We truly could not have been able to do that without you. So a huge, huge thank you for all of that. It is a very well-earned award."

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Today, we would like to highlight innovative research that was done on the topic of early learning and child care by the Innovation and Intersectionality Research Unit (IIRU) in the Strategic and Service Policy Branch (SSPB).

The unit’s work generated research results to inform the Government’s $30-billion, five-year Canada-wide Early Learning and Childcare program, which is the largest new social program in 50 years. Its work also paves the way for future policy and program development and allows the Government to better understand the early childhood workforce so that communities across the country can successfully recruit and retain the educators they need.

The IIRU’s success in developing and conducting innovative, high quality research earned the team the Deputy Ministers’ Award of Excellence (DMAE) in the Excellence in Innovation category this year.

Starting in November 2020, the seven-member team had ten months to undertake research across four provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec) and eight residential areas (one urban centre and one rural region in each province) with 200 research participants.

To meet the tight deadline, IIRU used technology in new ways that allowed each team member to share their knowledge, input and insights. These innovations included a digital mixed-methods interview and survey, which included automatic digital transcription and a digital diary enabling educators to provide a written snapshot of a workday.

“Throughout the research process, we fostered a motivating workplace experience that promoted productive exchanges, despite having a geographically dispersed research team,” wrote SSPB Director General Hugues Vaillancourt in his DMAE submission. “These new practices fostered innovation through technology and teamwork and enabled multiple sources of insights.”

Ultimately, the project’s research illustrated the experiences of early childhood educators and suggested improvements of workforce conditions from the perspective of educators themselves.

“This is an example of innovative research,” Deputy Minister Jean-François Tremblay observed in meeting the team in October during an MS Teams call. “It is so useful to have this kind of information when we develop policy. At the end of the day, it is big policy, it is big money. You want to make sure that it actually makes the difference that you want it to make. Thank you to the whole team again for that excellent work.”

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(Il/lui)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

For today's #ThankYouThursday, we want to highlight the incredible work done on the maintenance release update of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) system that was completed on October 15th.

For over six months prior to that date, the operations unit at the TFWP branch and the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch (IITB) worked tirelessly on updating the TFW system to improve the way applications are submitted and processed.

The new and improved system not only makes things easier for our staff in the TFWP branch and regions to process Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs); the changes also include improving the LMIA Online Portal used by our external stakeholders, such as potential employers of temporary foreign workers. These changes will make it easier for employers to submit and monitor their LMIA applications.

Improving and enhancing the TFWP system was no easy feat, but collaboration made it possible. In addition to the tremendous amount of effort involved in planning and testing the revamped system, employees in the TFWP branch worked with their colleagues in other branches and regions, all of whom played vital roles. The collaboration helped address IT issues and facilitated information sharing so that the TFW Branch could communicate important changes with stakeholders and ensure they were comfortable with the new system before its release.

As well, our colleagues in the regions provided support at all levels, including 70 volunteers who tested the system throughout its creation process. We would like to also recognize the significant contributions by the Employer Contact Centre, whose staff have been integral in helping the team kick the tires of the new system and ensure everything worked well.

Altogether, our dedicated staff worked a lot of overtime to complete the maintenance release of the TFW system. Among other things, they prepared detailed schedules and successfully planned and executed this large project to completion, which is a tribute to the quality of work they have shown.

As the TFWP system continues to transition to an online model, these important updates help support the future of the TFWP. Since the maintenance release, there has been an outpouring of positive feedback from our external clients and partners. The changes made as part of the maintenance release have created a better user experience. In addition to the positive outcomes and success of the update, the program reported that the best part of this project was the internal engagement and the great sense of comradery among all levels of staff.

Thank you for your work on this maintenance release. You should be very proud of the teamwork you have shown while completing this successful update. It's times like these that really shine a light on how lucky we are to have such amazing colleagues at ESDC. Your leadership, collaboration and hard work is admirable and we sincerely thank you for your commitment to helping us better serve Canadians.

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(Elle)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Indigenous under-representation in the labour market has been talked about for decades. Many have tried to address it without much success. But now an innovative approach championed in the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch (IITB) is showing such promise that it is being adopted across Government.

The small ESDC team that developed and implemented the innovative Information Technology (IT) Apprenticeship Program for Indigenous Peoples is the worthy recipient of the Deputy Ministers' Awards of Excellence (DMAE) in the Excellence in the Advancement of Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples category this year.

The program is relatively simple. It creates a pathway to employment in the IT sector for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples by placing the emphasis on their interest in IT rather than formal qualification requirements in education, particularly post-secondary education, that tend to become a barrier to inclusion.

Participants sign on to a 24-month apprenticeship at the entry-level in the IT employment group. They are guided through an integrated learning program that combines on-the-job experience with formal training and mentorship. At the end, participants are qualified to continue working in IT with the federal government or may choose to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Launched as an IITB pilot project in 2021-22, it has attracted over 200 applications and resulted in 49 hires. More than 40 government departments, agencies and Crown corporations have shown interest in participating in the IT apprenticeship program. It was praised by the Clerk of the Privy Council, Janice Charette, in her report to the Prime Minister this year. ESDC "is leading an innovative whole-of-government apprenticeship program to improve the representation of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in the IT community," she wrote.

The program has been endorsed by the private and not-for profit sectors and is being noticed in academic and international circles. The program has set a target of 75 hires this year and 150 next year for ESDC.

In accepting the award on behalf of his team during a Microsoft Team meeting with Deputy Minister Jean-François Tremblay in October, James Heffernan, the Executive Director of Special Projects, said fully 35 per cent of participants continue to live in their home communities and that applications have been received from more than 70 Indigenous communities across Canada.

"It is clear that the program is resonating with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples and I am really proud of the work we are doing in terms of opening the door to opportunity," James said.

"I am convinced this is just the beginning. This model of creating an integrated learning environment has applications far beyond the IT sector. I don't think there is a limit."

On our behalf, Jean-François told James and his team they were doing "fantastic work." Well done and enjoy your DMAE.

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(Elle)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

During our regular work, we often see employees supporting innovation, from one end of the Department to the other. Today’s #ThankYouThursday features a team that has been experimenting, transforming and innovating for over seven years now: ESDC’s Innovation Lab.

We would like to highlight not only the projects led by the Lab to rethink the way we serve and help Canadians – through human-centred approaches – but also the way in which the team advances and builds ESDC’s innovation capacity.

In partnership with the Learning Branch and the Skills and Employment Branch, the Lab is helping us better support adult learners in Canada through the Mapping the Adult Learner Landscape project. The team consulted with adult learners across Canada to find strategies that improve learning conditions and, in turn, the services and help we provide them.

This past year, the Lab has also been working closely with the Employment Insurance Modernization team to develop policy options to build more comprehensive income supports for self-employed Canadians. Using citizen-centred policy development approaches – such as behavioural science insights – they found solutions that could make a significant difference for self-employed Canadians.

Other projects are currently underway and in the works!

One of the Lab’s flagship initiatives is ESDC’s Innovation Fund. Each year, the department allocates $500,000 for employees to experiment with and test their concepts on a small scale. The Fund team helps recipients bring their ideas to life through funding and guidance. Four of the five projects supported by the Fund in 2021–22 have been fully adopted and implemented.

For 2022–2023, four ideas have been approved for funding and the Lab will soon be launching the call-out process for 2023–2024 to provide more time for funding rollout and project completion in the next fiscal year. Employees have until November 30, 2022 to submit their projects. Ideas from colleagues across the department go far with support from the Fund!

This past year, the Lab team also launched ESDC’s Innovation Network, which brings together creative leaders from across the department to engage in interactive co-creation activities, presentations and discussions. The Network has generated quite a buzz, contributing to our ongoing innovation conversation, a great way to build innovation capacity at ESDC!

A revamped Lab News – now called Lab Notes – provides regular updates on the Lab’s activities, projects and events – and is available by contacting the Lab general delivery inbox: NC-LAB-GD@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca and on their renewed webpage.

Thank you, ESDC’s Innovation Lab team! We are proud to have people committed to seeking innovative solutions and advancing creative thinking at ESDC to make it an even better organization.

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(Elle)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Recently, we had the distinct pleasure of meeting with several Deputy Ministers’ Awards of Excellence (DMAE) recipients. Those meetings are truly a highlight for us as we get the opportunity to personally thank those of you behind the incredible projects and initiatives ESDC undertakes.

One was with the group of true innovators who took the Social Finance Fund from an idea in a Minister’s Mandate Letter to the starting gate, overcoming many policy challenges along the way. They were DMAE recipients in the Excellence in Program Design category.

To implement the initiative, a horizontal Design Team was custom-built, including 18 people from the Income Security and Social Development Branch and a small but dedicated team of specialists from the Program Operations Branch. The team benefited from expert advice from ESDC’s Legal Services Unit and Chief Financial Officer Branch as well as significant external advice from other government departments, central agencies, Crown Corporations, the academic community, civil society and the private sector.

The broad consultation was required on this exciting initiative because the 15-year, $755 million Social Finance Fund (SFF) is breaking new ground for ESDC.

‘Social finance’ refers to the practice of investing in projects and organizations that not only earn a financial return but also generate positive social outcomes in communities. Through the SFF, ESDC will help support communities, in particular underserved groups like women, Indigenous and racialized communities, gender minorities, official language minorities, new immigrants and refugees.

Due to the SFF Design Team’s perseverance, creativity and attention to detail, ESDC is poised to launch the SFF in the coming months.

Raphael Sauvé, the Director of the Social Innovation Division, nominated the team for the DMAE, with key support from Francis Nolan-Poupart, now Director for Results and Program Management in ESDC’s Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Directorate.

“The team has had to solve one design challenge after another in order to make this contribution program work in an investment context,” Raphael and Francis wrote in their DMAE nomination submission. “The team has also pushed boundaries in creating an innovative performance measurement framework and trailblazing diversity strategy for the program. Throughout all of its work, the team strove to apply the latest research, leverage new skills, collaborate with experts and enjoy themselves!”

We could not agree more.

Thanks to the team, in 2023 ESDC will launch a new investment program to help organizations working with underserved communities in Canada. It will complement our existing suite of programs.

Well done and thank you for your contribution to making Canada a better place. We hope you enjoy your well-earned DMAE.

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

With this week's #ThankYouThursday, we would like to congratulate one of our many Deputy Ministers' Awards of Excellence recipients, the Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) team.

Launched by the 2020 Speech from the Throne's call to action to provide better supports for an estimated 6.2 million Canadians who identify as having a disability, a dedicated team of 30 employees in the Office of Disability Issues, a division of the Income Security and Social Development Branch, started developing the Action Plan, the first of its kind in Canada.

Mausumi Banerjee, the Director of Policy for Office for Disability Issues, nominated the team for the Excellence in Policy Design award.

"The team has been tireless, unconditionally dedicated and passionate about the work and has produced an Action Plan that will have a positive impact on millions of Canadians with disabilities. I have learned so much from them and am always awed by their excellent work, resilience and good humour," Mausumi noted.

The DIAP team collaborated with teams from various disability communities and organizations, other ESDC branches, other government departments and international partners to build a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach to disability inclusion. The Action Plan team developed Budget proposals, a Memorandum of Cabinet, provided countless updates to interdepartmental and central agency colleagues and published a website to launch the Action Plan, all while working with short and moving deadlines and changing direction.

The foundation of the Action Plan was built through many consultations and engagement activities to identify gaps in policies and reform eligibility processes for disability programs and services. The Action Plan team used a number of tools such as online surveys to consult with disability communities, researchers, Indigenous organizations and other stakeholders to seek input on the plan itself and the Canada Disability Benefit.

The Deputy Ministers Awards of Excellence celebrate the outstanding work and contributions within our workplace and demonstrate how our workforce continues to grow and improve. These awards also highlight how our staff's important work and efforts help us serve and help Canadians throughout their lives.

We want to congratulate the Disability Inclusion Action Plan team for creating change in our society that will improve the lives of millions of Canadians by making Canada a more inclusive and accepting place to grow, live and work.

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

It's that time of year again—the Deputy Ministers' Awards of Excellence (DMAE) is just around the corner. For those of you who may not know, the annual DMAE is our most prestigious formal recognition of excellence at the departmental level, promoting group and individual achievements.

To congratulate the recipients, we are excited to announce that we are doing things a little differently this year. Traditionally, we hosted a live event in the National Capital Region (NCR) that brought together many of our colleagues. The COVID-19 pandemic changed our tradition and last year we opted to share pre-recorded videos for all employees.

This year, we are celebrating the DMAE recipients in a series of smaller informal Microsoft Teams meetings. It revives the spirit of the live, in-person events while allowing us to break out of the NCR and meet staff wherever they are from coast to coast to coast. These special meetings with one of the designated Deputies are occurring in October and November. We are enjoying and continue looking forward to meeting with the recipients in smaller groups this year to congratulate and thank them on a more personal level. This year we are recognizing 550 DMAE recipients!

In addition, we plan to highlight these employees throughout the year with our #ThankYouThursdays. While we will continue using our #TYTs, as we like to call them, to celebrate specific accomplishments, we will also highlight DMAE recipients and share their success stories more in-depth.

Celebrating your achievements throughout the Department and thanking our staff for their hard work is a top priority for us. Regardless of your role at ESDC, you make an important contribution to maintaining the policies, programs and services that Canadians rely upon throughout their lives. You should be very proud of the work you do. We hope you will enjoy celebrating along with us and remember to keep recognizing your colleagues throughout the year. As we said in our September 15 message, recognition is key to workplace well-being and should be everyone's responsibility.

The full list of DMAE recipients will be announced in November. Congratulations to all of this year's recipients and nominees and thank you to all their colleagues who took the time to nominate them!

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

For today's #ThankYouThursday, we want to recognize the Future of Work Secretariat and all those in ESDC who are contributing to our collective effort to redefine how and where we work together.

In April 2021 we launched the Future of Work Secretariat to set the direction for the Future of Work across the department – post-pandemic and beyond. It is a small, multidisciplinary team bringing together expertise from across ESDC to design, communicate and implement a coherent approach to the Future of Work.

We shared a message on September 6 to mark the official start of ESDC's Flexible Work Model. After 18 months of planning, analysis and design, the Secretariat was instrumental in bringing this launch to fruition and will continue to play an important role in helping all of us transition to a flexible work environment as we embark on this journey together.

Since its inception, the Secretariat has worked with internal and external partners to develop a deliberate, evidence-based approach to a flexible work model that is driven by our business and informed by employee needs. The Secretariat has ongoing engagement with other departments, central agencies and the private sector to ensure we remain up to speed with the latest research and best practices. They also supported the job function analysis and pilot projects on hybrid work to ensure objectivity and gather evidence on how teams throughout the department can be successful. These efforts are already helping us advance the implementation of our flexible work plan.

It's important for us to get this right, which is why the Secretariat took the time to engage with our employees through pulse surveys, town halls, consultations, blogs and questions sent directly to our colleague, DM Namiesniowski. Everyone deserves to be heard and the Secretariat recognized that a collaborative approach is essential to ensure all employees have an equal opportunity to thrive in our new work model.

Flexible Work represents a significant change for managers, employees and teams. The Secretariat developed several change management resources and practical tools to support everyone in the transition, including training videos, guides and playbooks. These can all be found on the Future of Work Secretariat's Digital Hub.

Under the strong leadership of the Secretariat, we are redesigning a workplace that represents our people, our business and our future. That is why we want to thank the Secretariat for all their hard work, contributions and their ability to set a clear and coherent vision for ESDC's Future of Work. You have truly set us up for success. For that, we thank you.

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

While some ESDC employees continued to work onsite during the COVID-19 pandemic, others have only recently started coming back to the office for reasons linked to the work they do or for specific activities based on operational needs. These evolving realities are also true for many employees in other workplaces that are regulated by the Federal Government across Canada, including the Public Service.

In light of Healthy Workplace Month, this #ThankYouThursday recognizes the Labour Program (LP) employees who have been working hard to keep all employees in federally regulated workplaces as well as their own colleagues healthy and safe. They all showed exceptional resilience and dedication in serving Canadians.

In collaboration with other safety experts, LP’s Health and Safety Officers (HSOs) – who investigate workplace-related injuries and fatalities – demonstrated outstanding leadership by developing COVID-19 field safety guidelines, training and intervention kits. These onsite solutions were implemented nationally to the benefit of all HSOs and subsequently Labour Standards Officers (LSOs).

To ensure that HSOs and LSOs were supplied with the kits and equipment necessary to safely conduct investigations, a number of LP employees across Canada also continued to provide invaluable support to help keep workplaces healthy and safe. They sent and received paper-based documents related to complaints, legal directions, orders and the payment of wages and fees. They also managed the inventory and all necessary equipment for intervention kits (masks, gloves, sanitizers, etc.) and ensured that these kits were always available for colleagues who needed them and they continue to do so today.

Meanwhile, LP’s Federal Workers Compensation Services (FWCS) team managed a largely paper-based system of sensitive information. They worked with the provincial Workers Compensation Boards (WCBs) to ensure that federal employees maintained access to medical and wage compensation for work-related injuries or illnesses. During the pandemic they processed over 2,800 COVID-19-related claims. Despite the challenges the FWCS team faced, they innovated and worked with internal partners, provincial WCBs and employers to digitize paper files and allow new, secure electronic exchange of protected B information.

As a result of the remarkable teamwork shown by LP employees from the Regional Operations and Compliance directorate and from the FWCS team of the Federal Program directorate, the Labour Program safely maintained operations throughout the pandemic.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all Labour Program employees across the country who have quickly adapted their work to support federally regulated workers and employers during this difficult period.

Thank you!

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

With this week's #ThankYouThursday, we would like to congratulate the Investment, Procurement and Project Management Directorate in the Chief Financial Officer Branch as well as all those in the department who are engaged in project management and governance.

Earlier this year, following several years of preparation, the Treasury Board (TB) approved the department to a "Class 3" under its Organizational Project Management Capacity Assessment. This higher classification means that the department now has more financial autonomy, authority and flexibility and it illustrates TB's confidence in the project management capacity here at ESDC. All those involved earned this well-deserved recognition. What an impressive accomplishment!

This is ESDC's first Class 3 designation, the second highest of four categories, since the TB implemented the assessment system fifteen years ago. It means that the TB recognizes the department's capacity in financial and project management resulting in greater autonomy and authority for ESDC to plan and implement projects under $10 million. ESDC was previously ranked a Class 2 with a $5 million threshold.

As you know, ESDC is responsible for delivering the full range of the Government of Canada's programs for Canadians throughout their lives. We deliver billions of dollars to millions of Canadians. As such, it is imperative that we manage those social programs with the highest professional standard. This standard is reflected in the TB's five assessment criteria:

• Assets and services are well managed;
• Decisions are based on an assessment of full life-cycle costs and demonstrate best value and sound stewardship;
• Governance and oversight are effective;
• Integrated and collaborative practices are in place; and
• The workforce has the required knowledge, experience and skills.

Given that ESDC, including the Labour Program and Service Canada, will invest $3.5 billion in projects, assets and acquired services over the next five years, our Class 3 recognition gives ESDC greater flexibility to manage the wide array of activities outlined in the department's current five-year investment plan. The investments in the current plan are 13.5 per cent higher than the previous one, reflecting, in part, various transformation-related initiatives.

Literally thousands of employees are involved in supporting the financial governance of the department, either through reporting or monitoring, and you collectively proved that ESDC deserves recognition for its proven capacity in project management.

Congratulations for a job well-done!

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On September 8, we learned of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who died peacefully at Balmoral Castle at the age of 96. Alongside residents of the United Kingdom, Canadians from coast to coast to coast, citizens from the Commonwealth of nations and throughout the world are collectively mourning the loss of the only monarch most had known.

As the longest reigning British monarch, the Queen served more than 70 years on the throne, dedicating her life to the service of others, including Canada and Canadians; and she did so until her final days. Since that day, Canadians from all walks of life have found themselves compelled to offer their condolences and share how she touched the lives of many during her years of reign.

On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to applaud the hard working and dedicated individuals who make up the Citizen Service Branch Principal Publisher team and their colleagues elsewhere in ESDC, with the Privy Council Office and at Canadian Heritage, who ensured Canadians had a way to digitally commemorate the late Queen.

As you may know, Service Canada is responsible for Canada.ca, the Government of Canada’s official website, which represents the Government as a whole and is Canada’s public facing portal to the world. Following the Queen’s passing, the Principal Publisher team sprung into action to implement a memorial banner for Canada.ca and other websites across the Government. The team at ESDC also helped create a digital book of condolences for Canadians (and anyone) to sign, share their stories and pay their respects.

Nearly 500,000 Canada.ca webpages were updated with the memorial banner within approximately an hour. Within that same short timeframe, the Book of Condolences was available to the public, making the book one of the first available for Canadians to pay their respects. The speed with which these digital solutions were implemented can be credited to the team’s efficient methods of preparation and their ability to quickly leverage existing digital solutions and collaborate with partners across the Government.

It has always been the practice of the Principal Publisher team to provide 24/7 technical support to ESDC and other government departments. Our team members continued to work tirelessly monitoring and assisting other departments with their technical needs to support this important and timely work.

Working together, they ensured the book functioned properly and could accommodate high levels of traffic and that the memorial banner could be applied harmoniously to other government websites.

The team continues to monitor the number of visits to the Canada.ca webpage, including how many Canadians signed the Book of Condolences. To date, there have been approximately 175,000 visits to the book and almost 60,000 messages posted to the page.

It is because of your steadfast work and dedication that Canadians have a place to commemorate, honour and celebrate the late Queen.

Thank you for being there for all Canadians as we reflect on Queen Elizabeth’s impact.

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

As we transition to ESDC's flexible work environment, we would like to acknowledge the tremendous work done by the Chief Financial Officer Branch Real Property teams.

During the past two years, while many employees worked primarily from home, CFOB Real Property teams worked tirelessly with their partners to ensure that our buildings were healthy, safe, accessible and flexible. These teams operate in all four regions (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, and Western Canada and Territories) and in the National Capital Region (NCR), in 22 offices across Canada. They provide national oversight of the accommodation program for all buildings across the country where ESDC employees work and are responsible for a variety of activities including financial management, real property and transformation projects.

To support our many frontline and critical employees who have been reporting to the office in person throughout the pandemic, CFOB Real Property teams have transformed our workplaces to adhere to the health and safety guidance established by our federal partners to ensure the latest measures and guidelines are in place to provide a safe working environment to all our employees.

This includes enhanced cleaning, especially on high-touch surfaces, increased access to cleaning products and wipes, as well as providing hand sanitizer. CFOB Real Property teams have also collaborated with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to confirm that all locations, both Crown and private sector leased spaces, comply with the latest ventilation and that the water quality standards. This includes regular testing at all sites.

CFOB Real Property teams also developed the ESDC Workspace Management System to allow employees to select and reserve workspaces throughout our network of buildings.

The CFOB Real Property teams are also leading the ESDC Workplace initiative to modernize our workplaces by conducting a number of pilot projects that have transformed general office spaces and processing centres into modern ESDC Workplaces.

Workplace modernization projects continue at many sites across the country and by 2024, more than 6,000 work points will be updated to support Activity-Based Working, accommodate a diverse workforce, and contribute to a welcoming, inclusive environment.

None of this would be possible without the great collaboration with several partners such as the Human Resources Services Branch, the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch, the Integrity Services Branch, the Branch/Region Management Services and the DG Real Property Committee.

Thank you for making our work environments inspiring and safe.

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

This week's #ThankYouThursday is dedicated to all of you who were involved in creating and working in the new Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) Branch. This also could not have been possible without the hard work and support of policy, operations, and integrity teams in the Skills and Employment Branch, the Program Operations Branch, Integrity Services Branch and our ESDC regions.

Each year, more than 50,000 temporary foreign workers come to Canada to work in important sectors to Canada's economy such as agriculture and the agri-food industry. The TFWP is an integral program for Canada's labour market and is vital to maintaining Canada's critical food supply chain.

