2014-2015 Annual Report - Appendix 5

Exclusion Approval Orders and Regulations

There are several provisions in the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) that provide authority for the Commission to either make or recommend the making of orders and regulations:

• Section 22 provides the Commission with the direct authority to make regulations to give effect to the provisions of the PSEA relating to matters under its jurisdiction;
• Section 20 provides the Commission with the authority to exclude any position, or a person or class of positions or persons from any or all of the provisions of the PSEA, subject to the approval of the Governor in Council (these are referred to as exclusion approval orders);
• Section 21 provides that, on the recommendation of the Commission, the Governor in Council may make regulations related to how excluded positions, persons or classes thereof are to be dealt with;
• Subsection 35(4) provides that, on the recommendation of the Commission, the Governor in Council may designate portions of the federal public administration for purposes of eligibility in internal appointment processes; and
• Subsection 113(2) provides that, on the recommendation of the Commission, the Governor in Council may make regulations specifying political activities that are deemed to impair the abilities of employees to perform their duties in a politically impartial manner.

In 2014-2015, the Public Service Commission (PSC) continued its work on the following statutory instruments:

• Regulations Amending the Public Service Employment Regulations (sections 8 and 8.1) – On March 31, 2015, Bill C-27, the Veterans Hiring Act, received Royal Assent. This Act came into force on July 1, 2015, and amended the PSEA by adding a new section (39.1), which grants Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members released for medical reasons attributable to service a statutory priority entitlement for appointment to a position in the public service. The conditions of the new entitlement, including the classes of CAF members, are prescribed by the PSC in these regulations.
  The current regulatory priority entitlement granted to CAF members released for medical reasons was amended so that it will be granted only to CAF members released for medical reasons that are not attributable to service, with the priority entitlement period increased from the current two years to five years.
• Locally Engaged Staff Exclusion Approval Order and Regulations – The PSC is continuing work on updating this Order and these Regulations. The existing Order came into force in 1967 and applies to persons who are recruited locally outside Canada. While the existing Order excludes locally engaged staff from the entire PSEA, the proposed Order may exclude them from only certain provisions of the Act. They are being developed in consultation with the Department of National Defence and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police Casual Employment Regulations – Bill C-42, Enhancing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Act, was passed in June 2013. It amended the PSEA by adding a provision for casual workers to be appointed at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for more than 90 working days in one calendar year. The PSC made the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Casual Employment Regulations and they came into force in November 2014.
• Designation of Certain Portions of the Public Service Order – The PSEA provides that persons not otherwise employed in the public service, but who are employed in any portion of the federal public administration designated by the Governor in Council, may participate in advertised internal appointment processes open to “persons employed in the public service.” This Order came into force in 1967 and includes a schedule listing several organizations whose employees are eligible to participate in internal appointment processes. Currently, the Government of Nunavut is not included on the Schedule, as the Order has not been amended since Nunavut was created in 1999. At the request of the Government of Nunavut, work is being undertaken to add it to the Schedule.
• Regulations Amending the Public Service Employment Regulations – The PSC continued to work on a comprehensive review of the provisions of the PSER.