Miramichi, New Brusnwick - 2 April 2015
Our Government is committed to increasing the effectiveness of public service operations and eliminating unnecessary costs. To this end, on April 2, 2015, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the awarding of an $85.3 million contract for the construction and 20-year lease of a new Public Service Pay Centre in Miramichi, New Brunswick, following an open, fair and competitive procurement process.
It is expected that construction will begin this summer with occupancy scheduled for late 2018. There is an option for the Government to purchase the building for $1 at the conclusion of the lease.
This contract was awarded through a tendering process that determined which company could deliver all of the project requirements while generating the best value possible for Canadians. To ensure the procurement was conducted in an open and transparent manner, an independent, third-party fairness monitor was engaged to provide additional oversight on the process.
The new three-storey building will include approximately 9,500 m2 of office space, which will accommodate 550 employees and will be constructed on land formerly part of the exhibition site on Church Street in Miramichi. It is estimated that 200 construction jobs will also be created over the life of the project. The new office building will have a LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Canada “Core and Shell” Gold standard for environmental performance.
Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) administers pay for federal departments and agencies servicing approximately 300,000 employees, making it one of the largest payroll providers in the country.
The Government of Canada’s current pay system, which is operated by PWGSC, is over 40 years old. It has become increasingly difficult to maintain, and it relies on outdated technology that puts the sustainability of the administration of pay at risk. In addition, pay services have been fragmented and decentralized. The capability of the existing pay system and the accompanying business processes are insufficient to meet the increasing employee and client demands.
To address these issues, the Government of Canada approved the Transformation of Pay Administration Initiative (the pay initiative) in 2009 to transform its pay administration system, renew business processes and consolidate pay services. The pay initiative is scheduled for completion in 2015-2016 and is expected to generate over $70 million in annual savings beginning in 2016-2017. It includes replacing the Government’s outdated pay system with more efficient and modern technology, as well as implementing standardized business processes.
The pay initiative is aligned with the Government of Canada’s overall commitment to Canadian taxpayers for more cost-effective public service administration. This initiative is an example of using technology and centralizing services to simplify and standardize administrative functions and reduce unnecessary costs across government.
Some of the benefits the Government and its employees will realize as a result include:
- A modern, sustainable pay system using commercially-available software products;
- A paperless environment and greener operations; and,
- Increased functionality for employees and managers.
The Public Service Pay Centre is a part of the Government of Canada’s pay initiative.
The centre will increase the effectiveness of public service operations and reduce operational costs, by consolidating pay administration services for over 60 per cent of public servants – which represents 184,000 pay accounts – into a single pay centre located in Miramichi. This, along with other pay initiative measures, will generate millions of dollars in savings for Canadian taxpayers, hundreds of high quality jobs in Miramichi, the continued sustainability of pay services, and more consistent service delivery.
The Public Service Pay Centre, which is managed by PWGSC’s Accounting, Banking and Compensation Branch, is temporarily located in the Miramichi Business Complex and the Mill site until the new building is ready for occupancy in late 2018. By December 2015, the Public Service Pay Centre will provide pay services from its interim accommodations to employees and managers from the 46 departments and agencies.
A study to determine the feasibility of transferring approximately 100,000 remaining Government of Canada pay accounts to the Public Service Pay Centre will be completed in 2015-2016.