During the pandemic, the program faced challenges such as COVID-19 restrictions, increased labour market demand and evolving inspection requirements. As you know, our dedicated staff put in a significant amount of overtime during this period. These obstacles highlighted the need for a more streamlined approach, and changes to how the program ran and was delivered.

As a result, the new TFWP Branch was born. On May 30, 2022, the new branch brought together the existing national headquarters teams and leadership within the Skills and Employment Branch, the Program Operations Branch and the Integrity Services Branch. The branch was formed to simplify operations, enable a more centralized governance, and obtain a clearer accountability under one branch and one Assistant Deputy Minister, Mike MacPhee. We want to acknowledge and commend all those involved for the work you have done and continue to do. The new branch and the change in structure has proven to improve the management and delivery of the TFWP over recent weeks.

After more than five years of development, on July 6, 2022, the new Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Temporary Foreign Workers) were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. These Amendments provide the TFWP with important new authorities to implement front- and back-end measures that will enhance the protection of migrant workers in Canada, and address persistent gaps with respect to employer compliance. With a coming-into-force date of September 26, 2022, the collaborative work between Policy, Operations, and Compliance is more important than ever.

As well, the creation of the new TFWP Branch allows Policy, Operations, and Compliance, previously in three separate branches, to review their processes, work more efficiently by reducing silos and removing duplication. This is showing positive outcomes including more efficient communication, collaboration, accountability, and more opportunities for innovation.

Recently, the TFWP has been receiving an unprecedented volume of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs). In 2021-22, Service Canada processed over 69,000 LMIAs, the most ever in a year, and the Program is expected to exceed that number in 2022-23, with over 40,000 applications already processed year to date.

The TFWP Branch continues to work together with its regional colleagues to enhance worker protection through improvements to its integrity framework. This includes ensuring timely action is taken to protect the health and safety of TFWs, collectively increasing the reach and quality of inspection activities, and rebuilding the compliance continuum, a priority for the Department.

We would also like to take the opportunity to thank enabling partner branches for their support in the creation of the new TFWP Branch.

Thank you for your tremendous work on improving this important program. Because of you, we can better serve our clients!

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

With the last Thursday of August upon us, today's #ThankYouThursday is dedicated to the students of Employment and Social Development Canada, including the Labour Program and Service Canada, who spent the summer working hard to advance our priorities and serve Canadians.

Students are important members of our organization and we value their work, thoughts and opinions. The innovative and creative minds of our students allow us to use new approaches to ensure our organization becomes more agile and responsive to the needs of our clients. Today's students are the future of public service, and are shaping the future of work in our department.

To all our students, thank you for your commitment, willingness to learn and initiative. At the beginning of the summer, many of you stepped up to help us alleviate the passport challenges. Your help was invaluable and we thank you for serving Canadians in a time of need.

We would also like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to all the staff who supported the hiring, integration and retention of students. With your help, over 850 students worked in the department this summer, including nearly 50 on the passport file, and many will stay on over the longer term. You have worked hard to provide students with quality full- and part-time employment. Your commitment and dedication to supporting the next generation is inspiring.

Emily Gay, a summer student in the Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch, shared a few of her thoughts about her experience: "This has been my first position with the Government and I have really enjoyed it so far. I have learned so much, and everyone has been so kind and welcoming. This opportunity has been the start of a great path, and I am excited for what my future holds."

Joseph Plourde, a student in the Citizen Service Branch, conveyed this about his experience working on the passport file: "My experience this summer has been a great learning opportunity. Knowing that my contribution helped many Canadians get their passports is incredibly rewarding and I feel like a made a difference during my time here at the department."

Student Network Co-Champions Gary Robertson and Mary Crescenzi would also like to thank the National Student Network Team, Student Ambassadors from all branches and regions and student supervisors. You have all worked hard to ensure that students across the department were given quality work experience this summer.

Gary Robertson shared that: "Students are often privileged to be involved in interesting and forward-thinking projects as they bring a valued outside perspective. If your role is related to administration, in its many forms, remember that you are getting access to activities that take place behind the scenes. That understanding of how the "machine" moves will serve you no matter where your career takes you."

Meanwhile, Mary Crescenzi noted: "I am so grateful for the talent, skills, ambition and passion that all of the student brought to our department. Your hard work contributed to providing excellent services to Canadians. May you be proud of the work you do and the difference you make!"

To all our students, thank you for the work that you do. You make ESDC a better workplace and you will be missed! We sincerely thank you and wish you the best of luck this upcoming school year.

We look forward to having you back in the future.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

For more than two years, our #ThankYouThursday messages have been highlighting the extraordinary work of ESDC employees. This week, we'd like to express our sincerest thanks to a group of professionals who, though they usually work behind the scenes, are no less essential to carrying out our mandate.

We're dedicating this #ThankYouThursday to all linguistic services' editors and translators that support the Department's branches in producing communications for Canadians and ESDC employees.

Editors and translators are unsung heroes who work under pressure every day to ensure that our services and communications are of the highest quality. Their expertise is not limited to languages; the texts they handle deal with complex topics such as legislation, policy, technology and finance. They verify the accuracy of the information and terminology in our products, from newsletters and social media messages, to speeches and Treasury Board submissions.

To be able to manage a high volume of requests under very tight, if not unrealistic, deadlines, they adapt their work methods without being any less rigorous. Overtime is frequent, as are changes to work schedules, and emergencies can arise at any time. Editors and translators are supported by coordinators who play a critical role in managing all these demands and priorities. Together, they prove on a daily basis that it is possible to produce quality documents in both official languages.

We can't overstate the importance of communicating accurate, clear and precise information to both the public and departmental staff. As you know, our programs, services and benefits support Canadians in helping them live productive and rewarding lives and improving their quality of life. To effectively respond to the needs of Canadians, ESDC must provide them access to the same information, in their official language of choice.

Our department is the largest provider of government benefits and services to Canadians, and it employs around 40,000 people. Official languages are an integral part of our mandate. As such, several teams ensure that the Department meets its obligations under the Official Languages Act.

This week, we want to say thank you to all members of ESDC's linguistic services. Your passion, dedication and professionalism are at the heart of our commitment to always do better to serve Canadians in the official language of their choice.

Do you know of other unsung heroes in the Department? If so, write to us at EDSC.SousMinistres-DeputyMinisters.ESDC@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca and tell us about them!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

This #ThankYouThursday, we would like to acknowledge our Access to Information and Privacy teams who work diligently to meet our legislative requirements, including strict service delivery standards, under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

Despite unprecedented challenges resulting from the pandemic, the teams showed great flexibility and agility in the shift to remote working including revolutionising old procedures and moving from a largely paper-based process to one that is now almost entirely digital. The results have been impressive with performance compliance rates for both access to information requests and privacy requests improving significantly in the last fiscal year compared to the first year of the pandemic.

Access to Information is an indispensable pillar of our democracy. It supports effective scrutiny and debate and enhances accountability and transparency of federal institutions. It is a vital tool in building and consolidating trust between Canadians and our federal institutions.

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Operations Division in the Corporate Secretariat at National Headquarters is responsible for processing all access to information requests (93,000 pages last year) as well as some specific privacy requests, the review of informal requests as part of Open Government, as well as statutory commitments for the Proactive Disclosure of a large number of significant and often high-profile material.

Meeting our Privacy Act responsibilities could not be accomplished without our four regional branches (Atlantic, Ontario, Quebec and Western Canada and Territories). Since Service Canada regions provide most of the direct operational client services, the majority of the privacy requests (1.5 million pages last year) are processed by the regions.

The Labour Program and other branches, including the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch, the Citizen Services Branch and the Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch, play essential roles in processing requests and disclosures.

Our Access to Information and Privacy team plays an important role in balancing competing rights and obligations. As the Acts note, accountability and transparency are important principles in a democracy. However, the right to information is not unlimited. The Acts also protect the privacy of Canadians and prescribe several categories of information that may be withheld, such as federal-provincial affairs, international affairs and defence, advice to ministers, law enforcement and third party protected information. Withholding information, however, must be justified.

ATIP is not easy and yet this important task is delivered effectively and efficiently by the team on our behalf for Canadians. The team contributes to greater knowledge and understanding of our department among Canadians, and contributes in no small way to a healthy democracy.

For this #ThankYouThursday, we are recognizing the vital work done by this small but mighty team and their many partners in the regions and across the department. Thank you!

Stay Well. Stay Safe.

Cliff Groen
(He/him/his)
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Managing Canada's social safety net for seniors requires keen attention to demographics. As a group, Canadian seniors are constantly changing and our social safety net must change with them.

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we would like to put the spotlight on the teams behind the enhancement to the Old Age Security last month.

The Seniors and Pensions Policy Secretariat in the Income Security and Social Development Branch led the legislation and policy development process supporting the government's commitment to increase the OAS pension for older seniors.

The Benefits and Integrated Services Branch in Service Canada implemented the increase rolling it out to recipients. The Innovation, Information and Technology Branch worked closely with the teams on the IT systems behind the delivery while the Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch ensured the Canadian public understood the enhanced benefit and the reasons for it.

These teams worked together to deliver on the Government of Canada's commitment to enhance the OAS for older seniors. This enhancement meets the changing demographic needs of older seniors in Canada and delivers solutions for today and tomorrow.

Introduced in 1927, the OAS program is among Canada's oldest social programs and it has long proven its value by keeping up with the times. Today, Canada's seniors are living longer and they are one of the fastest growing demographics. Older seniors often face health-related expenses because of the onset of illness or disability. As seniors age, they are less likely to be able to work and more likely to face the possibility of outliving their savings.

To meet these changing needs, the OAS pension was permanently increased in July 2022 by 10 per cent for seniors aged 75 and over, a group that currently numbers 3.3 million and is growing. This is the first permanent increase for the OAS since 1973. In addition to the $500 one-time payment to eligible seniors in August 2021, the increase means that eligible full pensioners will receive more than $800 extra over the first year, giving older seniors greater financial security now and into the future. The OAS is indexed to inflation to ensure it keeps up with the cost of living.

Dedicated and detailed work from teams across the department was required to make these changes happen. The policy change, announced in Budget 2021, required amendments to the Old Age Security Act, significant changes to complex information technology systems and extensive updates to benefit administration procedures and processes as well as a strong outreach and communications effort.

For this #ThankYouThursday, we want to applaud you on delivering an improved OAS pension, part of a tapestry of seniors benefits that, together, ensure Canadians can enjoy their golden years. Thank you!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Twenty-five years ago, ESDC officially launched an innovative youth network targeting the emerging generation of employees and the young-at-heart known as YMAGIN (Youth MAndate for Greater Involvement).

A joint initiative between ESDC, Service Canada, Labour Program and Policy Horizons Canada, today YMAGIN has grown to become a nationally recognized network that fosters an agile, inclusive and equipped public service. Young employees are the future of the department and their engagement ensures we continue to serve Canadians to the best of our ability.

YMAGIN provides employees with opportunities to acquire and develop professional skills and network. It has a wide membership across the ESDC portfolio and is represented in all the branches and regions, who contribute in a meaningful way to the department's future.

To help mark this special anniversary, we are dedicating today's #ThankYouThursday to all current and past YMAGIN members and alumni. Your collective efforts have made YMAGIN a pillar of the ESDC's group of employee networks. YMAGIN's longevity is proof of its ongoing relevance.

Over the years, YMAGIN has created and contributed to a number of initiatives that still stand strong today including two-way mentorship opportunities, the Take Me with You initiative, the Green Committee, annual engagement with the ESDC Charitable Campaign and as Youth Ambassadors to the Campaign.

In addition to supporting these types of traditional initiatives, YMAGIN is also an important resource of learning, personal growth and career development for its members and the department at large—offering ongoing engagement sessions on topics such as pensions, finances, Indigenous awareness, LGTBQ2+ and more. Furthermore, members of the YMAGIN community regularly engage and interact with ESDC's senior leaders in a variety of settings, which continue to improve ESDC strategies and initiatives.

What started as a small group of individuals 25 years ago has grown and thrived into one of the largest networks within the department because of the passion of its members.

Today, YMAGIN continues to foster and encourage a positive and inclusive work environment where all employees are welcomed.

To all of the YMAGIN members over the years, thank you for your commitment and enthusiasm to the network and your continued contributions within ESDC. To learn more or become a member, please send an email to the network.

Happy 25th anniversary!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

This week's #ThankYouThursday is dedicated to the thousands of you on the front-lines and in supporting roles who are working tirelessly in response to the current passport situation. We also would like to recognize the countless employees who have gone above and beyond their normal day-to-day duties to help provide passport services to Canadians coast to coast to coast. This includes many who have been deployed from elsewhere in the department to assist on the file.

It's no secret that the past few months have been an extremely difficult period. You consistently inspire us with your ability to navigate change and put the needs of Canadians first.

From April 1 to the end of June 2022, Service Canada received more than 808,000 applications for passports, which is 166,000 more applications than received during the same period in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. Between April 1 and July 10, 2022, you have delivered 556,796 passports to Canadians which is truly remarkable and historic in nature.

Despite these unprecedented levels, you continue to show up each and every day and we appreciate your unwavering dedication. As a result of your hard work, we have improved our service delivery, decreased call centre wait times and are getting more passports into the hands of Canadians each week.

Your mental health and well-being are a top priority of ours. Situations like these can take a toll on your mental health and we want to ensure that you feel supported. Please utilize the mental health services available to you, such as The Employee Assistant Program and The Peer Support Program. We encourage you to reach out to your managers and check in on your colleagues to provide support wherever and whenever possible.

It's times like these that really shine a spotlight on the incredible teamwork and resiliency of our incredible staff. You are an integral part of the passport operations and provide a vital service to Canadians. You should be immensely proud of the work you do. We certainly are!

Thank you for staying the course and exemplifying what it means to be a public servant. For that we thank you, Canadians thank you.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On June 16, we held the first ever all-staff virtual "Ask Me Anything" Deputy Ministers' Town Hall! For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we want to thank you for participating and making it so successful!

Nearly 10,000 of you tuned in live. Never in our history have we been able to assemble so many of you at once and from all corners of the country. It was a resounding success and we are truly grateful to all that could participate.

Another big reason for the success was in thanks to all those who submitted questions in advance. In response to our call-out, we received over 150 questions and comments from employees from across the organization. Your input ensured we could address issues of concern to all of us. We responded to as many as we could during the 90-minute session on issues ranging from Future of Work, mental health and diversity and inclusion, to career development.

It was also an opportunity to highlight National Public Service Week and thank you for your tremendous contributions throughout the year.

We would be remiss if we did not thank our event organizers from the Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch and the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch, as well as our moderator Marie-Claude Pelletier who seamlessly guided us through the series of questions and answers.

If you could not attend, or want to re-watch, the 90-minute video, it is now available for viewing on the Intranet. There is also a transcript of the event.

Please reply to our #ThankYouThursday email to share any comments, insights or subsequent reflections you may have arising from our Town Hall. We would love to hear from you.

Thank you again and we look forward to seeing you at future engagement activities!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

One year ago, ESDC officially launched the Digital Workplace Taskforce, an initiative to simplify our work by introducing digital tools and agile solutions that are guided by information management best practices. To help mark the first anniversary, we are dedicating today's #ThankYouThursday message to the Taskforce team, whose efforts have been instrumental in enhancing our employees' work experience.

The Digital Workplace Taskforce is a collaboration between the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch and the Transformation Management Branch. Under the leadership of executive co-leads Julie Breton and Alex Singh, the Taskforce's goal was to implement the types of solutions that support a workplace where people, process and technology meet, and ones where we put people first. This year, through their five current priorities (security screening, email and information management, onboarding, staffing documentation and digital signatures), we've witnessed the Taskforce team make great strides advancing improvements to the security screening process for new hires at ESDC, enhancing the onboarding process and eliminating multi-step digital signature requirements. Coming soon is harmon.ie, an Outlook add-in tool for emails, making it easier for employees working remotely to share and find information in SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive and Outlook, and enabling the implementation of better information management practices.

And it doesn't stop there. With people at the heart of what we do at ESDC, it's no surprise that engaging employees in a way that helps them evolve their digital skills and mindsets are top of mind and a big reason why the Taskforce team created the Digital Booster sessions. These interactive sessions equip and empower employees, at all levels, with tips and tricks that encourage them to adopt the digital tools.

This year, the team achieved several impressive milestones, including over 1,000 colleagues who participated in the "Unpacking SharePoint for Workplace Improvement" session at the 2022 ESDC Manager Forum and over 5,500 staff who connected with the Taskforce through its engagement sessions, pilot projects and blog posts. To top it off, employees want to get involved, and they are demonstrating this by signing up to work for the Taskforce or contribute in other ways.

What started as a small collaboration between two branches has grown to include many more players. Today, there are consultations and partnerships with regions and other branches within ESDC, as well as the ESDC Manager Community, Transport Canada, and many more. These formal and informal collaborations demonstrate that great things can happen when we work together.

Today, the Taskforce is well on its way to becoming a mighty team of influencers who are making a positive difference with employees throughout the Department.

Thank you for your ability to see beyond the limits of what we thought possible.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we would like to acknowledge the behind-the-scenes contributions of the Western Canada and Territories (W-T) Region's Regional Emergency Operations Centre (REOC).

The REOCs are ESDC's regional operations centres for the response and management of emergencies or crises. Each ESDC region has a REOC that works closely with the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) to ensure our department responds to emergencies in a timely and effective manner.

The REOC team in the W-T Region, in particular, has overcome unique challenges over the last few years. In addition to managing the ongoing response to COVID-19, staff have also had to respond to catastrophic natural disasters like wildfires and floods.

The 2021 wildfire season was one of the worst on record, with over 30,000 km2 lost to fire throughout the W-T Region. This is an area roughly the size of Vancouver Island. The W-T REOC was activated for 79 days and the region utilized over 2,700 employee hours to respond to the wildfires.

In November 2021, British Columbia experienced three unprecedented "atmospheric river" weather events. Record levels of rainfall led to mass flooding and landslides that severed major roads and rail links, cutting off access to many communities. In response, the W-T REOC was activated for 24 days and the region dedicated almost 1,400 employee hours to respond to this emergency.

To help displaced Canadians who were in need of assistance during these emergencies, the W-T REOC brought together staff composed of subject matter experts from all regional branches and enabling services. In both instances, the W-T REOC ensured a coordinated regional response:

• Citizen Services Branch reached out to Emergency Support Services, community organizations and Indigenous communities to provide information and assistance on the services Service Canada offers, and expanded hours of the Outreach Support Centre to respond to affected individuals.
• Benefits Delivery Services Branch developed task teams to process event-specific claims to ensure consistency, and addressed missing Records of Employment, promoted direct deposit and initiated replacement warrants, if required.
• Integrity Services Branch contacted employers of Temporary Foreign Workers in affected areas to ensure migrant workers were safe.
• Program Delivery Branch liaised with potentially affected outreach with grants and contributions holders, projects and activity sites to determine impacts.

W-T REOC acted as the central command, providing up-to-date reports and briefings to the Regional Crisis Management Team and NEOC. This resulted in an unparalleled level of interconnectedness and collaboration that proved invaluable during these emergencies.

Being no stranger to innovation, W-T REOC leveraged the incident command system (ICS) to manage emergencies, with support from the Regional Emergency Operations Committee. The ICS also served as the primary communications link between external stakeholders, and other federal and provincial partners.

To ensure there is capacity during periods of high staff absences due to illness or competing priorities, the W-T REOC has taken a forward-thinking approach by establishing an Emergency Response Task Force (ERTF). The task force is comprised of trained reserve employees who attend exercises and can be called upon for real life scenarios, as required.

More recently, a new challenge has emerged in responding to strong demand from Canadians in all regions for passports. Many of you are working long hours and under great pressure, especially on the front lines. Your sacrifices are being recognized and we are truly grateful for your tremendous efforts. We are making progress and we know things will improve.

So, with today's #ThankYouThursday, we highlight the contributions of the W-T REOC team. ESDC is truly grateful to have a professional and dedicated network of REOCs across the country, ready to help Canadians in need at a moment's notice.

Thank you.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is a key pillar of the Canadian economy. Created in 1966, it has undergone constant updates to remain current with changes to the Canadian economy and labour market.

In 2017, the Government of Canada determined that CPP benefits should increase from one-quarter to one-third of an individual's lifetime average pensionable earnings. That new level required phased-in increases for both contributions from people in the labour force and benefits for those who are retired. The phase-in period began in 2019 and will continue with small annual increases until 2025. Enhanced benefits will grow slowly over time as Canadians work and make contributions, with the maximum retirement pension increasing by more than 50% for today's young workers.

To implement the enhancement, a small but mighty team was put in place within the Transformation Management Branch. This team was supported by dedicated employees from key branches such as the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch, the Benefits and Integrated Services Branch, the Income Security and Social Development Branch, the Citizen Service Branch, the Chief Financial Officer Branch as well as the Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch.

The latest CPP change follows the enhancement of the program that began in January 2019. Starting on June 7 this year, pensioners began receiving the first enhanced benefits that flow from it.

With fairness among generations as a guiding CPP principle, the balance between the contributions to CPP made over a lifetime and the benefits received in retirement must be maintained. So, those who are eligible for CPP benefits during the phase-in period will receive benefits that reflect the contributions they made whether for one month, one year or the full seven years. By the end of the phase-in period, approximately 1.6 million pensioners would have received their enhanced benefits.

For today's #ThankYouThursday, we wish to commend the important contributions of the CPP-e Project team within TMB and IITB, along with the supporting teams, to ensure the CPP meets the needs of Canada's current and future senior citizens.

These changes secure the CPP for the foreseeable future. The Chief Actuary of Canada has confirmed in his latest report that both components of the CPP – the base and the enhancement – are sustainable at the current legislated contribution rates for at least the next 75 years. The CPP enhancement is fully funded by employer and employee contributions and revenue on CPP investments.

Canadians can rest assured that the enhanced CPP will be there when they retire, including many of us in the not-too-distant future. While most Canadians do not see the ongoing effort by our ESDC teams to keep the CPP solvent and ensure it meets Canadians' needs, we see it everyday. On behalf of all Canadians, please know that we appreciate your management of this important program.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Happy National Public Service Week!

Thank you all for attending our virtual "Ask Me Anything" Deputy Ministers' Town Hall this morning. What a great discussion! This was our very first town hall for all employees allowing us to talk about the issues that matter most to you. If you were unable to attend the town hall, there will be a video available soon. Please stay tuned for follow-up messages with the link to the Town Hall video.

That brings us to this week's #ThankYouThursday – dedicated to all of you! It's about celebrating your contributions, successes and accomplishments of which there are many this year, to say the least. You make ESDC the remarkable organization that it is.

First, we would like to thank you all for adapting to so much continuous change. You always stay the course and keep your focus on serving Canadians. That is public service! Change isn't easy. It can be daunting. It can also offer opportunities which is why we believe that moving forward with our new flexible work model is the right thing to do since it will allow us to take advantage of the best of the offsite and in-office experience. Thanks to all supervisors and managers that are leading the work to get us ready to begin implementing our new model come September.

We are truly looking forward to the greater sense of normalcy provided by our transition to a flexible work environment so that we can connect, create and celebrate together during weeks like these! We encourage managers and teams to use the coming weeks between now and September to get together, reconnect in person and benefit from the in-office experience where that is feasible.

As we mark NPSW, we would like to celebrate your team spirit and sense of empathy and the way you have been supporting one another throughout the year. We know that maintaining such a positive team spirit has not been easy. This is why we're so excited about the latest update to Health Canada's occupational health guidance which now allows us to return the office without capacity limitations.

We would be remiss not to mention your willingness to take on new roles outside the scope of your usual functions and your willingness to continuously improve our services, benefits, processes and operations. We want to once again express our deep appreciation for the incredible efforts and sacrifices you have made across this organization to help Canadians.

