[ Backgrounder ]November 4, 2003OTTAWA - The Honourable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board of Canada and Member ofParliament for Westmount - Ville-Marie, today welcomed the Senate's passage of Bill C-25, the Public ServiceModernization Act."The Act is the first wide-ranging legislative reform of human resources management in 35 years. The publicservice is entering a new era characterized by an increasing emphasis on values and ethics. The Public Service ofCanada is a vital, national institution," said Minister Robillard. "I am very pleased that this bill will soon becomelaw. The needs of Canadians are changing and the public service must adapt to meet them. The Public ServiceModernization Act is an important tool to meet the challenge of change."Minister Robillard thanked Senators and Members of Parliament for their hard work on the bill. "This was not an easytask. The Act will help ensure modern, responsive public service, which will deliver better service toCanadians."The Public Service Modernization Act updates several critical components of the public service humanresources management system. The Act will:Streamline the often cumbersome staffing system to improve the ability to attract and hire the people we need, whenand where we need them;Balance increased flexibility with new safeguards such as the Public Service Staffing Tribunal;Strengthen accountability and provide clearer roles for managers;Foster more constructive labour-management relations;Help create a more productive and supportive working environment; andChange the way that the public service approaches corporate learning and development."The Act upholds the principles we all hold dear: fairness, competency and non-partisanship," said MinisterRobillard. "It also supports our need to reflect the increasingly diverse public we serve and as well as to work andserve Canadians in both official languages."The Minister noted that the reforms set out in the Act will not happen overnight. "Parliament's approval isa tremendous step forward. We will now begin work on a staged implementation process to take place over the comingmonths and years. Training will be required for managers, employees, human resources professionals and bargainingagents in order for each to understand their roles and responsibilities underthe Act."Learning is the key enabler of reform. The first step of the process will be the creation of the Canada School ofPublic Service. This new organization will amalgamate the Canadian Centre for Management Development, Language TrainingCanada, and Training and Development Canada. It will be responsible for offering such services as expert learningadvice, courses and e-learning opportunities to meet core learning needs of employees and managers aimed at improvingthe learning agenda in the public service.Through the Act and other non-legislative reforms, the Government of Canada is strengthening its managementof financial and human resources thereby increasing value for money. The Act will also enhance accountabilityby creating a supportive and effective workplace and providing the professional development required to attract thetalented people needed to continue offering excellent service to Canadians.See the attached documents for details on content of the Public Service Modernization Act.- 30 -For more information, contact:Daniel GrenierPress SecretaryOffice of the President of the Treasury Board of Canada(613) 957-2666Mario BarilMedia RelationsTreasury Board of Canada Secretariat(613) 957-2391IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THEELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.TTY (Telecommunications device for the hearing impaired) - (613) 957-9090BackgrounderImproving people management in the federal public serviceThe Public Service Modernization Act (PSMA) will bring about the biggest changes in how thefederal public service hires and manages its employees in more than 35 years. The PSMA is a major buildingblock in the Government of Canada's overall strategy to modernize human resources management. The new legislation, tobe phased in over the next two years, reflects the 2001 Speech from the Throne commitment to "ensure that the publicservice is innovative, dynamic and reflective of the diversity of the country [and] able to attract and develop thetalent needed to serve Canadians in the 21st century."The PSMA covers three main areas of human resource management. First, it modernizes the staffing system toimprove the federal public service's ability to attract and hire the right people when and where they are needed todeliver programs and services. Second, the PSMA is intended to foster more constructive and harmonious labourmanagement relations to improve the quality of the workplace. Third, the new legislation will promote a more corporateapproach to learning and development by creating a new Canada School of Public Service, amalgamating the CanadianCentre for Management Development and Training and Development Canada. In addition, in order to provide employees withsingle-window access to learning resources throughout their public service careers, a decision has been made thatLanguage Training Canada also will become part of the new Canada School.The contextPublic service work is increasingly more complex and fast-paced, requiring greater innovation, more horizontalcooperation across departments and agencies, and the need for building