We hope that you had time over the week to partake in a few branch and regional activities. Enjoy the rest of National Public Service Week and please check out our video from earlier this week!

Stay Well. Stay Safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Canada continues to stand with the people of Ukraine, and is helping them travel to Canada and putting in place the necessary supports so they can successfully integrate into our communities after they arrive.

Our department, in collaboration with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, is providing one-time transitional financial assistance to Ukrainians arriving in Canada to help them meet their basic needs. We are also providing support so they can obtain a Canadian social insurance number (SIN) as soon as possible in order to be able to work. Ukrainians are also receiving settlement services to help them adjust to their new life in Canada, including receiving information and services to help find a job.

For this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to acknowledge some extraordinary work led by the Benefits and Integrated Services Branch (BISB), Citizen Services Branch (CSB), and Skills and Employment Branch (SEB), together with a crack team of industrious colleagues from several other branches, as well as regional colleagues across the country. Over the past several weeks, Service Canada employees have worked tirelessly to successfully launch an application portal and client support services to deliver financial assistance to Ukrainians who are in Canada under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET) special measure. The SEB leadership team and employees also provided an invaluable contribution to the front end policy work to design the benefit. What makes this project an amazing feat is that only two weeks elapsed between the government's decision to proceed with this policy and the launch of the portal. One of the reasons this project was made possible was the work done by the teams led by Rouba Dabboussy from BISB and Malcolm Saravanamutto from CSB who have been tirelessly designing and ironing out all of the operational details.

The results so far? The portal was launched on Thursday, June 2 and by Wednesday, June 8, Service Canada has approved the applications for payment for more than 14,000 individuals. Thanks to this crucial work, Ukrainians arriving in Canada are being given the support they need to get started in their new communities.

At the same time, many teams have also been involved supporting Ukrainians arriving in Canada on charters, commercial flights or other means. For example, regional Service Canada teams mobilized quickly to offer outreach supports including onsite clinics to provide Social Insurance Number (SIN) services, information on Government of Canada programs available to them - including but not limited to Job Bank, Foreign Credentials Recognition Program, and pathfinding services through referrals to other community supports. This allowed newcomers from Ukraine to access services on the spot instead of having to make an appointment at a Service Canada Centre or apply online. In March, SEB also launched Jobs for Ukraine - a new channel on the Job Bank website - allowing employers who wish to provide jobs to Ukrainian nationals in Canada to register. Jobs for Ukraine has been very well received and as of June 8, 2022, the webpage has been used more than 312,000 times. Finally, under the leadership of SEB, various branches are working to identify what other policy and programmatic responses might be offered to support the arrival of Ukrainians, since they are not receiving all of the same supports offered to refugees.

We would like to thank all employees whose work is helping these Ukrainians fleeing the war in their home country by providing them with the support they need as they arrive in Canada. Your commitment to this humanitarian undertaking is commendable.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

The pandemic has increased workload pressures on most teams across the department and this is especially true for ESDC's Labour Relations team. For this #ThankYouThursday, we wish to highlight how they have helped us, as a department, navigate our way through the pandemic.

The team of approximately 150 employees promotes productive work environments, and fair and equitable treatment of employees through the consistent application of collective agreements, labour relations legislation and workplace policies. And they do this while promoting harmonious relations between unions and management.

Of course, the past two years have been far from routine – not surprisingly, the pandemic caused a sharp and significant increase in demand for assistance as we all struggled with the new reality of working remotely. Dealing with the unprecedented nature of a global pandemic resulted in an expanded use of leave with pay, which resulted in the development of the Practical Guide for Managers – Use of Leave with Pay for Other Reasons (699). In other key areas related to working during the pandemic, Labour Relations was a key contributor in helping the department implement Treasury Board Secretariat's COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, and the team continues to be a major contributor to the planning for the Future of Work. If that uncertainty was not enough, protests as well as weather-related events over the past two years such as floods, extreme storms and forest fires – including severe weather that impacted communities in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick recently – disrupted work and required immediate attention involving the expertise of Labour Relations.

This is all in addition to the ongoing regular work in providing advice and guidance to management on priorities such as performance management, accommodating employees, grievance and disciplinary processes, the interpretation of collective agreements and related policies, essential services and strike management. Another important contribution by the Labour Relations team has been the ongoing training offered to managers during the pandemic. On average, 200 ESDC managers participated in weekly virtual training sessions on a range of topics that fall under the purview of Labour Relations.

If you had the opportunity to work with Labour Relations over the past two years, then you are distinctly aware based on your first-hand experience of how value-added their contributions have been to the department and all its employees.

With this #ThankYouThursday, we wish to acknowledge our appreciation for the tremendous work of the Labour Relations team and the success they bring to our department. Thank you for your commitment day in and day out and for your service excellence.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

A call from auditors can sometimes bring uneasy feelings when we hear they may visit or look at our work – but at the heart of their work is a drive to help ESDC improve what we do and how we do it for Canadians. For this #ThankYouThursday, we are doing a shout out to the Internal Audit and Enterprise Risk Management Branch (IAERMB) – and also to the audit coordinators across the department who are key to continuous improvement.

Concentrated in the National Capital Region but growing in number across the country, the team of about 60 people supports the department in continually improving its operations through trusted advice.

How do the auditors and risk advisors choose what to work on? Sometimes, ESDC senior management asks the audit team for help in reviewing difficult issues. In the case of the Benefits Delivery Modernization programme, agile auditing is a built-in feature. Most often, the work is driven by the Risk Based Audit Plan. This plan assesses risks across ESDC and determines which are the most urgent. Management is consulted, data is analysed and the Departmental Audit Committee recommends the plan for the Deputy Minister's approval.

Cybersecurity, fraud, technical debt and change management, including the Future of Work, are top areas of focus for 2022-23. The branch's Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) team provides insight and analysis to help make better decisions. Risk management coordinators throughout the department have been key in helping ERM reimagine and relaunch the departmental risk management process and reporting. Stay tuned for upcoming virtual sessions offered by the ERM team.

The audit branch is also ESDC's point of contact with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG). Given the size and the nature of our business, ESDC is frequently the subject of OAG audits. These audits are critical to ensuring that we provide quality and timely service to Canadians. These skills have been shown to be exceptional with the recent audit of the Temporary Foreign Workers program, the Reaching All Canadians audit and other audits currently underway. A huge thank you to the audit coordinators in all ESDC branches whose hard work, patience, negotiating skills and sound judgement ensure the OAG audits achieve fair and balanced outcomes.

These are just a few of the many ways IAERMB contributes to ESDC's ongoing effort to improve. The Oxford dictionary defines "audit" as both a noun and a verb. The noun is the official scrutiny of accounts; the verb is the conduct of said scrutiny. The Latin root is auditus, meaning hearing.

The IAERMB certainly does a lot of listening and is a source of continual advice for improvement at ESDC. We thank them for their rock solid commitment to helping all of us better serve Canadians.

Thank you.

Stay Well. Stay Safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we recognize the thousands among you who continue to provide front-line, in-person service in our physical workplaces during the pandemic. This includes staff who serve to address emerging and urgent client needs including for passports, as well as those addressing emergency events, such as in wildfire and flood evacuation centres and supporting Afghan refugee resettlement.

Despite everything our world faces, we remain diligent in providing exceptional support to Canadians. The commitment you demonstrate every day to continue delivering for Canadians is nothing short of remarkable. Across all regions of our vast country, about 3,500 of you continue to work on-site and another 7,000 have already adapted to an ongoing hybrid work schedule of part-time at home and part-time in the workplace.

Most recently, with international travel restrictions being lifted, a tsunami of passport demands has hit us with Service Canada having received approximately 500,000 applications in March and April 2022 alone. We have responded by hiring about 500 new staff and providing increased access to in-person service across the country. Beginning this week, Service Canada has returned to pre-pandemic in-person service capacity by opening all passport service counters across the country – in more than 300 Service Canada Centres – an increase of 40%. Across the network, many of you have also volunteered to work overtime to assist in meeting this unprecedented demand for passport services, on top of your regular duties.

On-site staff perform many different critical functions. This includes managers and staff at Service Canada Centres, Passport Offices, processing sites or call centres where much-needed assistance is provided to Canadians. Indeed, two among us, Jean-François and Lori are visiting staff today along with Minister Gould at the Service Canada Centre in Gatineau, Quebec, where employees continue to provide Canadians with access to the programs they rely upon. JF and Lori are eager to connect with staff in-person in order to convey our deepest gratitude and appreciation for the incredible hard work and expertise employees have shown during the pandemic - especially from the front lines. Without you, our department cannot succeed in helping Canadians at times in their lives when they need us most.

In offices across Canada, many in Management Services and the Information Technology business are also on-site because you provide key tools to the department so that colleagues could work remotely or move our services online. Some of our Human Resources and pay-related employees are on-site, as are those in benefits delivery and COVID-19-related policy development and those who provide support the department's delivery of many programs to help Canadians get through the worst of the pandemic.

Furthermore, site leads and support staff continue to provide key administrative and security functions, ensuring seamless operation of our printing services and responding to incoming and outgoing mail. Our Access to Information and Privacy teams continue to meet deadlines and maintain service delivery to Canadians. All the while, our Team Leaders, Managers and Directors maintain on-site supervision and support to employees in many of our offices.

The duty and commitment shown by ALL of these on-site staff to help Canadians during the pandemic is admirable and greatly appreciated. As we prepare for the next phase of the Future of Work and the introduction of a flexible work environment this Fall and greater occupancy in our buildings, we salute those of you who continue to give their best for Canadians in our physical workplaces across all regions of Canada every day.

Thank you.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to recognize the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) teams across the organization for their ongoing work to ensure the health and safety of our employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic and the emergence of the numerous waves of COVID-19 created a lot of pressure on ESDC's OHS teams. Through it all, they rapidly provided guidance, and developed and updated resources in a constantly changing situation.

As we know, OHS is a shared responsibility and various teams and individuals were essential to ensure the health and safety of our workplaces during the pandemic and now, as more of us are returning to the office. On the national level, the Human Resources Services Branch's National OHS Office worked extensively with stakeholders, such as the Policy Health and Safety Committee, key enabling branches, and various business lines, to develop departmental guidance to ensure employees and managers understand what is required and how to stay safe at home and in the workplace. Enabling services, such as Human Resources, Real Property, Security, and Emergency Management and Business Continuity helped shape our departmental guidance to ensure workplaces were properly equipped and that proper signage was in place to direct employees and clients.

This collaborative work resulted in the development and on-going maintenance of several key tools, including ESDC's Guide to Returning to the Workplace, the Toolkit for Employees, the Toolkit for Managers, the Manager's Guide on Human Resources Issues During a COVID-19 Pandemic, the Employee Active Screening tool (accessible via the MyESDC App), and the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Hub page. These were regularly updated as the pandemic and recommended guidance evolved.

Our small but mighty team of OHS Advisors in the regions and NHQ were also very involved in this effort by continuously providing advice and guidance to OHS committees, OHS representatives, and managers to help them support their employees and workplaces. Regional OHS Committees, were very active in guiding their regions and local workplaces and overseeing the application of health and safety measures.

The coordination and application of the department's COVID-19 response required the participation of many essential groups and enablers. The National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) brought together key enablers along with branch, regional and business line representatives to co-ordinate the departmental pandemic response. Regional Emergency Operations Centers (REOCs) played a similar role to ensure critical co-ordination at the regional level. The various Branch and Regional Management Services groups supported their branches and regions throughout the pandemic, often leading the planning on behalf of their Assistant Deputy Ministers, helping equip managers and employees within their branch or region and co-ordinating key activities in support of the transition to a flexible work environment.

Throughout the pandemic, as some employees never left the office and continued to provide critical services, site leads and local management coordinated local efforts to ensure the safety of our staff and operational continuity on a day-to-day basis. Local OHS Committees and OHS representatives were and continue to be key to ensuring the health and safety of our offices as they continued to inspect workplaces and regularly review safety measures, while collecting and reporting recommendations to management based on employee feedback.

For those who continued to work on-site, we must also thank the employee volunteers who took on the role as First Aid Attendants and Building Emergency and Evacuation Team members. Last, but certainly not least, we want to thank employees, team leaders and managers who continue to do their part by respecting the health measures and protocols that are helping to keep each other safe at work, while continuing to carry out their work and serving Canadians.

Thank you for your dedication and all your hard work.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Young people across the country have been significantly impacted by COVID-19. In fact, throughout the pandemic, young workers have shown the greatest likelihood of working reduced hours and losing their jobs out of any age group, with 50 per cent of Canadians under 30 experiencing one or both of those outcomes.

As we work through the economic recovery, it is crucial that we empower youth with quality employment opportunities. With the summer hiring season now underway, the team responsible for Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) in 2022 is hard at work helping both youth and employers by providing thousands of quality part-time and full-time job opportunities. CSJ is helping young Canadians between the ages of 15 and 30 gain quality work experience in safe and inclusive work environments, while providing opportunities to develop and improve their skills. The program also helps youth—including those who face barriers—gain access to the labour market.

On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to congratulate the employees from the Program Operations Branch, Service Canada teams across all regions, the Citizen Service Branch, the Skills and Employment Branch, the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch, the Chief Financial Officer Branch, Legal Services and the Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch. All of them have dedicated tremendous efforts to ensure young Canadians have access to quality paid work this summer.

Rolling out the CSJ every year involves many ESDC employees working tirelessly to deliver this incredibly important and time-tested program. Their invaluable contributions include: ongoing improvements to internal tools and dashboards; streamlining the application form for employers; assessing more than 48,000 employer applications representing more than 230,000 potential jobs; automating parts of the screening and assessment process; automating the data entry of the Employee and Employer Declaration form; and coordinating input from Members of Parliament. The resounding success of the CSJ requires a united effort by so many across the department, at both NHQ and the regions, who have been working in lockstep.

This is a banner year for the program, with more than 140,000 summer job opportunities available for youth posted on Job Bank. They represent a wide variety of fields such as community and charity work, food industries, recreation and fitness, marketing and public relations, landscaping, farm labour and many others. The program is helping to ensure all youth have access to equitable opportunities to develop their skills by prioritizing projects that support youth who have not completed high school or who are not currently enrolled in an education or training program, as well as Black, Indigenous and racialized young people, youth with disabilities, and youth from the LGBTQ2+ community.

We would like to take the opportunity to extend our sincerest gratitude to all employees who have supported the CSJ program. Thank you for your tremendous achievements in assisting young Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The commitment you have shown supporting the next generation is truly inspiring.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

In advance of Mental Health Week next week, we wanted to dedicate this #ThankYouThursday to the national Workplace Mental Health (WMH) team and all mental health advocates in the department. They are a critical voice to help us learn more about all aspects of mental health and they work hard to ensure employees who struggle with mental health issues get the support they need.

The national Workplace Mental Health (WMH) team is a small but mighty group that oversees the organization, creation and delivery of ESDC's mental health-related programs, services and initiatives. When ESDC shifted to work in a virtual environment, the WMH team rose to the occasion to adapt their existing services and created new tools and resources for employees to access during a time of frequent change and growing uncertainty:

• ESDC's Resilience Gym launched in May 2021, and is a virtual space where employees can work on their resilience through tools, videos, live sessions and daily practices.
• ESDC's Employee Assistance Program (offered through Health Canada) introduced a new Chat Service to their suite of options to help employees.
• More than 400 employees and managers have taken part in 36 check-in sessions, all hosted by the WMH team since the onset of the pandemic. These sessions allowed participants to explore their current mental, emotional and physical wellbeing in their work and personal lives.

Further, we want to recognize the hard work of the WMH team for revitalizing the Peer Support Program to better connect employees with other colleagues who have experienced a mental health challenge directly, or through a loved one. Peer Supporters are ESDC volunteers who have gone through a mental health situation, have been carefully selected and trained to foster relationships of mutual trust and respect, and are empathetic, respectful and authentic. They also offer confidential support to any employee who is experiencing mental health challenges. They listen, without judgment, and share their personal experiences to give hope and inspiration to others.

All of the work taking place at the national level would not be nearly as successful or far reaching without the support of our Workplace Mental Health Champions. These representatives from each branch and region are instrumental in moving forward the department's mental health-related goals while also leading their own helpful initiatives.

The WMH team is currently leading the development of the next iteration of the ESDC's Workplace Mental Health Action Plan. Through detailed consultations with employee networks, the WMH team was able to gain invaluable insight into the trends and current challenges experienced by staff across the department. The 2022-2023 Workplace Mental Health Action Plan will be released in the coming months.

Finally, we would like to thank all of you who are taking care of yourselves, and your fellow colleagues, by looking after your own wellbeing and seeking help when you need mental health support. When we make our wellbeing a priority, we are able to build and maintain healthy relationships with others, and are better able to learn, work and grow.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

This week's #ThankYouThursday goes to the many people who developed and brought to fruition Bill C-12 and implemented the One-time grant for Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) recipients who received pandemic benefits. These measures will help alleviate the financial hardship of GIS and Allowance recipients who accessed pandemic benefits, and as a result, faced a reduction or loss of their GIS/Allowance benefits. The changes will also ensure that seniors who continue to access pandemic benefits will not face a reduction or loss of GIS and Allowance in future years.

The collaborative work of our departmental teams is a great example of the best in public service cooperation to build effective policy and delivery.

Employees across the department delivered a range of services and benefits to Canadians during the pandemic, such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), to support people who lost their jobs. As we know, these supports helped countless Canadians; however, some GIS and Allowance recipients faced lower benefit payments because of the income they received from these pandemic benefits.

From the beginning, the department has been working to support the government in developing a solution. As a first step, the Government is providing up to $742.4 million for one-time payments to alleviate the financial hardship of GIS and Allowance recipients who received the CERB or CRB in 2020, and who faced a reduction or loss of GIS and Allowance benefits.

Secondly, to ensure that this issue does not recur, Bill C-12, which received Royal Assent on March 3, will exempt federal pandemic benefits from the calculation of income for GIS and Allowance purposes in future years. Exempted benefits include the CERB (including amounts paid under the Employment Insurance Act), CRB, Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit and Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit.

The development of this solution took many tireless hours of sophisticated policy development from the OAS Policy and Legislation team; data analytics and privacy reviews from the International and Domestic Policy Statistics and Agreements unit; technical skills of the Innovation, Information & Technology Branch; and, in-depth operational knowledge and innovative solutions by the Service Canada Pensions team which conceptualized the implementation solution for both the one-time payment and Bill C12. We also appreciate and want to recognize the work of the people who supported this effort at every stage, including going forward – translation services, Chief Financial Officer Branch staff, communicators with the Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch, Legal Services teams and our partners in the Skills & Employment Branch.

It takes a village to make important policy changes that make a real difference in the lives of Canadians. Thank you.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On April 7, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance presented the first budget of the 44th Parliament, building on the 2021 Speech from the Throne, the Economic and Fiscal Update 2021 and the ministerial mandate letters.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have supported the Government as it has focused on ensuring Canadians are able to pay their bills, put food on the table and find meaningful work. We have made significant investments to help Canadians with emergency measures and ensure Canada's economic recovery. Now, to help move the country forward, Budget 2022 is focused on expanding our country's economic capacity and productivity, driving long-term growth and managing public finances in a prudent and responsible manner.

Once again, ESDC features prominently in the Budget. It contains many proposals related to our programs, benefits and services. Some Budget 2022 highlights include proposals:

• for an Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund;
• to amend Part II of the Employment Insurance Act to ensure more workers are eligible for help before they become unemployed, and that employers can receive direct support to re-train their workers;
• to grow the workforce by addressing barriers faced by mothers, Black and racialized Canadians, newcomers, persons with disabilities, young Canadians, and other people who are underrepresented in Canada's workforce;
• to support the implementation of an employment strategy for persons with disabilities through the Opportunities Fund;
• for the Temporary Foreign Workers program to increase protections for workers, to reduce administrative burdens for trusted repeat employers who meet the highest standards for working and living conditions, protections, and wages, and to ensure employers can quickly bring in workers to fill short-term labour market gaps;
• to complete the Employment Equity Act Review in the coming months;
• for the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative to continue empowering Black-led and Black-serving community organizations and the work they do to promote inclusiveness; and,
• to create an expert panel to study the idea of an Aging at Home Benefit.

This is why, for this #ThankYouThursday, we are highlighting the commitment and hard work of all employees who were instrumental in preparing for countless briefings for Ministers and more than 50 proposals for Budget 2022. Many briefing notes were prepared and briefings given in support of our Ministers throughout the Budget 2022 process. Numerous Treasury Board submissions were prepared – a process which involved hundreds of employees in every branch and region of the department. We cannot understate how impressed we are with all of the effort that went into this monumental task!

Strategic and Service Policy Branch staff coordinated this impressive effort, while employees in the Chief Financial Officer Branch ensured our diligence on costing and in securing funds through the Treasury Board Secretariat. As we have done time and again throughout the pandemic, our success in developing and implementing measures that help Canadians is thanks to the extraordinary behind-the-scenes work from employees in all policy, enabling and operational branches and regions across the organization.

We are grateful for your important contributions to Budget 2022, which underscore your continued commitment to serving Canada and Canadians, as we deliver on the Government's priorities and drive a recovery that is robust, long-term and inclusive. For that, we thank you.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

This #ThankYouThursday, on the heels of concluding negotiations with all provinces and territories to bring affordable, accessible, quality and inclusive child care to families across Canada, we are shining the spotlight on the Federal Secretariat on Early Learning and Child Care within the Strategic and Social Policy Branch.

Budget 2021 identified up to $30 billion over five years to deliver the federal policy direction for an average cost of $10-a-day for regulated child care for all families in Canada, no matter where they live. Starting in 2022, fees will be reduced by 50 percent on average for families with children in regulated child care and will reach an average of $10-a-day by 2025–2026. This is in addition to the commitments made in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement investing $420 million in the early childhood educator workforce and extending, and making permanent, the investments made in 2017.

As they set about to craft the policy direction for a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system and begin building from the foundation up, the Secretariat staff responded to the calls by child care advocates and the women's movement that had been ringing for over 50 years.

This Canada-wide, community-based system will help ensure all families have access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care. In particular, it will increase women's participation in the workforce, support economic growth in Canada and ultimately offer every child a better start in life.

Over the past year, the Secretariat has been working tirelessly (and creatively) to make this vision a reality, by:

• establishing the policy and program design;
• negotiating multiple bilateral agreements with all 13 provinces and territories;
• building data and research capacity;
• advancing work on the establishment of a national advisory council;
• launching consultations on federal legislation;
• administering grants and contributions programming promoting innovation and strengthening official languages in the early learning and child care sector; and
• representing Canada's work on early learning and child care at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and in other international fora.

This tremendous effort could not have happened without the support of the Secretariat's many partners, including the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Secretariat, Legal Services, Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch, Chief Financial Officer Branch and Internal Audit and Enterprise Risk Management Branch. The collaborative effort across the Department in support of this priority demonstrates a tremendous commitment and belief in the work we do at ESDC.

Your remarkable efforts have delivered the largest social policy advancement in Canada since universal health care. Not only is it great news for families in Canada as a whole, it is a game changer for women in the workforce. Access to affordable, high-quality, flexible and inclusive child care comes at a time when we need it most, acting as a catalyst to build a stronger and more prosperous Canada that starts with the youngest and one that will change the trajectory of our country for generations to come. For this, and so much more, we commend and thank you.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On this #ThankYouThursday, we’d like to congratulate and thank the Labour Program’s Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) for their dedication and hard work during the latest round of collective bargaining between Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC). FMCS worked very closely with the parties to help them arrive at an agreement. This ultimately resulted in the end of a work stoppage and a return to work for thousands of CP rail employees, and the swift restoration of CP rail service across the country which is vital to our supply chains and economy.

As a neutral third party, FMCS promotes cooperative labour relations between unions and employers that are subject to Part I of the Canada Labour Code. It provides assistance to both unions and employers when they negotiate and renew collective agreements and helps maintain positive relations during the term of these agreements.

In the case of CP and TCRC, stakeholders across Canada voiced their concerns about the impact of interruptions in service to already volatile supply chains. The Government of Canada was acutely aware of the potential impacts of a work stoppage and took steps to encourage the parties to stay at the table and continue working together with the support of FMCS.

Federal mediators had been working closely with both CP and TCRC since December 2021, providing conciliation and then mediation assistance. During the most recent round of discussions taking place in Calgary, Alberta, FMCS mediators worked with both parties for 12 consecutive days. They remained at the table even as a lockout and strike action began and continued working with parties to assist them in arriving at a resolution.

Mediators were supported in their efforts by a team of their colleagues at national headquarters, including Gatineau-based FMCS staff and the Labour Program’s Strategic Policy, Analysis, and Workplace Information Directorate (SPAWID).

FMCS has once again demonstrated the importance of supporting the parties through the collective bargaining process. Their work with federally regulated employers and employees benefits all Canadians as we continue to work towards strengthening our national supply chains during a critical period of economic recovery for our country.

Fostering fair, productive and cooperative working conditions and constructive labour-management relations is just one more way ESDC serves Canadians. When it comes to mediation, we know that the best deals are the ones reached by the parties at the bargaining table. As such, we wanted to extend our sincerest gratitude to the Labour Program and FMCS employees for their efforts to help CP Rail and the TCRC come to an agreement. You make us all proud!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to recognize managers across the Department. Managers are a critical part of our organization, ensuring the flow of information, connecting dots, making important decisions, providing leadership, and ensuring their employees – and their senior management – feel supported and connected. Of note, this community is given an important voice in our organization through the ESDC Manager Community, which provides helpful information and resources to supervisors and team leaders across the department.

In March 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, the first place most employees turned was to you, their manager. Your inboxes were overflowing, as you helped triage questions, provide reassurance, and seek out information to help respond to your teams. In addition to your regular duties, you became confidants and support persons in HR or IT issues. You adapted and learned to manage your teams remotely, keeping employees informed and maintaining safe and healthy work environments during unprecedented circumstances. Your crucial contributions kept employees feeling supported and helped millions of Canadians receive the help they needed during a crisis.

Learning how to manage teams and maintain team spirit from a distance was one of the major challenges that managers faced since the pandemic started. Many of you have effectively learned and used the technology at your disposal, including MS Teams, to organize various virtual activities and motivate your teams. You also onboarded new employees despite the initial challenges of hiring applicants remotely, while directing them to resources and making yourselves available.

Managers also played a critical role in promoting mental health. Despite the many challenges of the pandemic, you have shown tremendous empathy, patience and understanding. You listened when people needed to talk, and referred them to appropriate resources such as the Employee Assistance Program.

Despite these additional tasks and duties, managers were able to come together thanks to a critical support network that started to grow during the pandemic: the ESDC Manager Community. While the Community was started years ago by passionate managers, thanks to the support of its champions and following a conference in February 2020, the Community's steering committee was able to signal the need for more dedicated resources. With increased capacity and new tools to support remote work, the Community turned its attention to connecting managers from all branches and regions in ways that were not possible before.

Over the past year, the MS Teams Community group has grown to over 1,300 members. The Community aims to create a sense of belonging among managers and to support them to be modern leaders. It provides managers from across the organization with useful resources and timely information such as the availability of information sessions on the vaccine mandate and automatic cash-out of vacation and compensatory leave. Managers can reach out to each other easily to ask questions and share information. In addition, the Community has partnered with the Digital Workplace Taskforce and formed a planning committee with key partners such as the College and the Transformation Branch to organize the next ESDC Manager Forum (Stay tuned!).

Beginning next week, we will start welcoming more employees into the physical workplace on a gradual and voluntary basis across the country. As we begin our transition to a new flexible work environment at ESDC, the Manager Community will again play a critical role. On behalf of the entire senior management teams that you will be supporting in this work, we thank you as we know that implementing the re-occupancy plans developed by your branch and regional leadership teams will involve more work for you.

Once again, on behalf of employees, senior management, and the ESDC Manager Community's Co-Champions, Robert Allen and Claire Caloren, we want to thank all of the managers who continue to do an outstanding job to ensure their teams are supported, engaged and connected. Thank you!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

As we celebrate Francophonie Month and the International Day of La Francophonie on March 20, there is no better time to recognize the tremendous work being done across ESDC to support Canada's official languages.

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we would like to highlight the collective efforts of everyone involved in the modernization of Canada's Official Languages Act (OLA), a reform led by Canadian Heritage, Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and the Department of Justice Canada. Thanks to input from multiple government departments, including the combined contributions from across the Labour Program, the Skills and Employment Branch (SEB), the Strategic and Service Policy Branch (SSPB), the Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch (PASRB), the Human Resources Services Branch (HRSB), Citizen Service Branch (CSB), the College@ESDC, Income Security and Social Development Branch (ISSD) and the Legal Services Unit, Bill C-13, an Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada's Official Languages, was tabled in Parliament on March 1, 2022.

The last time Canada's OLA underwent significant reform was in 1988. A lot has changed since then and as Canada's linguistic dynamics continue to evolve, so too must our legislation. The modernization of the OLA and the introduction of Bill C-13 reaffirms Canada's commitment to preserving the vitality of the French language.

Among those who contributed to the modernization of the OLA is the Labour Program's Strategic Policy, Analysis, and Workplace Information Directorate (SPAWID). This team has supported the modernization in many ways, including drafting portions of Bills C-13 and C-32, an Act to amend the Official Languages Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts. SPAWID also supported the creation and work of the expert panel on language of work and service in federally regulated private businesses. Much of what SPAWID accomplished, though, could not have been done without ESDC's Legal Services Unit, who supported them throughout much of their work.

But it didn't stop there.

SSPB's OLA Part VII Centre of Expertise played an important coordination role within ESDC by ensuring that senior management, Official Languages colleagues at CSB, HRSB and the College@ESDC, as well as other internal stakeholders, were informed of the progress of the OLA modernization and provided opportunities to give their perspectives.

Supporting the modernization of the OLA was truly a group effort, with multiple branches pulling together to make it possible. SEB's Enabling Fund and Skills for Success programs, ISSD's Social Development Partnerships Program, along with SSPB's Early Learning and Child Care Innovation Program, provided their expertise in regard to how ESDC's programs may continue to contribute to the Government of Canada's commitment to enhancing the vitality, and supporting and assisting the development, of Canada's official-language minority communities in a modernized act.

Finally, a big thank you goes out to PASRB and HRSB staff. PASRB provided their expertise when it came to promoting the OLA modernization to Canadians, ensuring that communications were strategic and clear, and HRSB represented our department on consultations to provide expertise to TBS on the impact of the OLA language of work proposals. HRSB also worked with ESDC Cabinet Affairs on providing briefings and impact analysis for our ministers.

Official languages are a crucial part of ESDC's mandate. As Canada's predominant provider of government benefits and services, the modernization of the OLA is particularly close to our hearts as we serve Canadians from coast to coast to coast in the official language of their choice. There is still much work to be done when it comes to protecting the French language and improving the rate of bilingualism in Canada, but we have taken a step in the right direction—and it wouldn't have been possible without the hard work of so many employees across the organization.

Today, we thank you for your commitment to linguistic duality and for your continued dedication to the protection and promotion of Canada's two official languages.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On Tuesday, March 8, countries around the world celebrated International Women's Day. Across the public service and at ESDC, it has been a week of recognition of women's achievements in a range of endeavours.

For today's #ThankYouThursday, we want to take a moment to recognize and celebrate women across ESDC and all those who work on the numerous programs we deliver that directly and indirectly support women.

Every day and throughout the past two years of this pandemic, the extraordinary women of our department have continued to step up in unprecedented ways. It has not been easy with added stresses and responsibilities coupled with the general uncertainty brought on by COVID-19, but you have shone bright and have provided us all with a glowing example of inspiration and determination.

Looking around ESDC, our gender makeup tells a compelling story: 68% of our current workforce are women, including 63% and 59% of our managers and executives respectively. Our leadership is made up of many women, including four Ministers, four Deputy Ministers, 19 Assistant Deputy Ministers, and numerous Champions and Network Chairs.

And, speaking of our Deputy Ministers, please watch this very special International Women's Day video message shared on Tuesday in case you missed it!

What's more, in their most recent blogs, Lori and Sandra also offer their personal perspectives on their experiences as leaders, including what inspires them and progress they've seen that they find empowering for women in the department. International Women's Day also marks the one-year anniversary of Sandra and Annette joining the department, days after Tina's arrival on March 3, 2021!

Throughout the last week, we have been truly inspired by what we learned and heard. A huge thanks to everyone who participated in ESDC's ELLE: Empowering Leadership, Learning and Experience event, which included an inspiring and thought-provoking panel with four of our Ministers. If you were unable to participate in the discussion that took place, a video recording of the session will be made available in the coming weeks.

Our department is also in the process of launching ESDC's new Women's Network! Stay tuned for more in the weeks ahead, including how to join. This will be an opportunity for women in ESDC to connect, communicate and discuss important issues in a safe forum.

To all the women (cis, trans, two-spirit, genderqueer and more) of ESDC who bring compassion, dedication and commitment to serving Canadians and our organization, thank you!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we would like to highlight Service Canada's successful response to an unanticipated surge in Employment Insurance (EI) claims linked to the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Service Canada expects an annual increase in EI claims in the winter months but for the first four weeks of this year, EI claims were 35 per cent higher than forecasted. It was apparent that the Omicron surge had the potential to overwhelm the system, in particular the service delivery target of responding to 80 per cent of claims in 28 days or less. To meet the unexpected surge in volume, the EI processing network augmented capacity by leveraging all interventions in our system, including all employees with processing knowledge who were willing to contribute to delivering timely EI benefit payments to Canadians.

The team was well positioned for the Omicron surge. To deal with the unprecedented volume of EI applications since the beginning of the pandemic, the government had invested an additional $825 million to increase Service Canada's capacity. These investments have made a tremendous difference.

Furthermore, the capacity of the EI call centre has nearly tripled from approximately 1,100 officers prior to the pandemic, to nearly 3,000 last year.

While the combined winter- and Omicron-driven surge is beginning to decline as restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus are eased and as the busier spring employment season nears, it is a reminder of the crucial role EI plays in maintaining a stable workforce for the Canadian economy.

Since September 2020, Service Canada has helped over 4.5 million Canadians with a total of $57.8 billion in EI benefits. Despite these record volumes, Service Canada staff processed 88 per cent of the applications within the 28-day service standard. For claims that took more than 28 days, the average processing time was between 29 and 35 days.

In addition, EI Call Centre officers are on track to answer more than seven million calls from Canadians inquiring about EI by March 31, 2022. The high volume as the pandemic took hold led to a wait time of over an hour in 2020-21. However, the additional resources reduced the wait time to an average of 18.6 minutes in 2021-22.

EI and its predecessor programs have been a pillar of the Canadian economy for over 80 years. Its longevity is proof of its value and the important role it plays in the lives of Canadians. Despite its size—it is one of Canada's biggest and most important social programs—it has proven to be both nimble and responsive. Those qualities are due to the incredible people who deliver and manage the complex program. Today, we thank you for your ongoing effort to keep EI running smoothly even as we face an unprecedented and unpredictable pandemic.

Thank you.

Stay well. Stay safe

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we would like to acknowledge the behind-the-scenes contributions of the Human Resources Services Branch's Office of Informal Conflict Management (OICM).

The OICM supports the wellbeing of our employees and ESDC's overall operations. In fact, statistics show that OICM team members have been busier since the COVID-19 pandemic began two years ago. The increased demand may be a result of people working remotely and becoming more aware of OICM's services. The increase also suggests that the informal route is becoming a path that more employees at ESDC are willing to take to resolve various issues within the workplace.

For most of us, the pandemic has confined our personal interactions with colleagues to virtual platforms. This is unlike the past when most of us went to a physical workplace and met our colleagues in person. That environment encouraged informal interaction, and we learned more about one another and our shared life experiences. Private, informal encounters were easier to arrange, and we oftentimes overcame misunderstandings that could lead to conflict, as a result. Much of that has changed, which may explain the increase in demand for informal conflict management.

The OICM services are confidential which also means that the team largely works out of sight. Nevertheless, we know that they contribute greatly to our collective success.

The OICM offers ESDC employees a way to deal personally and directly with conflict as soon as it arises. Various options are available for this purpose: consultation, conflict coaching, facilitated conversation, mediation and group conflict intervention. It offers an alternative to the more formal grievance and complaint processes. The goal of informal conflict management is to resolve any workplace conflict or issue at the lowest level of operations and as quickly as possible.

The OICM also offers training sessions, providing a variety of tools, skills and approaches to respond to conflicts. High-quality workshops and other prevention training programs continue to be delivered and have expanded within a virtual environment.

So with today's #ThankYouThursday, we highlight the contributions the OICM team members make to the department. These trained practitioners provide important services to ensure that conflicts are discussed openly, in a safe space, and overcome.

Thank you.

Stay well. Stay safe

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we would like to acknowledge the collective efforts of everyone involved in the department-wide rollout of Microsoft Teams (Teams), an application in the Office 365 collaboration suite used for instant messaging and audio/video calls. This effort began at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in response to the need to collaborate remotely. The technology is now the de facto way in which many employees across the department communicate with their colleagues on a daily basis.

The Innovation, Information and Technology Branch (IITB) Office 365 Project Team, with support from numerous colleagues within IITB and throughout the organization, worked diligently on the implementation of the technology and onboarding all ESDC employees to Office 365, with Teams at the centre of this important change. This transition also meant the retirement of Skype for Business, which the project team executed thanks to your help in July 2021.

To support employees in this change, the IITB Change Management and Communications Team created an innovative peer-to-peer support system known as the Office 365 Community of Practice (then named the "Teams Agent Network") beginning in March 2020. At that time, the Office 365 Community of Practice included over 60 ESDC volunteer Super Users, who were willing to provide non-technical support to help their peers get started with Teams. Since then, the number of Super Users has grown to over 350 employees from all parts of the department. Additionally, articles featured in the weekly Intersection newsletter contained tips for using Teams, which were each among the top ten most popular this year.

The pandemic has been challenging for many of us, in part due to the absence of in-person interaction while working remotely. Thanks to their innovation and insight, our IITB colleagues provided employees with a single engagement tool that enabled us to see each other for meetings and other occasions, and easily stay in touch throughout the day. For many of us, that human and visual dimension has made working through the pandemic a little easier.

Once again, thank you to everyone who was involved in making the transition to Teams possible, as well as those who continue to work on ongoing Office 365 projects. Your support has enabled employees across the department to communicate and collaborate more seamlessly!

Stay well. Stay safe

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is how to pivot.

For this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to acknowledge the extraordinary pivot performed by the Employment Insurance Policy team in the Skills and Employment Branch (SEB) and ESDC's mighty Legal Services Unit for revamping over the holiday season the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit (CWLB).

Over a very busy period between December 22 and January 4, these teams wrote four Treasury Board submissions, with all the required supporting documents, to adjust the CWLB from a focused income support program designed for the tail end of the pandemic to one that could meet the unforeseen challenges of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Looking back to October 2021 when CWLB was announced—pre-Omicron days—the Government of Canada's news release struck an optimistic tone.

It declared that rather than "the broad-based support that was appropriate at the height of lockdowns," the CWLB would offer "narrowly targeted support" to help Canadians in regions that were under specific government-imposed public health lockdowns. Two months later with Omicron raging in Canada and around the world, the government decided CWLB would have to do much more.

Governments across the country were issuing province-wide public health orders, ranging from full lockdowns to capacity restrictions. Once again, workers were losing jobs and in need of income support, but on a larger scale than the CWLB was designed to offer. On December 22, the government recognized that Omicron had changed everything. The CWLB would now expand eligibility for key support measures and include a much broader definition of "lockdown," that would apply to most of the country.

The Employment Insurance Policy team went into overdrive to implement the new, expanded scope of the program. Putting in 15- to 18-hour days at work from their home offices, they delivered a CWLB that would help Canadians who lost jobs due to public health lockdowns ordered by government health authorities.

Thanks to their pivot, that included workers in regions under partial lockdowns with capacity restrictions of 50 percent or more. Normally a single Treasury Board submission takes six months. To draft four of them in a week is an amazing accomplishment. On December 30, thanks to the diligent and quick work from Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch (PASRB), working closely with counterparts at the Canada Revenue Agency and Finance Canada, the government announced "expanded access" was in effect and Canadians in the majority of provinces and territories could apply through the Canada Revenue Agency. Citizen Services Branch also sprung into action to ensure that information about the new program was available on Canada.ca. Mission accomplished!

Hold on, there's more to this #ThankYouThursday story.

On February 9, the government announced it will amend regulations to extend the benefit for another month, to March 12, given that capacity reduction public health orders are still in place in many regions. As well, to help workers access the benefit as early as possible, these amendments will remove the previous requirement for provinces and territories to acknowledge regional lockdown orders in their jurisdiction. Once again, ESDC's Employment Insurance Policy team and the Legal Services Unit did the heavy lifting. Once again, ESDC pivoted. This time, to successfully design and implement an extension to a revamped program to help Canadians through whatever lies ahead through the next period of the pandemic.

Thank you.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

This #ThankYouThursday, we want to recognize employees within the Human Resources Services Branch's (HRSB) Corporate Planning, Strategic Integration and Analytics Division. This talented group of employees is responsible for helping ESDC branches and regions with enterprise-wide support such as workforce planning, employee surveys and HR digital modernization efforts.

During this past year, the Division developed the Reimagining Workforce and Workplace Data at ESDC, to help their colleagues across the department make evidence-based decisions about our people and how we work. Not surprisingly, they have been especially busy supporting our evolving work environment during the pandemic.

Their efforts ensure that our workplace is using HR-related data to its fullest potential in a digital era, aiming to give our employees the best experience in government through seamless, digital, inclusive and user-friendly services. The Division was also responsible for spearheading and coordinating strategic workforce planning across the department and developing a multi-year strategy, with the goal of aligning workforce and workplace approaches to meet current and future business needs.

The Division also launched and assessed the findings for various employee surveys, including the June 2021 Employee Pulse Survey on Defining Our New Work Environment, completed by about half of the Department – the most for a Pulse Survey so far! Additionally, the Division developed strategic and tactical internal communications on behalf of HRSB, ensuring that managers and employees have a clear understanding of HR programs and initiatives through various communications products, including the HR info RH bulletin.

HRSB employees are the foundation that enables many critical departmental initiatives including the delivery of programs and services to Canadians. We're glad to shine a spotlight on your team and the innovation, dedication and professionalism you put into your work.

Our sincere thanks go out to you, we are all very grateful for the work you are doing.

As a quick reminder, employees still have time to complete the latest Employee Pulse Survey between now and Friday, February 11. Surveys likes these allow you to have a say about what is working well and what can be improved in your workplace and job. We look forward to seeing the results of this survey, which will help shape the ESDC work environment going forward.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, as kids across the country make their way through the winter semester of online learning or in-person classes – or some combination of the two – we would like to give a shout-out to all ESDC parents who have spent much of the past couple of years being teachers, daycare providers, personal chefs and counsellors concurrently as they work to serve Canadians.

Our gratitude extends to all our employees who assumed additional obligations as parents and guardians. We deeply appreciate your dedication and commitment to your work, while also taking care of your children. You are heroes in our books!

Before the pandemic, we had access to all kinds of services that supported our working lives. Throughout the pandemic, many of us have taken on new roles in addition to our work responsibilities. A manager turned part-time math teacher. A program officer suddenly a papier mâché art creator. How about the administrative professional turned IT specialist for all the devices running in the home? Our workdays interrupted for midday school pick-ups due to stuffy noses and our meetings starred teenagers in the background looking for yet another snack. Where does work stop and home life begin?

As parents, we've all asked, "how much screen time is too much" and wondered what will happen to our children's social growth after interactions became limited to online chats and video games.

What's more, many of us have had COVID-19 or have been forced to self-isolate because of an exposure. Schools have closed (often at the last minute) and important appointments were cancelled or postponed.

So, this week, we thank all of you parents who are showing incredible dedication, creativity and resilience during this difficult time. We share in your feelings of worry for the safety and health of the children you love and your longing for a sense of normalcy – and maybe for one single afternoon of working from home in peace and quiet. We also see you doing the best you can, and putting your best face forward at ESDC, stepping up for Canadians.

Once again, we thank you.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

As we approach Bell Let's Talk Day, my mind was drawn to a recent situation within my own family. A few weeks ago, my son shared with me that the current state of the world has affected his wellbeing. I understood his concerns – with the recent waves of new COVID-19 variants and the resurgence of old restrictions, I too have been with doubts and uncertainties that I was sure had been left back in 2021. Wanting to help, I encouraged him to reach out for support but he quickly declined, stating that he felt his feelings were "irrational." He didn't understand why he was feeling so anxious and unwell, but still felt his situation was not worthy of a professional's time or efforts.

I know his experience is not unique. How many of us hold the belief that our feelings are not valid? Over the last few years, how many times have we needed to push aside fear and doubt in order to adapt, be strong and resilient? These things are important but they are tiring, and going into the third calendar year of this pandemic, we are all exhausted. We have continued to show up for work in a constantly evolving virtual environment, where many of us juggle new roles as fulltime caregivers, educators, chefs, nurses and mediators for children unable to attend school. Some of us could not see friends, family and loved ones for months on end, or chose not to out of concern for their safety. This sense of being disconnected from the lives we once knew is real, and our fears, anxieties and the feelings of loss around it are real, too.

It is an interesting paradox, the idea that we are all connected to one another by a shared experience of loneliness and disconnection. This has been and continues to be a very challenging time in both our personal and professional lives. Our individual realities are unique and carry their own challenges, yet there are underlying themes woven throughout each that I am sure connect us all on some ethereal plane. We (and the entire planet, in fact) are going through life altering events, and this most certainly will have an impact on our overall wellbeing. This is a difficult experience but it is a shared experience, and we must keep the lines of communication open with one another.

To mark Bell Let's Talk Day, registration is now open for the annual signature Federal Public Service event on January 26th 1-3 p.m. (ET), with this year's theme being A Spotlight on Mental Health Peer Support. #GCMentalHealth background images for MS Teams and Zoom can be downloaded from the Bell Let's Talk 2022 GCconnex folder, and there are several videos available for viewing on the Canada School of Public Service's website (Sharing Our Stories, Inspiring Hope; Managing Your Mental Health; You Are Not Alone; Supporting a Colleague; Tips for Managers).

I encourage you all to pay attention to the personal connections in your lives. Within your family and friends, who do you feel the most strongly supported by? Have you told them how much you appreciate their presence and encouragement? Amongst your colleagues, is there someone who has gone out of their way to help others? Do they know how valued their efforts have been? I also encourage you to connect back with yourselves: Where were you a year ago? How have you grown since then? What lessons have you learned that you can apply moving forward?

It is essential that we know our feelings are valid, and that these feelings are worthy of other people's time and efforts. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out for support and know you are not alone. The Employee Assistance Program offers mental health support to you and your family 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For Indigenous Peoples across Canada, The Hope for Wellness Help Line also offers immediate help, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Within our own department, you have access to the Mental Health and COVID-19 site for public servants, and ESDC's Resilience Gym, a virtual space to help you and your colleagues maintain physical and emotional wellbeing, and learn to embrace change and uncertainty as opportunities. If you prefer one on one conversation, ESDC's Mental Health Peer Support Program offers confidential sessions with trained colleagues who have experienced similar life challenges.

I will leave you all with a reminder of the motto we use in my home: "Be kinder than is necessary." That includes being kind to yourself. Extend yourself to others, and be willing to accept support when it is offered. We are all going through this together, and we will get through this – together.