stronger, more strategic partnerships with otherjurisdictions, including the private and voluntary sectors.Like all large organizations worldwide, the federal public service is facing stiff competition for talent in anincreasingly tight labour market. The accelerated pace of change due to globalization and technological advances willcontinue to challenge the federal public service's innovative capacity, underscoring the need for flexible andadaptable human resources management strategies.What it means for employeesEmployees will benefit from more transparent and faster staffing. Employees who have questions about staffingdecisions will be able to speak directly with the decision-maker about their concerns. If these concerns cannot beresolved through dialogue, a new independent third party, the Public Service Staffing Tribunal, will review them toensure that managers used their authority appropriately and that employees were treated properly. The new legislationwill also ensure that people continue to be appointed based on merit. The Public Service Commission (PSC) will continueto play its critical role in protecting the integrity of government-wide hiring processes.The new legislation will also require departments and agencies to set up labour-management consultation committeesto provide a forum for dialogue. This is intended to create a climate for co-developing solutions to workplacechallenges. Employees, managers and unions will all be expected to work together on improving the workplace.The PSMA will promote lifelong learning and career development. The Canada School of Public Service will beopen and accessible to employees at all levels in departments, agencies and in all regions. Core learning for thepublic service will include: orientation for new public service employees; career and professional development; publicadministration courses; management and leadership development; and statutory language training.What it means for managersThe new Act reinforces safeguards to sustain a merit-based, non-partisan public service based on the values oftransparency, fairness and respect. Deputy Heads will continue to be able to set the qualifications for the work thatmust be performed within their respective organizations and, once the PSMA is fully implemented, managers willhave greater flexibility in the area of staffing.A new independent Public Service Staffing Tribunal (PSST) will hear complaints of alleged abuse of authority ininternal appointment processes and will have the power to order that appointments be revoked or corrective action betaken.Under the new Public Service Employment Act, the Public Service Commission will retain all appointment authority andmaintain the power to delegate to Deputy Heads or amend or rescind that delegation, subject to terms andconditions.In consultation with the bargaining agents, the PSC will continue to have full authority to set policies on howstaffing is conducted. It will be able to investigate external appointment processes to ensure they were based onmerit, with the power to revoke appointments and take any corrective action it considers appropriate.The Commission will continue to have the authority to conduct staffing audits including auditing how Deputy Headsset qualifications for positions within their respective organizations and establish their operational requirements andorganizational needs.Deputy Heads will also have more flexibility in the areas of awards and recognition, continuous learning, and careerand professional development and they will have the authority to demote, discipline and terminate employees, subject toTreasury Board policies and directives.What it means for labour-management relationsThe PSMA will set the stage for better dialogue between labour and management to improve the workplace. Itwill:Improve dialogue through mandatory departmental union-management consultation committees and informal disputeresolution;Enable co-development of workplace improvements;Improve collective bargaining through enhanced mediation and conciliation, negotiated essential servicesagreements, compensation research and analysis services; andProvide more comprehensive grievance and adjudication mechanisms.Under the new Act, the Chair of the Public Service Labour Relations Board will take a more proactive role inmediating disputes and helping parties to reach agreement. The Chair will also be able to recommend the appointment ofa Public Interest Commission, a non-permanent body to assist in resolving specific disputes and make recommendationsfor settlement.ImplementationChanges to how people are managed in the federal public service will not happen overnight.The PSMA enacts a new Public Service Employment Act, a new Public Service Labour RelationsAct, and amendsthe Canadian Centre for Management Development Act and the Financial AdministrationAct. The PSMA will beimplemented in stages. The following is an anticipated schedule:The Canada School of Public Service will be established on April 1, 2004;The establishment of the new Public Service Commission and the new Public Service Staffing Tribunal is planned forfall/winter 2003/2004;The Public Service Labour Relations Act, amendments to the Financial Administration Act, and theprovisions of the Public Service Employment Act on political activities will be done in the fall of 2004;The rest of the new Public Service Employment Act will come into effect in 2005.