Janet Goulding
(she/her)
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Income Security and Social Development Branch
Departmental Workplace Mental Health Champion

Dear colleagues,

On this #ThankYouThursday, we want to recognize ESDC's Employees with Disabilities Network (EwDN or Network). Since 2015, this employee-led forum has been supporting and learning from each other, and sharing their perspectives, experiences and expertise to improve our understanding of issues related to inclusion and accessibility across the department.

Before and during the pandemic, the Network has been a champion in helping to raise awareness about issues affecting employees with disabilities. Their invaluable work includes providing guidance about ways that public-facing and internal communications, processes and meetings can meet or exceed accessibility standards, and providing advice and resources so that employees have the necessary training and tools to build accessibility into their work and projects from the start. We are proud that the EwDN is helping to support culture change among employees and managers alike.

Over the last year, as ESDC has continued its work towards implementing the Accessible Canada Act and the ESDC Accessibility Roadmap, the EwDN has been an invaluable partner. We are appreciative of the Network's integral role on various committees and consultations, including: guiding work on enhancing our built environment to ensure that ESDC's design standards can meet accessibility needs; advising the Future of Work Secretariat; and, providing feedback and input on a new Duty to Accommodate Centre of Expertise within ESDC.

An important part of building a more welcoming, inclusive and representative department is to ensure we have recruitment and onboarding practices that support those principles. We are thankful for the EwDN's advice on how we can broaden our recruitment practices and better support the retention and advancement of employees with disabilities. For example, working with the Citizen Service Branch, they helped build personas and process journey maps, providing a visual story of what it is like to experience our department's services externally and supporting the onboarding process internally. This also includes exploring challenges and successes, all with a view to improve the processes and experiences of clients and employees with disabilities.

With membership and leadership across the country, the work of the EwDN is far reaching. For example, the Network has been integral to providing feedback on the development of the Western Canada and Territories Region's Employee Wellness Passport pilot project, an accessible, user-friendly platform that will enable all employees to easily request the support measures they need every day to achieve success.

With a common goal of creating a diverse, inclusive and accessible workplace, the Network has been a leader since its inception, supporting its members and advocating internally for changes in policy and practice. The commitment and impact made by a small group of people, dedicating time outside of their regular duties, is tremendous. We are grateful for the work of the membership and leadership, which has benefitted our colleagues with disabilities directly and continues to help ESDC build a more inclusive and accessible workplace.

Whether as an employee with a disability or as an ally, there's a place for everyone on the Employees with Disabilities Network. We encourage you to consider joining the Network today; all it takes is a simple email!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

One year ago, a tech-savvy group of employees led by the Human Resources Services Branch (HRSB) and the Innovation and Information Technology Branch (IITB) with support from the Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch (PASRB) came together virtually to develop and promote a tool that would allow us to connect with ESDC’s 35,000+ employees seamlessly, effortlessly and digitally – off-network. Today, with over 13,000 downloads and counting, the MyESDC App is live and thriving. For this #ThankYouThursday we would like to show our appreciation for these teams who used innovation, collaboration and creative thinking to bring this App to life.

Launched in July 2021, the MyESDC App is a single-window e-channel that enables ESDC to communicate with all employees and provide them with access to tools available off-network anytime, anywhere. Although many of our workforce can now access the network from home, and significant strides have been made to strengthen our ability to connect through our work issued devices, there are still occasions when off-network capability is preferable.

Through the use of your smartphone device, this App provides you with important tools and services right at your fingertips, such as resources for:

• your mental health and well-being, including the Employee Assistance Program;
• compensation and pay-related issues;
• career development, including training, networking and job opportunities;
• the status of the Virtual Private Network (VPN) across the department;
• COVID-19 employee active screening tool and newly added COVID-19 information and resources including the vaccine attestation form;
• links to ESDC social media channels and videos through ESDC Watch; and
• onboarding content for new employees including a pre-arrival checklist, links to important resources and additional information for executives and students new to the department.

Thanks to your feedback, the App is ever evolving and in 2022 you can expect to see exciting new features and resources added to it. If you haven’t already done so, we encourage you all to download the App to your personal or work device through Google Play or the Apple store.

Once again, well done to these teams on this game-changing App that shows how innovative and forward thinking we can be.
Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Jean-François Tremblay
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Let us first wish everyone a Happy New Year. Today's #ThankYouThursday is a bittersweet one.

It is with mixed emotions that we say farewell to Deputy Minister Graham Flack.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced that Graham will be leaving ESDC to become Secretary of the Treasury Board, effective next Monday, January 10.

As Graham takes on this new and important role, we wish to offer him a heartfelt thank you for demonstrating exceptional leadership time and time again during a historic period for our department and for our country.

Graham was appointed Deputy Minister of ESDC in October 2018. From day one, he has been a driving force for innovation and modernization within the department. He has injected intellectual curiosity, boundless energy and enthusiasm to solving the most stubborn policy, program and service delivery challenges. And most importantly, from day one, he treated every employee as his equal, with respect and humility. ("Just call me Graham" is a familiar phrase to this day when greeted by new colleagues in the department as "Deputy").

Fun fact for the many newcomers among us: we can all thank Graham for our now well-established casual dress code. It goes like this: suits and ties are out; blue jeans and open collars are in on any day of the week.

But nothing could have prepared Graham, or any of us for that matter, for what was to come in March of 2020. He has often light-heartedly remarked that his mother is convinced that whenever he takes on a new position, a crisis erupts. This is true during his time at the Privy Council Office when September 11, 2001 hit, and in 2008 when the global financial crisis unfolded during his tenure at the Department of Finance. ESDC would be no different with the onset of COVID-19 in 2020.

Maybe it was only fitting or serendipitous that we, and Canadians for that matter, would be fortunate enough to have such an experienced and compassionate leader at the helm of ESDC to guide us through one of the most difficult periods for Canadians in recent memory.

Even the most thrifty taxpayer – including, notably, his mother – owes Graham a debt of gratitude for so capably shepherding the Government's agenda at ESDC through the crisis. For the record – and since his mother is no doubt counting – this legacy amounted to a staggering $5 billion in spending at ESDC per week over the past year.

This considerable experience will no doubt serve Graham well at the Treasury Board Secretariat.

During Lori's most recent podcast with Graham as her guest, he remarked of the crisis: "Everyone was asked to go above and beyond what was seen as possible. It was not only the question of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, but also how we can create other benefits for students, for those who cannot predict what their situation will be, for people with disabilities, for seniors, etc. For everything we did, there was a need or a request that went beyond what we thought was possible."

Let there be no doubt that we were able to deliver on these critical supports at a crucial time in our country's history and achieve that which was "beyond what we thought was possible" in large part due to your unwavering commitment, intellect, wisdom and exceptional leadership, Graham.

Above all, you have inspired us everyday to be the best role model and version of ourselves in the service of Canadians. To genuinely and fully embrace the beautiful linguistic duality and diversity of this country's population. To preoccupy ourselves with a concern for the physical and mental well-being of our fellow colleagues – as individuals, as parents, as caregivers, and as humans struggling with the many challenges presented by the pandemic. And, yes, to be the most excellent pet owners (and doorman, in your case).

For all of that and more, we thank you and we salute you.

On behalf of the entire ESDC family, we wish you all the best in your future endeavors at the Treasury Board Secretariat. You will be missed.

No doubt, many of you will want an opportunity to offer well wishes to Graham, so we invite you to reply to this email and we will ensure that Graham sees every message before the end of this month.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Dear colleagues,

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we are pleased to recognize the Human Resources Services Branch's Workforce Strategies Division. This talented group is leading the way on a number of priorities that contribute to making ESDC a workplace where employees feel supported, respected, included and empowered. Working closely with the Department's employee networks, champions, human resource teams and other partners, the mighty Workforce Strategies team has undertaken a number of important initiatives over the last year to help strengthen our workplace.

The Division's Indigenous Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (IRRA) team had a busy year working with partners across the organization on a variety of projects, including the new Reconciliation Hub, which houses resources and promotes engagement opportunities for all employees. The IRRA team also hosted their first learning event to mark Canada's first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and they recently finalized an AS staffing inventory resulting in hundreds of assessed Indigenous candidates available for hiring by managers across the Department.

Employees in the Division's Diversity and Inclusion teams put into motion several important initiatives this year. Among the Diversity Network Support team's achievements were the launch of the first-ever ESDC Inclusion and Organizational Culture Survey, the facilitation of several employee network elections and the release of ESDC's 2020–2024 Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan. The Diversity Outreach team, which supports the recruitment, retention and advancement of employment equity (EE) groups including people with disabilities, visible minorities and the LGBTQ2+ community, responded to an increasing number of requests for data on diversity and inclusion. This information will soon be made available to HR advisors and managers to help make our workplace more inclusive. In an effort to recruit a more inclusive workforce, the team also reviewed qualified pools to identify and promote EE candidates, including 53 candidates who identify as people with disabilities.

The new Black Engagement and Advancement Team developed the Black Employee Community iService page, featuring resources and stories of lived experiences and celebration. The group created the Black United and the Black United Allies safe spaces, established mentoring initiatives, facilitated workshops and raised awareness of the first nationally recognized Emancipation Day.

The Official Languages team continues its dedicated work with the Official Languages Co-Champions to create a safe culture for employees to use their language of choice and by providing expert policy advice. This year, the team delivered a number of presentations to management committees on language insecurity and on employees' rights to an inclusive, bilingual workplace.

Last but not least, the Division's Corporate Staffing, Recourse and Monitoring and Reporting teams have been supporting the Department with staffing and official languages complaints; developing tools, guides and simplified processes for staffing; and monitoring and reporting on the effectiveness of ESDC's staffing.

There is no doubt that 2021 has been a year like no other, and there is still much more to do to create a wholly respectful and inclusive workplace and to help realize our commitments to diversity and inclusion. We want to thank all employees and employee networks who support inclusion and diversity across the Department and who have taken their own steps to help build a stronger workplace. Today, we especially thank all the hard-working employees in the Workforce Strategies Division of the Human Resources Services Branch for continuing to make progress toward a better and more inclusive workplace for us all.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On this week's #ThankYouThursday, we want to shine a spotlight on the employees who are the driving force behind ESDC's annual Charitable Campaign, and on all those who have embodied the spirit of giving.

We'd like to start by recognizing this year's ESDC Charitable Campaign Champion, Nathalie Manseau; the Youth Co-Champions, Tara Shapransky and Walter Perc from YMAGIN; and the ESDC Charitable Campaign Core Team. Your leadership and dedication to the Campaign helped to bring some incredible ideas to life, resulting in a successful campaign so far.

We'd also like to thank the Branch Champions and Coordinators who have been finding creative ideas to encourage a spirit of giving during this year's virtual campaign. The volunteer ambassadors also played an important role in connecting personally with employees, providing help and support, and giving their time to making fundraising activities special.

As you can see, it is a true team effort to run this campaign, and it would not be the success that it is without the dedication and commitment of our volunteers.

We also want to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks to all of you for giving generously to the Campaign year after year. ESDC employees have a rich tradition of giving and stepping up to help support communities in need. It comes as no surprise that our culture of generosity and volunteerism is so evident during the Charitable Campaign.

To say that this year has been a difficult one for our communities is an understatement. Charities are being called upon now more than ever. The ESDC Charitable Campaign gives us all an opportunity to help support the people and the causes we care about. Your contributions help those in need and ensure charitable partners can advance their critical work.

If you haven't already—and are able to—we would encourage you to once again open your hearts and donate generously to the Campaign. December 3 is the last day to donate using payroll deductions via ePledge, which is one of the easiest ways to support the Campaign. Every donation makes a difference.

Thanks again to all our generous staff and to those behind the ESDC Charitable Campaign.

Together, we can make a difference!

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Today, on this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to thank employees across all business lines currently supporting communities affected by flooding in British Columbia.

As you may be aware, parts of British Columbia have been dealing with the devastating impacts from unprecedented rain due to a weather phenomenon known as an atmospheric river. This has triggered floods and mudslides that has, tragically, cost lives. On November 17, the provincial government declared a state of emergency. During these unparalleled times, communities have come together in extraordinary ways to help each other. Our thoughts are with all those affected by the flooding and mudslides.

Over the last week, employees from all over the Western Canada and Territories Region went into action immediately when they learned about the damage and impact of the floods to ensure their clients were safe. They contacted numerous municipalities, organizations, service delivery partners, and Indigenous communities to provide an active service offer for assistance. The Community Outreach Liaison Services (COLS) team also advised organizations about clients' ability to book appointments via E-Services, reported on any evacuation orders and prepared to provide virtual or in-person services as required. In addition to being available to provide assistance to organizations, the team provided the phone number for Outreach Support Services (OSC) that provides one-on-one, telephone service to vulnerable clients. The OSC has started to receive calls from those affected by the floods.

While municipal, provincial and federal responses are mounted, we proudly thank ESDC and Service Canada employees for the hands-on and coordinated effort required to ensure Canadians continue to get the support and services they need during challenging times. From standing up the Regional Emergency Operations Centre, in collaboration with the National Emergency Operations Centre, and working with local Emergency Support Services in communities to supporting agreement holders and ensuring that Canadians have access to their documents and benefits, your efforts are noticed and appreciated.

Outreach was also deployed with partners to ensure the wellbeing of Temporary Foreign Workers and to offer assistance to those affected.

ESDC and Service Canada employees are always ready to spring into action from coast to coast to coast providing support and services to help Canadians through any challenge they may face. As we speak, we are witnessing more devastating weather on the complete opposite side of the country in Atlantic Canada.

These teams represent the best spirit of ESDC and the federal public service especially during emergencies when community outreach and support is required.

We recognize that this may cause stress for some and please note that the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is always available for confidential, short-term or crisis counselling and referral services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 1-800-268-7708.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

We are honoured that once again, for the third year in a row, the department has been recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers! That is why for this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to recognize all of you, our over 34,000 employees from coast to coast to coast.

We would like to start by thanking the organizing team in the Human Resource Services Branch (HRSB) for their work putting together the application on behalf of the department. Through this year's submission, our colleagues in HRSB told the story of what makes ESDC so great, which starts with all of you.

We work so hard to be the workforce we want to be: safe, respectful, productive and diverse. It goes without saying that over the last twenty months, we have asked a lot of you. Winning this award for the third year in a row, and during this difficult time, speaks volumes about your commitment, professionalism and dedication.

As employees in our organization, you have demonstrated that you put other Canadians first. The support you provide to others, especially during a time of need, is truly noteworthy and admirable. Your collaboration, engagement and positive attitude translates into the work you do and the results you produce.

We've made significant advancements in attracting top talent, engaging with each other, centralizing business processes, encouraging a culture of respect and innovation and advancing diversity and inclusion. Throughout, you have been open and receptive to the changes committed to improvement.

We are grateful to be part of a workplace in which employees are able to be their authentic selves, and where individual differences are valued and seen as a source of strength in the achievement of results. Our employee networks and communities of practice allow you to feel heard and share insights with one another in a safe way. By enabling more of you to share your voices, we are able to help our workplace become healthier, free of barriers and better reflect the communities we serve.

Through other areas such as training and development, community involvement, mental health initiatives, engagement opportunities and technological advancements, the impact you have in improving our workplace each day makes us feel truly proud.

Once again, thank you for what you do and celebrate this award, as it is yours to embrace! We also invite you to hear from us directly in our video message thanking you, found on iService.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

This summer and early fall, in preparation for the opening of Canada's 44th Parliament, the Corporate Secretariat and Strategic and Service Policy Branch (SSPB) took on an incredibly important mission to create and implement a hugely detailed and finely choreographed plan and associated products to welcome our new and returning Ministers last week.

For this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to highlight the hard work and behind-the-scenes coordination that went into this operation. These two teams led the charge in coordinating extensively with many branches and regions to plan and deliver a seamless transition, which resulted in the department providing a very well organized and heartfelt welcome to our Ministers.

Long before the election was called, the Corporate Secretariat began planning for the arrival of the Ministers. The rehearsals for the event began with departmental assistants and colleagues in the Innovation, Information & Technology Branch, Chief Financial Officer Branch and Human Resources Services Branch all giving the best of themselves to prepare. SSPB undertook department-wide consultations and coordination to compile and draft briefing documents to ensure a smooth transition. Regional Assistant Deputy Ministers and their staff also played vital roles in providing sound strategic advice to national headquarters, while at the same time being ready to mobilize and assist, if needed.

Preparations for the big day included many moving parts and possible scenarios. From welcome letters for each Minister to an impressive suite of infographics highlighting the breadth and depth of the work ESDC employees do, the briefing materials highlighted existing and new challenges the department will face as our economy emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic towards recovery.

Logistics planning was tricky, as the team was required to plan for various in-person, virtual or hybrid scenarios for swearing in of new Ministers and Ministerial briefings. No element was left unpracticed and numerous teams contributed to review every possible situation, ensuring that every "i" was dotted and every "t" crossed. Our IT colleagues ensured that we were ready for a virtual transition – meticulously setting up and testing new phones, computers and AV equipment in Ministers' offices and boardrooms. Departmental assistants worked collaboratively with SSPB and Corporate Secretariat to ensure briefing materials were printed and loaded on to laptops to support Ministerial briefings.

As expected, Ministers and their staff moved seamlessly into the department, underscoring the importance of strong logistical planning and the development of solid briefing materials.

These teams, supported by the amazing folks in our own offices, made this incredibly complex operation look easy! The sequence of events was perfect. We want to acknowledge this tremendous effort and celebrate you on this #ThankYouThursday.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we want to recognize the teams who organized ESDC's first Data Week and the presenters who shared their expertise and experiences throughout the week. From October 18 to 22, nearly 1,000 ESDC employees took part in this inaugural event, a testament to the creativity, dedication and professionalism of the Chief Data Office (CDO) and others involved in the event's organization.

Data is central to our daily work at ESDC. It is key to driving decisions that matter, whether informing internal priorities such as "the future of work" or using the wealth of data that we steward to better understand the people we serve and the impact of our programs and services on their lives.

The work and collaboration that went into organizing and delivering Data Week was impressive. The CDO's Data Literacy, Awareness and Engagement team worked closely with partners and colleagues over several months to bring ESDC's first ever Data Week to life. Through partnership and collaboration, they brought the department a week of activities focused not only on increasing awareness and improving data literacy, but also on building partnerships and fostering the secure, ethical and meaningful use of data within the department. With diverse sessions and interactive events covering everything from data ethics and storytelling to using automation to find and manage information, the CDO and a steering committee with representation from across the department ensured there was something for everyone.

We would also like to acknowledge the contributions of the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch, the College@ESDC, Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch, as well as Public Services and Procurement Canada for making Data Week a reality. With their support, the CDO was able to leverage best practices in managing inclusive virtual events and ensure that official languages and accessibility requirements were addressed from the very beginning. They also provided support in recording many of the week's announcements and events, which are now available online.

The Week also saw the launch of the first ESDC Data Awards. We were delighted to see the number of nominations recognizing your colleagues' important contributions to the department's data journey and innovation at every stage of the data lifecycle. Thank you to the nominators and the selection committee and congratulations to all the nominees and winners.

If you haven't already, feel free to listen to ESDC's Chief Data Officer, Ima Okonny, discuss the importance of data in our workplace with Lori MacDonald in the Chief Operating Officer's latest podcast.

We are all on a journey to better understand and manage the data we have. Individually and as a department, it is our duty to use data in a responsible and ethical way with a view to doing our best for our clients. Thank you again to everyone who helped plan and deliver the week-long activities to help us achieve these goals. To the Chief Data Office, thank you for spearheading the Week and for your leadership and guidance all year round.

Finally, thank you to all the participants for your commitment to making data an important part of our work and modernization. Today and throughout the year, we encourage everyone to #DoMoreWithData.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

In the past year, as our virtual connections to conduct day-to-day business activities have increased, so have the threats to our cyber security.

For this #ThankYouThursday we want to recognize the team quietly managing major and minor incidents and their incredible work that goes into keeping cyber attacks from impacting ESDC and all Canadians. The Cyber Security Operations team behind this success work tirelessly in the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch to identify and address cyber vulnerabilities, threats, events and incidents and they keep us all safe from malicious and ill-intentioned groups. They have been steadfast in adapting and responding to our evolving work situation, supporting rapid and massive increases in remote work during the pandemic and helping to prepare for a limited, gradual and safe return to the workplace as the department moves forward.

Internationally, across Canada and specifically against ESDC we have seen an unprecedented number of cyber threats and attempts to compromise our systems during the pandemic. Although we may see media headlines for major incidents, which are rare, the Government of Canada experiences an average of 600 million attempts…each day.

Before COVID-19, much of our business was conducted within the four walls of traditional brick-and-mortar offices. The Cyber Security Operations team managed most Internet points of presence, and most of the 30,000 users were working within the perimeter of our secure network.

With the majority of our staff working remotely during the pandemic, our current business is managed through close to 30,000 Internet points across the country. The threat landscape has increased considerably as the threats themselves have intensified. Fortunately, thanks to this incredible group of people, working with Citizen Service Branch, Integrity Services Branch and the program branches on incident coordination, significant progress has been made to keep our information and system assets safe within the expanded footprint of our network, ensuring that we can deliver our essential services to Canadians. This amazing groundwork allows us to continue adjusting to the evolving workplace safely as we move ahead with plans to support the gradual and safe re-entry of greater numbers of employees returning to traditional offices, beginning on a limited basis this fall.

Access to many of our systems is managed through trusted identity credentials. We are seeing more implementation of multi-factor authentication (MFA), which is a tool used to further assure that an employee or citizen in possession of a user ID and password is indeed the owner of those credentials. MFA should be used whenever possible in order to reduce vulnerabilities and ensure that those accessing our systems are legitimate, trusted users. Credential breaches and identity theft are on the rise. Therefore, it is important to protect your digital identity by following strong password guidelines, for both your personal and business accounts.

We'd also like to recognize all employees for doing their part in following security protocols as the environment changed to remote working, and continues to change moving forward. We all have a duty to keep information and systems safe and protected. Cyber attacks and phishing attempts always follow the issue of the day, and COVID-19 continues to present an enormous opportunity to would-be attackers and fraudsters. Your awareness and diligence are a key aspect of our defences including your reporting of suspicious emails, which is the first line of defence against phishing attacks. Whether you are currently working remotely, in the office most or part of the time, or whether you will be returning to the traditional workplace in the coming months, we ask that you continue to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity.

Once again thank you to the hard-working and dedicated team members of Cyber Security Operations for keeping all of ESDC and Canadians safe in this advancing technological environment.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

For this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to recognize our IT on-site technicians, who work in the Enterprise Operations team in the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch, for their impressive work throughout the pandemic to ensure our employees at home and in offices are properly supported and equipped with the devices they need.

Since the onset of COVID-19, our IT on-site technicians have been relied upon daily to ensure their colleagues can help Canadians. We are grateful that this team integrated themselves with our front-line workers and served as a foundation for our capability as an organization to work effectively in this new environment.

This team of dedicated professionals spent many hours preparing the thousands of laptops and tablets that most of you have been provided. This includes unboxing these devices, setting them up, installing software, conducting IT security checks, arranging shipping or pick-up and being available for support for at-home set-up. Their incredibly crucial work enabled our employees to get back to work and be properly set up to support Canadians during this difficult time.

Additionally, IT on-site technicians were needed to manually power on office computers of employees using AppGate to remotely connect to the corporate network earlier in the pandemic when, for instance, power outages or computer updates caused devices to shut down.

As we get ready for the Future of Work, our technicians continue to work in dozens of offices preparing for a gradual return. They have been working diligently to reconfigure each office into remote workstations, equipping each with a universal docking station and monitors to support a fully mobile workforce.

The department's technicians are also working with our partners in Shared Services Canada to upgrade the bandwidth of offices across the country. This will ensure that, once employees start returning to the office in larger numbers, the local infrastructure is capable of handling higher use of digital tools, including the collaboration platforms employees now rely on daily such as Microsoft Teams.

We would like to sincerely thank our IT on-site technicians for the amazing work they do to support all employees at ESDC. We couldn't have done this without you!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons (She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we want to highlight the professionalism and dedication of teams supporting ESDC's Grants and Contributions (Gs&Cs) Program within the Programs Operations Branch (POB), who ensured throughout this pandemic that Gs&Cs support got into the hands of the Canadians, employers and communities who needed it most.

At the beginning of the pandemic, as ESDC shifted almost overnight to a remote work environment, staff across POB did not hesitate to step in to fill gaps and maintain their own workload to design, implement and manage Gs&Cs that help support jobs, training and social development. These teams supported the department's existing agreements with various organizations that included added flexibilities, as well as new calls for proposals and temporary COVID-19 funding as part of our response and recovery efforts. In a matter of months, the Gs&Cs funding in 2020-21 increased from $1.8 billion to $3.2 billion – a record amount.

The diverse work undertaken to deliver this funding was remarkable and far-reaching. Critical new programs, such as the $350M Emergency Community Support Fund, helped charities and non-profits better support some of the most vulnerable Canadians adapt their services and respond in real-time. Existing departmental programs such as Canada Summer Jobs, Reaching Home (which supports people experiencing homelessness) and the New Horizons for Seniors Program were also adapted and enhanced to address immediate and evolving needs of Canadians, employers and communities.

Getting support into the hands of those who need it most is at the heart of much of what the teams involved in Gs&Cs do. Ensuring that ESDC does so in a fair, transparent and efficient way is also integral to the teams' work. This is why, even during a crisis, POB undertook projects over the last year to improve the speed and way in which it serves Canadians, to analyze our processes for unconscious biases, enhance planning and program analytics capacity and explore how to integrate new automated solutions to enhance delivery for high volume operational activities.

Managing what amounted to double the workload over the last year was no small feat and the teamwork we witnessed has been incredible. Working closely with all Policy Branches, Regions and enabling partners including the Innovation, Information & Technology Branch, Citizen Service Branch and the Chief Financial Officer Branch, POB continued to manage and implement a robust Gs&Cs program. The support provided is an important contribution to communities' recovery efforts and meeting the increased demands facing not-for-profit organizations, individuals and businesses impacted by the pandemic.

Each day we see you working together throughout the department, ready to support Canadians and communities to overcome the challenges we are all facing. We are as proud as ever of all you have achieved and will continue to achieve as the pandemic evolves – thank you!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons (She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On this #ThankYouThursday, we want to salute all ESDC employees for taking the time to recognize one another's contributions.

We know that individuals appreciate when their work and contributions are noticed. Recognition for a job well done plays a vital role in putting a smile on your face, enhancing your overall well-being or giving a nice boost to employee morale. In challenging times like these, we are glad to know that so many of you have played a role in supporting each other.

Last spring, we invited you to shine a spotlight on your colleagues by submitting a nomination for a 2021 Deputy Ministers' Awards of Excellence—the most prestigious form of formal recognition employees can receive at the departmental level—and did you ever deliver! We received a record number of nominations: 493 in total. Despite how busy everyone has been, we truly appreciate how many of you took the time to submit a nomination and recognize your colleagues for their contributions.

And now, the time is almost here to reveal this year's recipients.

The Deputy Ministers' Awards of Excellence recognizes ESDC employees across the country who have gone the extra mile in serving Canadians. Since the onset of the pandemic, we have seen staff do just that—deliver exceptional work, pivot to deliver new or revised programs, adapt to using new platforms, work with new tools, switch roles and so much more. This is a testament to the immense efforts and hard work of the entire Department.

The work that goes into the award nominations is extensive and it was challenging to narrow down the submissions, which is why, as the Deputy Ministers, we unanimously decided to make an exception and recognize more than 1,600 employees this year for their tremendous work and efforts here at ESDC.

When it comes to creating a safe, respectful, diverse and supportive workplace, every gesture counts. Knowing that someone made the effort to recognize our work formally with a Deputy Ministers' Award of Excellence is a great feeling. We encourage you to recognize one another, formally or informally—be it on an MS Teams meeting with your group, by email, through virtual cards of recognition, or in another way. What matters most is that the recognition is sincere, timely and expressed in a way that is meaningful for the person who receives it.

In true #ThankYouThursday form, we also want to extend our sincere gratitude to the National Engagement and Recognition team, Branch and Regional Recognition Coordinators and members of employee engagement and communications teams throughout the country who have gone above and beyond so that we continue building a culture where recognition is one of the key drivers of our collective success. The Deputy Ministers' Awards would not exist without you and the countless hours you spend ensuring recognition is at the forefront.

As a final thought, know that your positive efforts truly contribute to creating a healthy, dynamic and supportive work environment where people can thrive. This translates into opportunities where employees are able to give the best of themselves to help Canadians when they need it most.

Once again, thank you to everyone who took the time to submit nominations.

Mark your calendars to watch the celebration starting on October 13!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons (She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

We dedicate this week's #ThankYouThursday to the Transformation Management Branch and the Benefits and Integrated Services Branch teams who swiftly established the Multi-Benefits Delivery Service (MBDS) platform within weeks. MBDS is an IT solution that helps more Canadians receive financial support to sustain them during this time of unprecedented need.

When the Government of Canada first introduced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, fish harvesters did not qualify for the benefit, nor were they eligible for financial support under the Employment Insurance program.

In addition, the Government recognized that persons with disabilities might have incurred additional expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as hiring personal support workers, purchasing personal protective equipment and medical supplies and paying for home delivery services for things like groceries and prescriptions.

The answer was creating an IT solution—MBDS—to provide benefits to these two groups quickly and easily.

The MBDS teams developed a solution to deliver the Fish Harvesters Benefit and Grant and the one-time payment for persons with disabilities.

The MBDS teams rapidly developed an easy-to-use system with cloud-based implementation for those applying for the Fish Harvesters Benefit and Grant. Using existing client data from Canada Pension Plan disability, Quebec Pension Plan disability, the Canada Revenue Agency's Disability Credit and seven Veterans Affairs Canada programs, clients with disabilities did not have to apply for the benefit and were automatically issued a one-time payment of up to $600 to offset expenses.

To date, ESDC, on behalf of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, paid $130 million to 18,000 fish harvesters and issued $780 million in one-time payments to over 1.7 million recipients with disabilities.

The MBDS team demonstrated the kind of success you can achieve when you work in collaboration with partners across multiple levels of government. These partnerships, along with their tremendous skills and talent, allowed them to deploy multiple benefits quickly that align with the high service standards Canadians expect.

For this and everything you do to support Canadians and improve services, we are immensely proud of your accomplishments. Thank you and well done!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons (She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

At ESDC, we're continuing our work to create a workplace that fosters respect and dignity for all employees, where you feel welcomed and safe. This includes a workplace that is free from bullying, harassment, sexual harassment and violence. Harassment of any kind is unacceptable, and no one should ever feel fear or apprehension in the workplace, whether remote or in-person.

That is why for this #ThankYouThursday we'd like to recognize the Harassment and Violence Centre of Expertise (HVCE) for leading the way in realizing our commitment to prevent harassment in the workplace.

The HVCE was established in 2018 to provide employees and managers with neutral services for the resolution of harassment-related issues to foster and maintain a healthy and respectful workplace. As of January 1, 2021, the HVCE oversees all notices and incidents of harassment and violence within ESDC. The team of dedicated advisors works with employees and managers in an effort to prevent and resolve these workplace issues.

The HVCE collaborated with Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and the College at ESDC to ensure training was ready and available to help employees and managers understand their rights and obligations. The new Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations and ESDC Harassment and Violence Prevention Policy came into effect in January 2021, giving employees a clear course of action to address allegations of harassment and violence. For information, head to the HVCE page on iService.

Furthermore, we'd like to recognize that all of you have a voice. Employees play a critical part in creating a healthy, inclusive and respectful workplace. Over the last six months, the number of consultation requests has doubled when compared with the same period in 2019 and 2020. This is a positive sign that more people feel comfortable reaching out to report these situations and know where to turn for help.

While our department is making progress towards providing all employees with a workplace where everyone feels respected, welcomed and safe, we all need to do our part to achieve our goal. Whether you are working remotely or in an office, please know that you are not alone. If you or anyone you know is experiencing harassment, bullying, discrimination or violence of any kind, please reach out to the HVCE.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

This week's #ThankYouThursday recognizes the behind-the-scenes heroes who are part of Western Canada and Territories Region (W-T) Business Expertise teams from Integrity Services Branch, Citizen Services Branch, Program Delivery Branch, Benefits Delivery Services Branch and the Strategic Services Branch. While the Business Expertise teams have always provided critical operations support and leadership to the region, this group of employees rose to challenges presented by COVID-19 to ensure Canadians received the services they needed throughout the pandemic, when they were most vulnerable. For this, we celebrate your achievements.

When 59 percent of regional Integrity Services employees were reassigned to support critical benefit delivery work—while the remainder managed the critical workload for Temporary Foreign Workers, Employment Insurance and Pension files—this Business Expertise team banded together to coordinate employee workload and workforce re-alignment. This prompted the design of virtual training to assist employees in both their temporary new roles and virtual realities. As W-T Integrity Services employees return to their substantive roles, the team continues to innovate and find new ways to make every day better!

The Business Expertise team of Citizen Services Branch has been busy throughout the pandemic launching eServices, eSIN and the Outreach Support Centre, creating new databases and reports and managing office closures. The team even assisted Canadians directly with their eService enquiries, reached out to Guaranteed Income Supplement clients facing discontinued benefits, processed passport applications remotely, launched a new virtual passport office course and trained frontline staff working with clients in distress.

The Business Expertise team of Program Delivery Branch has been working hard to develop training and support to help employees navigate special pandemic funding measures. This effort requires the Business Expertise team to interpret, develop and monitor training to support quick learning and uptake.

Because of the unprecedented number of Canadians needing support during the pandemic, rapid changes to policies and regulations kept the Business Expertise team of Benefits Delivery Services Branch on their toes providing advice and guidance to frontline employees. At the helm of the rollout of critical emergency programs, such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, and a surge of Employment Insurance claims, they trained new employees and upskilled those re-tasked from other areas. They also provided direction and assistance as the Pensions program transitioned from a paper-based environment to a largely digital one.

Last, but not least, the Business Expertise team of Strategic Services Branch helped procure and distribute personal protective equipment; supported the renewal of commissionaire contracts, which made enhanced security and health screening possible as Service Canada Centres reopened; ensured colleagues had the tools and knowledge necessary for remote work (e.g. accessibility considerations, electronic signatures); and supported hiring and onboarding staff for critical service delivery. Strategic Services Branch also developed products and tools that helped with information sharing and evidence-based decision-making, all while continuing to support both internal and external communications!

The efforts of every Business Expertise team member across the country enabled us to meet the needs of Canadians during the pandemic. Their work is essential to service delivery every day—and the support they provided throughout the pandemic was truly remarkable. Mission accomplished!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

For this week's #ThankYouThursday, we would like to extend our gratitude and appreciation to ESDC's Visible Minorities Network, including its executive committee, for their dedication and advocacy work in representing the 7,000+ strong visible minority community of employees in our organization.

Building on the success of the Labour Program's Visible Minorities Network, in 2018, ESDC launched its own Visible Minorities Network (VMN). The ESDC VMN was officially established nearly two years ago through an election process facilitated by Human Resources Services Branch (HRSB). Since 2019, the VMN has played an integral role in providing advice to HRSB and the Diversity Co-Champions and in bringing the voices and experiences of racialized employees to the senior management table.

In the past year, in response to the many tragic events that have taken place against Black, Indigenous and racialized people across the country and around the world, the VMN hosted events to advance dialogue among members and educate allies on the lived realities of employees due to systemic racism, unconscious bias and discrimination. The VMN also brought employees together in celebration of key commemorative dates such as Black History Month and Asian Heritage Month.

ESDC's VMN Ambassador Program was launched in December 2020 to help build a more welcoming, inclusive and representative department. Ambassadors act as a representative of the VMN's executive committee and provide a link between employees, management, the regions and the Ambassador Team. Also, the VMN is currently producing a series of awareness videos to help employees understand some of the challenges faced by racialized employees related to cultural differences, recruitment and advancement. Thanks to these important resources, we will all be better able to call out and respond to racism when we see it in our organization.

In addition to the numerous events and awareness-building activities led by the VMN, we would also like to recognize the "behind the scenes" work of the executive committee in providing advice and guidance on a variety of initiatives within ESDC. For example, they led working groups on anti-racism and prepared a report with recommended actions to improve recruitment, retention and advancement of employees belonging to visible minority groups.

As the current two-year term of the VMN's executive committee comes to a close, we would like to once again say a big thank you to all who have put their time, effort and passion into building this network and supporting colleagues from coast to coast to coast. You have made a significant and permanent impact on our organization. Moreover, you have helped plant seeds for change that we know will assist the next executive committee in continuing to combat racism, discrimination and help all racialized employees flourish in their careers at ESDC.

With this in mind, we encourage all employees to join the VMN and consider applying, if eligible, for a position on the VMN executive committee in September. Stay tuned for more information in upcoming messages and other internal communications channels.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
(She/her/hers)
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
(She/her/hers)
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
(She/her/hers)
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
(He/him/his)
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to highlight the extraordinary efforts of employees who support the delivery of the Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPP-D) Program for going above and beyond to ensure CPP-D beneficiaries receive the benefits and services they're entitled to. CPP-D recipients are among the most vulnerable Canadians we serve and the supports you provide through the program make a real difference in their lives.

A team of dedicated employees has been laying the groundwork to improve service delivery for CPP-D beneficiaries for some time, before the pandemic was on the horizon. As regions went into lockdown across Canada, these efforts continued and have been key to ensuring the department was able to deliver critical pensions benefits to Canadians when they needed our help the most.

For example, the CPP-D team pivoted quickly to digitize the work that up until recently has been largely paper-based. The team was also able to carry out innovative solutions to adapt and minimize service disruptions for clients and make it easier for clients to access their benefits.

The team has also exceeded its service standard targets for processing regular applications, as well as applications for grave medical conditions and those who are deemed to be terminally ill. As a result of these and other concerted efforts, the CPP-D team was able to effectively support the special one-time payment to persons with disabilities during the pandemic.

The culmination of these efforts made prior to and throughout the pandemic are helping to improve the quality and timeliness of our services.

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all of you and your teams across the country for your success in helping improve the quality of life for the most vulnerable Canadians. Your dedication and remarkable efforts ensure Canadians continue to receive their benefits when they need them.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to thank the Human Resources Services Branch's (HRSB) College@ESDC (the College), who provides departmental learning services to support ESDC employees in gaining the skills and knowledge they need to best serve Canadians.

As COVID-19 changed the way we work, it was essential for the College to change the way we learn as well. During the pandemic, the College worked in collaboration with branches and regions to pivot and adapt quickly to the changing landscape. Here is a sample of the accomplishments the College was able to achieve:

• Redesigned existing Employment Insurance curricula and created new content to support the implementation of the Government of Canada's growing list of emergency benefits.
• Supported regions by quickly adapting existing training packages for emergency virtual delivery and supporting crisis workload management.
• Updated and redesigned Citizen Services training to support the reactivation of Service Canada Centres.
• Converted Official Languages learning from in-person offerings to virtual delivery, including coaching sessions.
• Making accessibility a priority through new and existing training resources, designing courses and delivery practices that are accessible, and providing courses in alternate accessible formats. 
• Introduced the short-term eLearning Bulletin to encourage employees to upskill and prepare for the future workplace (now a permanent monthly learning bulletin called Connexion Corner).
• Updated ESDC Mandatory Training Curricula—now known as the ESDC Essential Training Curricula (ETC)—to emphasize our departmental role in, and commitment to, serving Canadians with excellence.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the College for their strategic and innovative learning leadership. Well done!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to recognize the nurses working at ESDC who volunteered to be deployed to hospitals increasing their surge capacity in Toronto, Nunavut and Northern Manitoba at the peak of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last spring, the Province of Ontario asked federal organizations employing nurses for volunteers to provide primary health care in hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). While deploying personnel during a crisis is "business as usual" for the Canadian Armed Forces, it is not quite the same for a national program, service and benefit delivery organization such as ours. At ESDC, nurses review benefit applications, namely the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefit, a job completely different from working in intensive care units and emergency rooms.

In response to the request, four ESDC nurses from Ontario Region were deployed to hospitals in the GTA after a thorough selection process. Our nursing staff overwhelmingly answered the call for help and this is a testament to their skills, work experience and dedication to serving Canadians.

Employees from the regions, National Headquarters and the Human Resources Services Branch (HRSB) also mobilized to make this happen. They provided these ESDC nurses with the information they needed, assisted them with the application process, handled all the logistics and collaborated with federal and provincial partners, including the Privy Council Office, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Health and hospitals in the GTA.

When Manitoba and Nunavut also called for emergency relief, ESDC's nurses and employees were as eager to help in whatever way they could. As we are writing this note, three Western Canada and Territories nurses are working in Nunavut and we're in the process of having more deployed in First Nations and Metis communities in Manitoba. It is worth noting that colleagues across the Service Canada regions unanimously agreed to manage the extra workload so that our nurses could help Canadians when they needed it most.

ESDC's nurses who volunteered for deployment in active COVID-19 areas in Ontario, Manitoba and Nunavut chose to leave the security of telework for the frontlines because they felt it was the right thing to do. In true ESDC fashion, their teammates and managers jumped at this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of Canadians. Thank you all for making us so proud to be working at ESDC!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Across ESDC, employee networks provide a safe forum for their members and allies to connect and share stories. They play leadership roles as models of diversity and inclusion, helping the department develop and maintain a safe and inclusive work environment.

This #ThankYouThursday, we want to recognize the ESDC Indigenous Employees' Circle (IEC), a network of over 400 members.  

Last year the IEC celebrated its 10-year anniversary. What started as a vision to create an environment where First Nations, Inuit and Métis employees felt welcomed and could share their cultures and stories has evolved tremendously. Their work over the last year demonstrates just how much the network and its leaders contribute to our workplace and the department as a whole.   

After the pandemic began, members across the country recognized the need to find new ways to communicate and support each other. The virtual community that emerged connected members through a wide variety of cultural and learning activities. In the last year, the IEC established a Facebook page, a book club, a Beading Group and lunch and learn sessions. The IEC also organized regular virtual drop-in sessions for those who need a mental health break, support or simply miss coffee breaks where they could connect with colleagues.

The IEC national and regional executive committees and chairs are invaluable partners in the department's reconciliation and awareness efforts, often doing this work "off the side of their desks." They are true leaders, regularly engaging with and advocating for the interests of their members, while providing advice to senior leaders on important policy and program issues. This past year, the IEC has worked with partners on Indigenous recruitment initiatives and helped update staffing processes to be culturally safe and free from bias and discrimination.

The Circle has also been a notable champion of the department's commitment to cultivate a workforce that is knowledgeable, sensitive and responsive to the history and realities of Indigenous communities. This work includes advising on the development of training and courses for all employees, a new Indigenous essential learning opportunities menu and hosting learning events which engage staff from across the country.

This #ThankYouThursday follows National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day that took place in June, since we want to continue to encourage everyone to learn more about the rich and diverse cultures, voices, experiences and histories of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people. There is also no better time to join the IEC, described by one employee as a "life-changing experience." It's a tremendous opportunity for Indigenous employees and non-Indigenous allies alike to learn from, share with and be supported by your colleagues.

To the IEC chairs, executives and members across the national and regional IEC networks, thank you! To the incoming IEC national executive members who started their tenure in June, we look forward to working with you.

Thank you. Merci. Meegwetch. Qujannamiik / ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᒃ. Maarsi.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

This #ThankYouThursday we want to recognize employees within the Human Resources Services Branch's (HRSB) Workforce Management team for their outstanding work in managing an unprecedented number of staffing actions with more than double the volume as in previous years to directly enable the hiring of over seven thousand new employees in record time to support business priorities that evolved with the department's pandemic response.

During this past year, HRSB employees went above and beyond their regular contributions and collaborated on many innovative tools, resources and services to support new colleagues during the pandemic. This included the creation of new positions for hiring, improving the efficiency of employee onboarding steps and coordinating the timely processing of an unprecedented number of staffing actions.

Employees across the branch simplified and reimagined key business processes for classification and staffing, introduced new measures such as electronic signatures, reduced the HR process burden by updating departmental staffing policies and launched simplified tools and services to support managers to hire staff in a virtual environment. Additionally, HRSB designed a temporary departmental approach for alternative Second Language Evaluation testing for reading and writing to ensure business continuity and improve hiring efficiencies during the pandemic.

HRSB employees are the foundation that enables many critical departmental initiatives including the delivery of programs and services to Canadians. We're glad to shine a spotlight on your team and the innovation, dedication and professionalism you put into your work on a daily basis.

Our sincere thanks goes out to everyone. We are all very proud of you and grateful for the work you are doing and for your excellence in service delivery. 

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Do you remember your first day of work with the influx of new information, paperwork and team members to meet? Chances are your main points of contact when you joined the department were members of Regional or Branch Management Services (R/BMS). No doubt, your R/BMS colleagues have since been reliable sources of support along the way. That is why for this #ThankYouThursday we would like to recognize all individuals on R/BMS teams across ESDC.

The names of these teams may vary across the organization, but from coast-to-coast-to-coast, these invaluable colleagues have a pulse on the workforce and workplace. Their depth of knowledge allows them to provide horizontal leadership and strategic advice on program governance and accountability. Whether it be your needs related to human resources, finance, accommodation, information technology or information management, R/BMS is here to support you.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, R/BMS learned how to pivot in this new reality, paving the way for their branches and regions to pivot with them. By liaising with various departmental services teams, they found ways to integrate new staff seamlessly, keeping us connected virtually and providing you with the support you need to serve Canadians on a daily basis.

Additionally, R/BMS team members have worked diligently to keep our physical workspaces safe, including the ones created at home. Key highlights of their accomplishments include:

• Implementing occupational health and safety guidance and preventive measures in a timely manner through the purchasing and distribution of personal preventive measures (e.g., non-medical masks and hand sanitizer) and personal protective equipment (e.g., gloves and eye protection)
• Helping to communicate critical health and safety information to employees
• Re-establishing First Aid Attendant training in workplaces
• Procuring and distributing ergonomic equipment (e.g., keyboards, mice, footrests, document holders, and Duty to Accommodate purchases authorized by management) to employees working remotely and in the physical workplace

With these changes, and more underway, R/BMS teams are playing – and will to continue to play – a critical role in the future of work. We appreciate the dedication and professionalism that all R/BMS members have provided to our employees and managers across the department. We thank you above all for ensuring that all employees feel comfortable and supported in their work environment.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

The annual Association of Public Sector Information Professionals and Treasury Board Secretariat's Digital Community Awards recently recognized exemplary work undertaken across the public service to benefit Canadians.

This #ThankYouThursday, we are delighted to congratulate one of the award recipients: our colleagues in the Office of Indigenous Initiatives in the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch (IITB)!

Led by Executive Director James Heffernan, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives received the Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion award for its efforts to identify and remove barriers that hinder recruitment of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people. By deconstructing job posters to remove unnecessary jargon and embracing the remote working environment long before circumstances made it necessary, the team has become an industry leader.

Recent news has brought the dark legacy of Canada's residential schools back to the forefront, reminding us of the harms Indigenous people have suffered and continue to suffer. This underscores the need to take real action toward reconciliation, which is the driving force behind the team's work.

Since 2018, the team has helped to hire more than 80 First Nations, Inuit and Métis people to work in IITB. Last year, they launched an innovative two-year apprenticeship program to open doors for employment-ready individuals who are passionate about technology.

The team's success with Indigenous recruitment is now a model for not only our department but also the wider Government of Canada community. To date, 19 other departments and agencies have begun working collaboratively with James and his team to expand on their blueprint to help strengthen diversity across the public service. Additionally, the team is receiving interest from the private sector, opening even more opportunities for Indigenous communities.

Please join us in congratulating the winners and all those across the department who contributed to this effort to ensure that Indigenous communities have increased opportunities to engage and succeed in the field of information management and information technology.

To learn more about the Office of Indigenous Initiatives' award-winning work, we invite you to view the team's award-acceptance video. You make us proud, James and team. Well done and continued success!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Happy National Public Service Week! We hope that you had time over the week to partake in a few of the activities.

Naturally, this week's #ThankYouThursday is dedicated to all of you! It's quite fitting that ESDC's theme for this year's National Public Service Week is "Thank You!" Recognition takes many forms and it is important that we all take the time to recognize our colleagues; even the smallest gestures matter and are appreciated.

We want to begin by thanking all of you who are working directly with Canadians, such as our front-line employees. We also want to thank those employees who are sitting or standing in front of their computers, delivering programs and services and providing the necessary resources and information to Canadians. And thank you to the employees working behind the scenes to ensure that the day-to-day needs and demands within the Department are met. Your perseverance and dedication to carry on with the work at hand is recognized and appreciated.

We could not be prouder of our ESDC, Labour Program and Service Canada colleagues, who have continued to get the job done during this challenging time. Together and apart, we have kept on delivering information, advice, programs and services to Canadians across our great and vast country.

For the past 15 months, we have shared weekly #ThankYouThursday messages, because it is extremely important to us to take the time to recognize and highlight the tremendous work and contributions that are happening across our department. Thousands in our organization have stepped up in a big way to put in place important new programs while others kept up the momentum on delivering day-to-day responsibilities during these challenging times.

Your can-do attitude during this period has been nothing short of inspiring. We are humbled to work alongside such a dedicated crew, and we appreciate your continued commitment to serve Canadians. Thank you!

Enjoy the rest of National Public Service Week!

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

At ESDC, we've achieved countless successes as we continue to deliver services to Canadians, but we couldn't have done it without the dedicated people who work hard to ensure that no one gets left behind.

June is Pride Month, when we celebrate and show our alliance and advocacy for the LGBTQ2+ community. Recent events in our society have highlighted that Canada and our organization are not immune to acts of discrimination and intolerance. On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to thank the members of the ESDC Employee Pride Network who have dedicated their time and energy to support our employees by creating awareness, promoting inclusivity and establishing safe spaces for LGBTQ2+ employees and Canadians nationwide. The members of the Network tackle this important work, in addition to their daily tasks, to ensure that we provide inclusive services to Canadians and internal support for our employees

As a department, diversity is one of our greatest assets. Only by encouraging the many unique perspectives from our employees can we maintain our collective leadership in federal policy and program development.

Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the ESDC Employee Pride Network and the Human Resources Services Branch (HRSB), LGBTQ2+ employees will be able to self-identify, in addition to visible minority groups, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and women. HRSB recently launched the annual Self-Identification Campaign, which provides ESDC employees with the opportunity to voluntarily self-identify as a member of one or more of the four designated employment equity groups and/or as a member of the LGBTQ2+ community. This campaign provides our department with the information we need to continue raising awareness, support employee communities, target recruitment and create career advancement programs

The ESDC Employee Pride Network has also played an active role supporting HRSB in the upcoming launch of the Guide for Transitioning Employees, Their Co-Workers and Managers. The Guide offers a comprehensive look at what it means to be transgender or non-binary at ESDC, and provides guidance and solutions to various situations that may arise when transitioning as a federal public servant. Thanks to the courage shown by the trans and non-binary members of the Employee Pride Network, the Guide reflects the real-life experiences of employees who are in the process of transitioning or coming out.

In addition, the Employee Pride Network collaborated with the National Real Property Management (NRPM) team of ESDC's Chief Financial Officer Branch to establish 365 gender-neutral washrooms in ESDC offices across Canada. Each of these facilities is wheelchair-accessible. Despite the fact that many staff are still working remotely, the Employee Pride Network continues to consider the future state of the workplace and is working toward creating inclusive physical workspaces for our employees' eventual return

As we continue to foster inclusive workplaces, the support of the ESDC Employee Pride Network has enabled us to address and deconstruct the mental and physical systemic barriers that LGBTQ2+ employees face and that remain unaddressed due to fear of discrimination. The Employee Pride Network has demonstrated what it is to be universally inclusive, by providing support not only to LGBTQ2+ employees, but to all employees in general. Their strategic recommendations have led to the formation of all-encompassing solutions that accommodate everyone.

We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to the members of the ESDC Employee Pride Network for their support.

For more information related to the ESDC Employee Pride Network or to become a member, contact the ESDC Employee Pride Network.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Developmen

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Every spring, temporary foreign workers come to Canada to provide essential labour to key sectors of our economy such as agriculture and the agri-food industry. Any delay in the arrival of workers to farms, fish and seafood and other food processors disrupts Canada's food supply and food chain.

On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to recognize the extraordinary contributions of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program Tiger Team who are helping to safeguard Canada's food chain and protect the health and safety of temporary foreign workers and Canadians during the pandemic.

While the complexity of the TFW Program cannot be understated, the COVID-19 pandemic has come with its own set of challenges. The team was established last February to provide additional support to workers, employers and stakeholders to quickly adapt to a number of successive changes to Canada's border measures aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19. This meant limited international flights and new quarantine and COVID-19 testing requirements for workers.

The TFW Tiger Team established coordinating bodies across federal partners and with provinces and territories to enable the timely and safe arrival of workers. This included a process to support charter flights to destinations outside the four designated international airports. It also meant working with provinces and territories to facilitate the development of alternative COVID-19 testing protocols and working with federal partners and service providers to improve the delivery model for the 10-day test to avoid delays in receiving results. The Tiger Team also worked directly with migrant worker support organizations to stand-up new services to assist workers through the arrival process and collaborated with employers to ensure they had plans to safely quarantine and isolate workers throughout the season.

The TFW Program Tiger Team personifies the saying, "we're stronger by working together." In this particular instance, "stronger" means being more creative, proactive and efficient at solving problems by bringing everyone to the table. This is a tour de force given the number of key players involved in the TFW Program—from multiple branches and regions across the Department who worked tirelessly to support the Tiger Team, to other federal departments and agencies, provincial ministries, municipalities, source countries, stakeholder associations and external service providers for COVID-19 tests and vaccines.

The TFW Program Tiger Team deserves our deep gratitude for all their hard work helping Canadians in a very complex ecosystem. They are a prime example of what true integrated, inclusive and collaborative leadership can look like in a remote work environment. For that and more, a big "thank you" to the TFW Program Tiger Team!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear Colleagues,

We'd like to dedicate this week's #ThankYouThursday message to the teams behind a tool that is improving how we serve Canadians.

When the pandemic made its way into our lives, the department anticipated Canadians would need critical support.

Robotic Process Automations (RPA) are robots (or "bots") programmed to complete repetitive and manual tasks, such as data entry, allowing agents to focus on work that is more complex and value-added for clients, ultimately serving more Canadians better and faster.

Thanks to the Benefits and Integrated Services Branch (BISB) Pensions, EI Operations and EI Call Centre Program Delivery teams, the Transformation EI RPA team, the Innovation Information Technology Branch and employees from regional call centres and processing centres, RPA was delivered in Call Centres and Processing Centres across Canada.

In a few short months, EI RPA went from a pilot to a full national roll-out. In May, it reached a major milestone of over 140,000 transactions that were processed to completion by these bots – this is a huge win for the Department and Canadians.

We would also like to thank the Pensions Operations Team who has acted as a pathfinder and has been running RPA for two years now. Since inception, an incredible 870,000 transactions have been either partially or fully automated. So far, RPA has been used to automatically enroll over 70,000 clients in the first month they are entitled to receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), cutting processing speed by five minutes on average.

Close collaboration between groups has been key to the successful implementation of RPA, including agents across regions who played an integral part in its evolution by providing feedback throughout its various releases.

Together, these teams pulled off remarkable feats to make RPA happen. As a result of their hard work, we are serving more clients and getting support payments into the hands of Canadians faster—offering some relief during a very challenging time.

We cannot overstate how important that is. Thank you for being instrumental in that success.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

While the COVID‑19 pandemic has been extremely difficult for all of us, it has been seniors who have been particularly affected.

On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to thank Program Operations Branch, Income Security and Social Development Branch, regional employees at Service Canada and multiple branches across the Department who have been involved in delivering the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP). The Program offers seniors a place to maintain a sense of community.

The need for this program and its projects, which connect seniors to each other and to their communities, became even stronger during the pandemic. Within a few short weeks of the pandemic being declared, the Department set up an agreement with United Way Centraide Canada to deliver $9 million worth of NHSP funding for programs and services related to COVID-19. Soon thereafter, the Department worked to set up more than 1,000 new NHSP community-based projects worth $20 million. This work was done over the course of a few weeks last summer. The projects were related to COVID‑19 and focused on activities such as promoting computer literacy and virtual activities, supporting the delivery of food and medication and assisting seniors with essential activities like visits to the doctor.

The planning for the next cycle of projects came hot on the heels of signing the NHSP projects related to COVID‑19. By September, a new call for proposals was launched. This one focused on helping organizations offering activities via virtual technology, such as digital literacy classes and fitness workshops, to support seniors and address the barriers introduced by the pandemic.

Increased funding and improvements to the program in 2021, along with a successful outreach plan, resulted in the highest number of applications ever received — more than 5,000. The Program Operations Branch and the Regions had to work quickly and efficiently to sift through the many project proposals, collaborate with regional committees and prepare thousands of agreements for final signature. It has been a Herculean task to deliver funding for more than 3,600 projects this spring.

Those who have worked on getting all these projects signed and delivered over the past year should be celebrated. Their work is ensuring that there are projects in place to serve and connect an estimated half a million seniors across the country!

To those who have contributed to the NHSP, your efforts are making a real difference in the lives of seniors in Canada. Today, we salute you.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

Young people across the country have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, Labour Force Survey data for April 2021 demonstrates that pandemic restrictions and lockdowns have caused a decline in both full- and part-time work across the country—particularly hurting young workers.

As we work through the economic recovery stage, it is crucial that we empower youth with quality employment opportunities. With the hiring season now underway, the 2021 edition of Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) is hard at work helping both youth and employers by providing thousands of quality part-time and full-time job opportunities. . CSJ is helping young Canadians between the ages of 15 and 30 gain quality work experience in safe and inclusive work environments while providing opportunities to develop and improve their skills. The program also helps youth—including those who face barriers—gain access to the labour market.

On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to congratulate the employees from Program Operations Branch, Service Canada across all regions, Skills and Employment Branch, Innovation, Information and Technology Branch, Chief Financial Officer Branch, Legal Services and Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch who have all have dedicated tremendous effort to ensure young Canadians have access to paid work this summer.

Rolling out the CSJ every year involves a lot of people working tirelessly to deliver this incredibly important program. From streamlining the application form for employers to assessing more than 50,000 employer applications representing more than 240,000 potential jobs; from automating parts of the screening and assessment process to fully automating the data entry of the Employee and Employer Declaration form. This year especially has been a united effort by so many across the Department who have been working in lockstep to make it a resounding success.

This is a banner year for the program, with more than 160,000 summer job opportunities available for youth posted on Job Bank—around double the 80,000 opportunities offered in 2020—from a wide variety of fields including community and charity work, food industries, recreation and fitness, marketing and public relations, landscaping, farm labour, and many others.

We would like to take the opportunity to extend our sincerest gratitude to the employees who have supported the program. Thank you for your tremendous achievements in assisting young Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The commitment you have shown supporting the next generation is truly inspiring.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

This #ThankYouThursday, we are celebrating the teams that have worked long and hard to get the authority to move the Benefits Delivery Modernization (BDM) Programme from the planning to the implementation phase.

BDM has embarked on a department-wide transformation to improve the client experience during their journey with the Employment Insurance, Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan programs.

After years of planning, the department can now transition from the planning phase to the implementation phase, which is divided into four tranches starting wisth the Foundations phase of Tranche 1. BDM will establish a Common Benefits Delivery Platform (CBD) for the EI, OAS and CPP programs.

This move to implementation signifies a long-term commitment to modernizing services and supports ESDC to continue to deliver on our important mandate into the future. It means we will deliver an outstanding experience for clients, delivering benefits and services when they need them. It also means that we will adapt rapidly to the changing needs and priorities of Canadians and that our workforce will have the authority, skills, tools and training to make it all happen.

While there were many teams from across the BDM Programme that came together to make this important milestone possible, we would like to recognize the significant efforts of the following BDM teams: Authorities, Procurement, Costing and Benefits Realization, Governance, Change Management, Design Authority, Workstreams and the leadership teams. As well, teams from the Chief Financial Officer Branch, Legal Services, Shared Services Canada, Treasury Board Secretariat and Public Services and Procurement Canada all played a vital role. Together, these teams worked tirelessly on the requirements to move the BDM Programme forward.

Thank you for your dedication, hard work and collaboration that has led to this moment in our transformation journey. We look forward to the great things ahead for the BDM Programme.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

This afternoon during a virtual ceremony, the Communications Community Office (CCO) and senior leadership of the Government of Canada communications community will gather to honour the best in the field over the past year. The annual Communications Awards of Excellence recognizes communications excellence in the federal public service and celebrates their achievements by highlighting high impact initiatives, exceptional contributions, as well as best practices.

This #ThankYouThursday, we're delighted to congratulate one of the reward recipients - our colleagues in Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch (PASRB) – who, for the second time in three years, are being honoured with one of these prestigious awards.

Employees across PASRB are being presented with the Platinum Award for their work to support the roll-out of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and Canada recovery benefits.

The effort that went into getting clear, concise and accurate information out to Canadians exemplifies the very definition of teamwork. Across the branch – from the account managers who are responsible for overall strategy, to media relations, social media, creative services and advertising and marketing – colleagues delivered high impact tactics over the past year. Collectively, and working with partners in the NCR and regions, they worked diligently to develop and disseminate communications materials by translating complex information about CERB and recovery benefits eligibility into content Canadians could easily understand, and through the most effective channels.

The tangible results of this work are impressive. As of the end of 2020, some 580 media enquiries had been responded to and 1,000 social media updates posted across Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, which garnered tens of millions of impressions. During this time, PASRB also answered 1,200 questions about CERB and recovery benefits from Canadians submitted via social media channels. There was also an unprecedented number of videos deployed, with more than 200,000 views of this content by Canadians. ESDC and Service Canada social media channels grew by over 140,000 new followers thanks in large part to these activities.

Please join us in congratulating the winners and all those across the department who contributed to this award-winning effort, and who continue to give their all each day to ensure Canadians receive the information they need during this exceptional time.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

On April 19, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, presented Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience in Parliament. Building on the September 2020 Speech from the Throne and the November 2020 Fall Economic Statement, Budget 2021 provides a path for Canada to a post-pandemic recovery that keeps Canadians safe and establishes long-term economic growth for the country.

In light of your tremendous efforts to help Canadians since the onset of the pandemic, it is no surprise that ESDC featured prominently in Budget 2021. It contains many measures related to our programs, benefits and services, including:

• Establishing a Canada-wide early learning and child care system, in partnership with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners;
• Extending the number of weeks available for important income support for Canadians such as the Canada Recovery Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit;
• Enhancing Employment Insurance sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks;
• Increasing Old Age Security for seniors age 75 and older;
• Creating nearly 500,000 new training and work experience opportunities for Canadians, including 215,000 new opportunities for youth;
• Making post-secondary education more accessible and affordable;
• Establishing a $15 federal minimum wage;
• Enriching the Canada Workers Benefit;
• Helping to build, repair and support 35,000 affordable housing units for vulnerable Canadians; and,
• Investing in making our communities and workplaces more accessible and inclusive.

This is why, for this #ThankYouThursday, we are highlighting the hard work and dedication of all employees who had a hand in preparing the more than 75 proposals for Budget 2021. Over 180 briefing notes were prepared for Ministers to support their many discussions at Cabinet. Numerous Treasury Board submissions have been prepared – many of which will need to be quickly adjusted. Hundreds of employees in literally every sector of the department were involved in this process. Strategic and Service Policy Branch staff managed the coordination of this massive body of work while employees in the Chief Financial Officer Branch ensured our credibility on costing and will help us secure funds through Treasury Board. Consistent with our approach during the crisis, there has been unprecedented coordination between policy, enabling and operational branches in the department to ensure we will be well positioned to implement these decisions effectively. This was a whole of ESDC undertaking of remarkable proportions. Our success is thanks to the impressive behind-the-scenes work from employees in all branches and regions across the organization.

We would be remiss if we didn't also thank assistant deputy ministers and other senior managers throughout the department who actively participated at weekly meetings to coordinate the Budget proposals and keep the forward momentum. To advance this work, directors general from across the organization also collaborated through a special working group that ensured deadlines were respected and approaches were consolidated.

Our important contributions to Budget 2021 are a testament to the importance of all your work in supporting Canadians, not only through these challenging times, but also to help ensure the country's post-COVID-19 recovery is robust, inclusive and sustainable.

We are grateful for your continued professionalism, excellence and creativity as we deliver on the Government's priorities. We thank you for all the great work you do for Canada and Canadians.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Next week on Wednesday, April 21, employers across Canada are marking Administrative Professionals Day to salute those who dedicate themselves to the administrative profession. On this #ThankYouThursday, we want to celebrate and recognize executive assistants and administrative assistants throughout the department who have time and again proven they are invaluable members of our team.

Day in and day out, your commitment, reliability and team spirit keep our workplaces running smoothly, especially as we work remotely and help Canadians during these difficult times. We want you to know how much we appreciate the tremendous work you do. From the outside, it may seem effortless but behind the scenes you work tirelessly to ensure that all our work is realized and moves along seamlessly.

Your ability to adapt to all situations, answer questions, solve problems and keep everyone organized are just some of traits we admire.

Your contributions during this past year have only further illuminated your dedication, professionalism and incredible value. For example, you have played and continue to play a critical role coordinating and distributing technologies to employees across the department so that they can carry out their duties to help Canada and Canadians as they work remotely. Your invaluable contributions also include providing clarity on departmental policies during these uncertain times and ensuring we all remain connected despite our physical distances. We really cannot do it without you!

For all staff, although it may not be possible to stop by the desks of your administrative professional colleagues, we encourage you to reach out on Wednesday and throughout the year to pass along your own gratitude. Now more than ever, it is important to recognize others for the contributions they make to help the department and Canadians alike. Today, and every day, we see and recognize the tremendous contributions you provide – thank you!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

On this #ThankYouThursday, we are marking one year of messages that have highlighted countless remarkable accomplishments throughout the Department.

We have now shared almost 50 #ThankYouThursday messages since April of last year, shining a light on our branches, teams, groups, regions and programs.

You have shown unmatched dedication to Canadians. From our policy shops, legal teams, operations staff, service delivery network, finance and human resources specialists, corporate services, information technology experts and communications colleagues, everyone has played a critical role this year.

We know this because we see the abundance of #ThankYouThursday story ideas and requests that you have shared with us personally. You have shattered benchmarks and broken records. For that, we are immensely proud!

Our intention when we started with this series was to capture, share and celebrate important moments as they happened. What we discovered along the way, however, is just how much all employees are inspired by their colleagues' hard work, dedication and accomplishments, which they read about each week, transpiring from coast-to-coast-to-coast during the pandemic.

Now more than ever, we need to recognize accomplishments and highlight the people throughout this organization that make us great. We are nothing without one another and together we are stronger. Nor can we underestimate the value of encouragement, finding positivity in the small things and sticking together as we soldier on through these tough times.

We hope these weekly notes lift your spirits and brighten your day.

If you have story ideas, please reply to this email and submit them to our internal communications team.

Stay tuned for many more #ThankYouThursdays to come!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Every year, the Employment Insurance (EI) program receives millions of paper documents to support EI applications. Mailing documents or visiting a Service Canada Centre to submit them is a cumbersome step for Canadians—not to mention for our staff, who need to review, sort and mail them back to clients.

The department has long set its sights on addressing this issue and the pandemic accelerated the work towards a solution, as the department rapidly expanded its digital services for clients.

This #ThankYouThursday, we are turning the spotlight on three branches that have gone above and beyond expectations to make the EI application process easier for Canadians: the Transformation Management Branch (TMB), the Benefits and Integrated Services Branch (BISB) and the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch (IITB). It is thanks to their efforts that the EI Document Upload project has kicked off.

The enterprise-wide solution builds upon the Document Upload Service (DUS) that was developed through the Service Transformation Plan. DUS is a platform that any ESDC program can use to receive and store electronic documents, which means individual programs can go digital without starting from square one. While programs across the department already use DUS (including Job Bank, Apprenticeship Grants and the Canada Pension Plan), the EI program has the largest volume of documents. Thanks to great collaboration with other programs, the EI program was able to leverage lessons learned.

This solution provides Canadians with the option to either submit EI documents online while completing the application or via their My Service Canada Account. March 6, 2021 marked the first phase, aimed at supporting vulnerable Canadians by allowing them to upload medical documentation. The department is aiming for full functionality by fall 2021, at which point Canadians will be able to upload other EI documents, such as proof of employment, insurance papers and more.

The teams behind this project already had their hands full with the launch of modified automation processes to support the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, and staying on top of legislation changes to support the EI program.

For some, knitting a new system component into the existing systems that make up the EI program was a new experience—but the teams persevered, challenging themselves and each other to re-imagine the best product possible from the perspectives of both a client and an agent.

Our sincere thanks to everyone, including the various groups that shared their lessons learned and allowed TMB, BISB and IITB to build on their experience.

We'd like to underscore the importance of your extraordinary efforts. Now Canadians will have a far more seamless experience in getting the support they need.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

On this day one year ago, Bill C-13 (an Act respecting certain measures in response to COVID-19) received Royal Assent, paving the way for the creation of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). A short time later, the CERB would of course become just the first in a series of critical benefits for Canadians that would be delivered over the course of the pandemic.

This #ThankYouThursday, we're paying tribute to an extraordinary group of people in our department who stepped out of their usual roles and into a critical service as we rolled out these benefits.

Employees from across the department, including some colleagues from the Canada Revenue Agency, moved from their regular tasks to pitch in at the Employment Insurance (EI) and Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security (Pensions) Call Centres. As demand for benefits like the CERB, the One-time Payment for Seniors and the One-time Payment for Persons with Disabilities surged, the need to support Canadians through Call Centres was crucial.

For anyone new to a call centre job, there would be a learning curve—but these folks had to become virtual Call Centre employees overnight, with no ability to pop their head over the cubicle wall to see how others were responding. They had to hone unfamiliar skills within the four walls of their own homes, while also adapting to the new world of virtual support from their team leaders, trainers, and advisors.

In one case, these employees staffed a completely new Call Centre to answer enquiries about CERB. In other cases, they answered calls from new menu options in the EI and Pensions Call Centre networks. Some employees were trained by Service Delivery Experts in more detail in order to answer more complex enquiries about EI regular benefits and Pensions benefits.

We also need to acknowledge and thank those team leaders, trainers and advisors – they took on new roles themselves, in support of employees. They too had to learn new processes and systems, build new relationships, and find new ways to assist those employees transitioning into Call Centre roles, all while learning their own jobs.

For all employees involved, it was a new way of operating, with a very different kind of workload—Call Centre employees can't anticipate what questions a client will ask when they call, and tasks can't be deferred for later in the day. Every client interaction is immediate and different.

The flexibility of our employees, and their remarkable ability to hit the ground running in just days, is something worth recognizing today.

While some of these employees have since transitioned to other work, the invaluable learning experience for our department in responding to emergencies and handling a massive surge in call volumes, remains.

Not only have these Call Centre employees supported Canadians when they needed it most, but like the other teams featured in our #ThankYouThursdays, they created the momentum that pulled this department through the greatest challenge it has ever faced.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

International Day of La Francophonie is celebrated on March 20. On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to acknowledge the extraordinary dedication of all employees who support bilingualism, linguistic duality and the French language and culture in the department.

Since the pandemic began, you have been working hard to ensure that Canadians across the country have access to quality information and services in the official language of their choice. In these times of crisis, you all play a critical role in the fight against COVID-19 by helping Canadians make informed decisions about their health and safety, and the supports they need.

We would like to extend our special thanks to those of you who serve the public directly and who support our front-line staff behind the scenes across many business areas. This includes translators, editors and coordinators of our linguistic services, as well as all employees who support our offer of bilingual services, and, of course, our official languages champions. Over the past few months, our champions have stepped up their efforts to ensure that employees feel comfortable exercising their right to work in the official language of their choice. Thank you for being role models for all of us!

We would also like to express our profound gratitude to employees who are working hard in our three centres of expertise on official languages, within our Human Resources Services Branch, Citizen Services Branch and Strategic and Service Policy Branch. Their efforts continue to ensure that the rights and obligations of the department's employees and clients are respected and that the needs of official language minority communities are recognized in the programs and services we offer. We invite you to take a look at the Official Languages Lens, an innovative tool for measuring the impact of our programs on official language minority communities.

Finally, the language learning specialists at College@ESDC have demonstrated dedication throughout the pandemic to ensure that employees have access to remote second official language learning opportunities to maintain and improve their knowledge.

Since ESDC is the largest provider of government benefits and services to Canadians, official languages are an integral part of our mandate, and we reiterate our commitment to always improve in this area. But we can't do it without you! Whether you're a language expert, an enthusiastic ambassador for bilingualism, an executive who leads by example, or an employee who simply cares about using their second language, thank you!

Happy International Day of La Francophonie to everyone!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

One year ago, everything changed because of COVID-19. All but our critical staff, including on the front line, began working from home, and our department pivoted to meet the urgent and unforeseen needs of Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

Today, the Government of Canada designated March 11, 2021, the anniversary of the declaration of a global pandemic, as a National Day of Observance to honour the memory of those we have lost, and the people they left behind. This Day also recognizes everyone who has been impacted by COVID-19 and pays tribute to those who continue working hard and making incredible sacrifices in our fight against the pandemic.

All 30,000 of our employees have shown unmatched dedication to Canada and Canadians this past year, even as about 90 percent of us are now working from home while juggling a myriad of competing demands - both professional and personal.

Indeed, you have given the best of yourselves to your country and fellow Canadians while managing your own personal and professional lives under the pressures of these trying circumstances. Whether you're caring for loved ones, coping with the challenges of living alone, or struggling with the overall stress of the pandemic, we know it has not been easy.

We also know too well that it is difficult to work from home, balancing other new roles such as teacher and caregiver, blurring the line between work and home, work-week and weekend. We understand the immense pressures of balancing family life with work demands, especially as you've been asked to help Canadians during an incredibly challenging time.

That is why, for this #ThankYouThursday, today we are thanking the families and loved ones who have steadfastly supported our employees and made sacrifices this past year as many of you worked long days and nights, and continue to do so.

Now more than ever, it is so important for all of us to heed and act upon the words of our family members and loved ones when they tell us it's time to take a break. We are asking the senior management team to lead by example by recharging their batteries when they feel they need some time away, and we are asking the same of you. Take a day off. Tell your colleagues the same. Start planning now for leave this summer.

As we've discussed before, your mental health should be the highest priority. If you are feeling overwhelmed, please do not hesitate to ask for help.  We know it takes courage to do so. It has been a trying year and there is a wide range of supports available for you.

It's impossible to thank everyone who has contributed to the last year's work and successes, but know that you all have our continued deep appreciation for all that you've done, and continue doing.

On this National Day of Observance, please convey our thanks and gratitude to your families and loved ones for their critical support to allow you to do what you do. Our successes over the past year would not have been possible without them.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Sandra Hassan
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Annette Gibbons
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Dear colleagues,

March 8 is International Women's Day (IWD). First introduced to the world in 1911, this day celebrates women's social, economic, cultural and political achievements in pursuit of fostering an equal and inclusive world.

On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to recognize, celebrate and thank all ESDC women—from those working on the front line to our senior leaders, and everyone in between. In this message, we are using an inclusive definition of "women" that includes cis-women, trans women, two spirit, genderqueer women and non-binary people who are significantly female-oriented.

During these past several months, we've witnessed ESDC's women leaders, at all levels within our organization, continue delivering our programs and services to Canadians—all while balancing the unexpected demands the pandemic imposed on our personal lives.

Overnight, our homes became our offices, which meant some of you had to pause your careers while you became the primary caregiver or took on the role of teacher. Many have had to home school in between work meetings or help your aging parents.

Canada's IWD 2021 theme is #FeministRecovery. For many women, they have faced steep job losses or shouldered the burden of unpaid care, work at home and bravely served on the front lines throughout the crisis. This is why the Government of Canada is focusing its attention on assisting marginalized, vulnerable or struggling women whose careers and livelihood have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

History has proven that we need women to be active members of our workplace and economy. That is why ESDC is committed to continuing to promote an equal and inclusive workplace that recruits and retains women of all backgrounds—and one that ultimately supports all employees—to ensure that women have meaningful and effective professional growth opportunities.

As an organization, we are committed in our responsibility to actively #ChooseToChallenge stereotypes, fight unconscious bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women's achievements. One way we are responding is by commencing work on the establishment of an ESDC Women's Network. More information will be provided in the near future.

So on Monday, please take the time to celebrate and thank the wonderful women in your life for their tremendous contribution during this particularly challenging time.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Tina Namiesniowski
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Gary Robertson
Acting Deputy Minister of Labour

Dear colleagues,

For this week's #ThankYouThursday message, we would like to acknowledge employees who took time to mark and celebrate Black History Month. Whether you led a panel discussion, attended an event, or simply made mention of this important month in your everyday interactions, we thank you for actions to make ESDC a more respectful, diverse and inclusive workplace.

Black History Month provides us all with an opportunity to acknowledge the enormous contributions that Black Canadians and their communities have made, and continue to make, in all sectors of society.  While the Government of Canada is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Black History Month, a milestone achieved thanks to the efforts of the first Black female Member of Parliament and first Black female federal Minister, the Honourable Jean Augustine, Black people and their communities have been a part of shaping communities across Canada – way before this land was even called Canada.

As we set our sights to March and beyond, we must all be reminded of our collective duty to continue our efforts to combat racism in all of its forms in a way that is informed by Black history, Black voices, and Black lived experiences.

We encourage all employees to reflect on actions they can take to gain more perspective and contribute to a racism-free workplace. One way to get involved is to become a part of the safe space initiative led by ESDC's new Black Engagement and Advancement Team (BEAT). BEAT has created two safe spaces, the first for Black employees to engage and share lived experiences, and the second for allies to provide them with tools and resources to help build understanding and support for Black employees. We strongly encourage you to get involved: Email BEAT to learn more about the team and become a part of the safe spaces.

If you missed out, it's not too late to check out Andrew Brown, ESDC Visible Minorities Champion's blog posts on the Bravery of Viola Desmond and the Razing of Africville.

Lastly, we hope everyone will take some time to read the Clerk of the Privy Council's Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion, which sets common expectations for leaders across the Public Service to take practical actions that will be the basis for systemic change.

Happy Black History Month, and thank you to those who are leaders for change, and allies in our efforts to eliminate barriers and support inclusion for all.

Stay well. Stay safe. Stay connected.

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Gary Robertson
Acting Deputy Minister of Labour

Dear colleagues,

This week, we want to recognize a group of employees who have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 crisis, helping the department serve Canadians since the very beginning.

This week's #ThankYouThursday message goes out to staff working at Employment Insurance Call Centres across the country, for their amazing ability to adapt and for their commitment to supporting Canadians at a time in their lives when they needed our help the most.

As the primary point of contact for Canadians with questions related to EI, these dedicated employees hear directly from Canadians about how the pandemic is affecting them and their families. These are real, personal stories.

When the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) launched in April 2020, EI Call Centres' staff demonstrated their commitment to ensuring Canadians would have access to this critical support as quickly as possible. As the number of calls jumped, staff started working nights and offering Saturday service to resolve enquiries from Canadians who were in the queue. They adapted to a virtual environment, and a newly launched technology platform with modified EI automation processes, while staying aware of important legislative changes made to the program. Moreover, in spite of the heavier workload, service delivery expertise staff were training and mentoring new colleagues who were hired to meet the incredible increase in claims.

The EI program is highly complex. Telephone enquiries cannot be handled in just a few minutes – they are as multifaceted as the world we live in today. As well, supporting people who may be feeling anxious during difficult times adds another level of pressure to the job. The human factor cannot be overstated.

For their amazing dedication, perseverance and willingness to embrace change, EI Call Centres staff deserve our sincere thanks and admiration. We could not end this note without also recognizing the dedication of the entire departmental network, including Pensions and Employer Call Centres, as well as employees who came to work in call centres temporarily, for their outstanding contributions to supporting Canadians during the pandemic.

This level of collaboration and devotion to serving Canadians is unparalleled. Keep up the extraordinary work!

Stay well. Stay safe. Stay connected.

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Gary Robertson
Acting Deputy Minister of Labour

On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to extend our gratitude to the Digital Service Directorate (DSD) in Service Canada's Citizen Services Branch (CSB) for their sustained hard work in providing digital solutions to keep Canadians up to date during the pandemic with the information they need about benefits and services.

From the onset of the pandemic, the DSD Web team worked around the clock, in collaboration with various ESDC programs and other federal departments and agencies, to help millions of Canadians access and learn about the full range of supports available to them via Canada.ca. Early on, the team also introduced an innovative user-friendly chatbot on the My Service Canada Account (MSCA) platform to help Canadians find information easily and register for financial support.

When Service Canada Centres physically closed their doors to the public in March, they also worked closely with Citizen Services Branch's In-Person Operations, the Strategies Directorate and the regions to quickly transition to e-services for Canadians. Through the creation of the eServiceCanada channel, Canadians who needed help applying for benefits could reach in-person staff and receive a call back from Service Canada staff within two business days. This included efforts from the DSD Integrated Management Team to adjust procedures to support eService.

Meanwhile, the 1 800 O Canada contact centre provided support to Canadians, which included responding to snowballing demands, and reorganising operations for telework to ensure uninterrupted delivery of essential services to Canadians. The contact centre also launched new high-profile Customized Information Services, such as the Heath Canada COVID-19 information line (open seven days a week until midnight since January 2020), and support for both the COVID Alert and ArriveCAN apps.

Early on in the pandemic, the Web team also partnered with the Department of Finance and Health Canada to develop a virtual assistant. This innovative tool has had one million visits to date and helped Canada.ca users find answers to key questions, including information from Health Canada on COVID-19 and how to apply for ESDC's programs, benefits and services. As a result, wait times in the 1 800 O Canada contact centre were reduced from hours to minutes, which helped alleviate the contact centre workload.

Since then, the Web team has successfully implemented innovative solutions and automated, real-time technology to keep Canadians accurately informed about the pandemic. In collaboration with Health Canada, DSD integrated new technology on Canada.ca to display near real-time COVID 19 case updates. By cleverly using the same technology, they were able to provide regular updates to advise travelling Canadians of any possible exposure to COVID 19. Along with TBS partners, the team also introduced a "Get Updates on COVID 19" email function to which Canadians could subscribe.

In addition to these successes, this team has created a COVID 19 announcements platform on Canada.ca that is populated by COVID 19 news products that the Privy Council Office publishes on behalf of the Prime Minister's Office, along with all news material from federal departments and Health Canada's COVID 19 related recalls and safety alerts.

DSD also helped launch the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) on the web in partnership with the Canada Revenue Agency, which received 2.55 million visits and contributed to the 1.4 million visits on MSCA on the April 6 launch date. They maintained their momentum by introducing improvements on MSCA in July, working closely with their colleagues in the Integrity Services Branch and Innovation, Information and Technology Branch.

All of this was accomplished while maintaining regular digital operations, such as platform updates and training activities. The Canada.ca content management system, used by over 75 departments, even underwent a major upgrade during the pandemic, which has facilitated the implementation of these web solutions.

The DSD team, like many teams throughout our department, has helped Canadians stay informed and safe, and made a tremendous contribution to the future of service delivery. For that, we are very grateful and very proud.

Stay well. Stay safe. Stay connected.

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Gary Robertson
Acting Deputy Minister of Labour

On this #ThankYouThursday, we want to celebrate the Service Canada staff who have reached more than 2.3 million Canadians through eServiceCanada, a new service channel available to serve the public during the pandemic.

When lockdowns became a key way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Canadians felt the impact. They needed support and our employees continued delivering critical services to Canadians when they needed it most.

Overnight, citizen service officers went from working at more than 300 in-person Service Canada Centres across the country to delivering services through the eServiceCanada channel.

A full network of staff who deal with millions of requests every year had to be able to perform their day-to-day activities from home, while adapting to Microsoft Dynamics 365, the new service delivery tool.

The Innovation Information and Technology Branch deployed laptops and phones across the country and staff received training on the new procedures.

Behind this work was another mammoth task: the creation of an online eServiceCanada request and callback system where Canadians identify what service they need help with (pensions, EI, SINs, passports), and a citizen service officer reaches out to them within two business days to resolve the issue.

Because the queue was full, the citizen service officers at the Welcome Zone put client transaction requests into eServiceCanada rather than make them wait. One citizen service officer said, "I just put one in for a gentleman and he received a call when walking out of the door—it was us!!! When he hung up, he said, "I will always be putting an eService request from now on, that's GREAT service."

Today, the majority of Service Canada Centres have been able to safely re-open, but citizen service officers continue to support clients both in-person and through eServiceCanada.

While a multi-channel service delivery model was always part of the Department's vision, the pandemic accelerated the adoption of innovative ways to deliver critical services.

Thanks to our remarkable employees, both on the front lines and behind the scenes, eServiceCanada was able to help Canadians pay their bills and make ends meet.

It's an impressive number: 2.3 million. Behind every call was a Canadian we helped during a difficult time. It's what we do.

The contributions you make every single day matter—and we sincerely appreciate all that you do.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Gary Robertson
Acting Deputy Minister of Labour

Dear colleagues,

For this week's special #ThankYouThursday, we would like to celebrate a special leader in our organization. She won't be happy we are doing this as she always wants to give credit to others.

In early 2020 when it became clear the pandemic was going to have a dramatic impact on Canadians and place demands on our organization like never before, our leadership team at all levels quickly sprang into action to prepare for what was to come. Of course, at the time, we didn't know quite what to expect. Nobody did.

What we did know, is that the department would have to mobilize and re-align benefits, programs, personnel and resources to ensure Canadians received urgently needed assistance, all the while transitioning the vast majority of our staff to work remotely.

We have answered millions of calls, re-aligned staff to critical services at the onset of the pandemic, accelerated our efforts to digitize our services to Canadians, and supported our temporary workforce like temporary foreign workers and students through various programs.

As we have said many times, this seemed like an impossible task a year ago. However, as we reflect on our recent accomplishments, we can see that billions of dollars of supports have been paid out to Canadians and well over 20,000 employees are now working remotely. We did it! You did it!

For those at the senior management table, this meant many meetings with our branch and regional leaders, our colleagues from other government departments and officials in central agencies. It also meant multiple ministerial briefings and trips to Cabinet, appearances before Parliamentary committees, and discussions with the most senior officials in government including the Clerk and the Prime Minister.

These countless meetings, long days and late nights are not easy. It's hard to sustain this pace and it can be exhausting, especially with the stresses of everyday life. Indeed, we have all been busy and we have all struggled in our personal lives. Many say it is during the most challenging of times that leaders emerge. This is no exception here at ESDC and Service Canada.

The late, great American poet, Maya Angelou, once said the following about leadership:

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." – Maya Angelou

With this in mind, Gary and I speak for our entire senior management team when we say there is one person in particular who made us feel supported, motivated, and valued throughout this crisis. Someone who is thoughtful, optimistic and empathetic, and whose perspective is singularly guided by the best interests of Canadians. Someone who possesses the attributes of a natural leader, with these qualities engrained in their very being and who generously nurtures them within others.

And that person is our Chief Operating Officer, Lori MacDonald. 

So, on the one-year anniversary of your arrival at ESDC and Service Canada, it is only fitting that this special #ThankYouThursday should go out to you, Lori. It is hard to articulate the profound impact that you have had on our organization over the past twelve extraordinary months. Thank you for sharing your wisdom, humour and humanity, and above all, thank you for inspiring us. Every day of the past year has been another occasion for you to show us all what it means to provide exceptional leadership in unprecedented times.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Gary Robertson
Acting Deputy Minister of Labour

This #ThankYouThursday, we are celebrating an incredible milestone: in January 2021, the Public Health Agency of Canada's (PHAC) call centre, supported by ESDC employees, served its one-millionth person since the start of the pandemic.

At the beginning of the pandemic, the PHAC call centre was conceptualized and set up in record time to help travellers (Canadian citizens and non-citizens) and Canadian public health authorities manage the 14-day quarantine and isolation period in the safest way possible.

In addition to the initial call centre, the service delivery partnership between Service Canada and PHAC has resulted in other new services, such as an automated survey for travellers to report their symptoms and a survey that validates travellers' compliance.

The willingness of many employees throughout the Department to step up and support this new endeavour with PHAC demonstrates your remarkable dedication to serving Canadians.

This milestone was made possible by exceptional individuals from branches and regions across our organization who are unwavering in their commitment to serve the needs of Canadians. Through your important work, you are keeping Canadians safe and supporting the enforcement of the Quarantine Act, designed to prevent and limit the spread of COVID-19.

It truly was a department-wide effort. During initial lockdowns, employees from across the country were reassigned to help out. Today, the call centre is supported by employees from the Benefits and Integrated Services Branch; the Citizen Service Branch; the Innovation, Information and Technology Branch; the Chief Financial Officer Branch; Legal Services; the Privacy Management Division; and the Transformation Management Branch, among others.

We want to take a moment to congratulate every one of you who has worked and continues to work on this initiative, and to celebrate this tremendous milestone with you. Your contribution is what makes this a success.

We look forward to hearing more about your important work in the coming months.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Gary Robertson
Acting Deputy Minister of Labour

As we all know, 2020 was a trying year for all of us and for our communities across the country. We expect the coming year will be a busy one, but one that also shows promise for the future. Thank you once again for your contribution to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and to Canadians.

As many parts of the country are seeing alarming increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, a number of provinces have adopted new COVID-19 measures, including quarantine guidelines, temporary shutdowns, curfews, stay-at-home orders for employees not performing critical functions, school changes/interruptions, and limiting movement of people within or across their boundaries.

We all have a social responsibility to adhere to public health advice and recommendations in our respective jurisdictions. However, certain employees will continue to report to the physical workplace so that we can continue to offer critical services to Canadians in person, online, and by phone.

These elevated restrictions or changes in COVID-19 zones may impact our workplaces or how certain work is performed. We want to remind you about the measures ESDC,  Service Canada and the Labour Program have in place regarding access to the workplace, Leave with Pay for Other Reasons (699), foreign telework and international travel.

Access to the Workplace

To protect the health and safety of our employees, and follow the guidelines of municipal and provincial health authorities, access to our workplaces will continue to be restricted to employees providing critical services who are not able to carry out their work remotely and are approved to be in the physical workplace.

As we have indicated in prior messages, employees who do not provide critical services should not be accessing the workplace at this time.

Employees who perform critical services in the physical workplace, regardless of the province or territory in which they work, should always carry government identification and other photo identification when moving between territorial and provincial boundaries to go to work.

When and if required, managers may wish to equip their critical employees with a letter confirming that they are employed in a critical service capacity, which is available through their Branch Management Services representative.

Employees who continue to report to the workplace are to follow the protocols and procedures established in the workplace via the Toolkit for Employees: Currently in the Workplace. It is essential that employees and managers are aware of their obligations and follow these protocols to ensure the health and safety of each other.

In cases where employees are required to carry out specialized fieldwork functions, such as investigations, additional business line protocols must be in place, reviewed in advance and carefully followed.

Remember, for those who continue to access the workplace or perform field work, you must stay home if you are showing COVID-19 symptoms, are awaiting a COVID-19 test result, or were instructed to do so by your local public health authority. Employees must immediately report a suspected or confirmed case to their manager so the manager can take the appropriate action.

Leave with Pay for Other Reasons (699)

It is important to note that the guidelines issued on November 9, 2020 by the Treasury Board Secretariat are still valid (Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Employee illness and leave).

Before employees are granted Leave with Pay for Other Reasons (699) by their managers, employees and managers are encouraged to have a discussion and review the employee's individual circumstances, in order to explore the available options.

Managers should consult Labour Relations by submitting a request through the Human Resources Service Centre prior to approving or denying a request for Leave with Pay for Other Reasons (699).

Telework

For those requesting to work remotely outside of Canada, you must first discuss your request with your immediate supervisor who will coordinate with the appropriate departmental authority (e.g. security, HRSB, IITB), including seeking your Assistant Deputy Minister's final decision.

International travel

We remind all employees that the Public Health Agency of Canada is continuing to advise Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel outside of Canada. We strongly encourage you to respect this advice.

Mental Health Resources

We understand and recognize that this is a challenging time for everyone. As such, please remember there are a wide range of services and supports available to you to support your mental wellbeing, including the Employee Assistance Program. This program is available to employees and their family members 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whether you are in distress or need mental health support during the pandemic. The Hope for Wellness Help Line offers immediate help to all Indigenous people across Canada and is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In addition, numerous tools and resources can be found on the departmental Workplace Mental Health page, and in the recently launched My Wellbeing – An Employee Guide During COVID-19. Finally, the Government of Canada Mental Health Tips for Working from Home During COVID-19 also contains a number of resources.

Stay well. Stay safe.

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Gary Robertson
Acting Deputy Minister of Labour

Dear colleagues,

We want to take the opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year and welcome you back. We hope you all spent quality time during the holiday season to rest and connect safely with your loved ones. For many of us, that meant gathering virtually.

Throughout the pandemic, ESDC employees have demonstrated they have an aptitude for finding innovative solutions to provide a high level of service to Canadians.

On this #ThankYouThursday, we would like to shine a light on the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) operations, as well as the Pensions Network for their dedication and remarkable efforts to ensure Canadians continue to receive their pension benefits.

Last March, over 3,600 employees in 13 offices across Canada adapted to remote working, which meant incorporating digital solutions to continue to provide critical services to Canadians.

The group undertook a massive effort to digitize pension applications, which were mostly paper-based and manually administered. They also implemented several temporary client-focused operational policy and process improvements, which ensured a seamless and uninterrupted delivery of pension benefits. In 2020, they delivered an impressive $100 billion in benefits to about 8 million beneficiaries!

Despite the pressure to maintain ongoing operations, the group also implemented CPP Proactive Enrollment—a 2019 Federal Budget commitment. As a result, eligible seniors who are 70 years or older but have not applied for their CPP retirement pension are now getting the benefits they are entitled to receive. To date, over $55 million in CPP retirement pension has been paid out.

To add to their list of successes, this group supported the delivery of the newly introduced financial aid payments to eligible Canadians.

By collaborating with the Innovation and Information Technology Branch (IITB) and Common Systems for Grants and Contributions (CSGC), the group succeeded in tapping into other digital systems to deliver the one-time payment to about 6.7 million Canadian seniors in eight weeks. An additional 67,000 seniors received the one-time payment and nearly 75% of these beneficiaries are now receiving payments for either Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) or Allowances, which are available to low-income OAS seniors.

The group also continues to collaborate to support the one-time payment to Persons with Disabilities by processing as many Canada Pension Plan Disability applications as possible.

We'd like to extend our sincerest gratitude to these teams working across the country for their recent successes in contributing to the quality of life for the most vulnerable Canadians. Thank you!

Stay well. Stay safe.

Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Lori MacDonald
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Gary Robertson
Acting Deputy Minister of Labour