Annual Report 2019–20: Building tomorrow’s public service today

Message from the Commissioners

Each year, the Public Service Commission of Canada is pleased to report to Parliament on the health and integrity of the staffing system and the non-partisanship of the federal public service. Although the COVID-19 pandemic represented only a small part of 2019–20, it has overshadowed the events of the last year, and it will have a profound influence on our future. We would like to recognize the federal public service’s exceptional response to an unprecedented challenge. It has been inspiring to see public servants act with agility and dedication in serving Canadians during these trying times.

Like all departments and agencies, the Public Service Commission was called upon to adapt quickly and to find new ways to support the people it serves. Through responsive policy and service innovation, it has helped departments and agencies meet their urgent hiring needs. Difficult times can test a policy and challenge the need for certain rules. Our staffing policy framework has met this test, providing departments and agencies with the flexibility to meet unparalleled demands. The pandemic has also revealed the limits of this discretion, and highlighted that even more flexibilities would be welcome to those on the front lines during times of crisis.

As we look to the future, we hope lessons will be drawn about the tremendous potential of virtual work to provide opportunities for underrepresented communities and to increase the federal public service’s regional presence. We need to embrace the value of diversity and recognize that the barriers we thought existed in virtual work are surmountable. We must strive to accelerate the development of the full range of digital options and technological advances in order to remove employment barriers, improve our ability to reach talent and reduce the time it takes to hire.

Events from the past year have reminded us that systemic racism and discrimination are still very present in our daily lives and in our institutions. Black and racialized communities, Indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities continue to be harmed by this damaging reality. The Public Service Employment Act recognizes that “Canada will […] continue to gain from a public service that strives for excellence, that is representative of Canada’s diversity and that is able to serve the public with integrity.” Charged with this responsibility, the Public Service Commission will do everything in its power to seek out and eliminate all biases and barriers embedded in the public service hiring culture.

We are pleased that Ms. Fiona Spencer, our newest Commissioner, has joined us in pursuing these challenges. As former Merit Commissioner for the province of British Columbia, and with 30 years of experience as a federal public servant, Ms. Spencer is a tremendous addition to our team. Her leadership, integrity and dedication are already greatly appreciated.

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Building a future-ready public service

To quickly deliver crucial pandemic-related benefits and services to Canadians, Employment and Social Development Canada and Service Canada increased capacity on the frontlines and in other critical functions by drawing on all available staffing mechanisms. This included:

• redeploying almost 3 000 staff from less critical activities to help deliver Employment Insurance benefits and the new Canada Emergency Response Benefit
• setting up a new 1 500-person virtual call centre in just 9 days to handle the spike in call volumes and respond to more than 30 000 calls a day
• hiring students through the Federal Student Work Experience Program (including the Employment Opportunity for Students with Disabilities and the Indigenous Student Employment Opportunity programs), a valuable pool of workers who provided much-needed capacity to the virtual call centre

Responding to the pandemic

To support Canadians, departments and agencies rapidly mobilized resources in responding to COVID-19. This tested the hiring flexibility provided by the New Direction in Staffing — the policy framework that sets out rules for public service hiring. The framework allowed departments and agencies to recruit rapidly so as to provide critical services to Canadians.

At the Public Service Commission, we adapted our services to react to the pandemic and to assist departments and agencies in meeting urgent hiring needs. We put in place temporary policy measures and supporting guidance to provide more flexibility to departments and agencies in assessing second language requirements. We also launched a new test of second-language oral proficiency that enables candidates to be assessed from their homes, as an alternative to in-person testing. As these measures were put in place quickly, we are now consulting departments and agencies to address any limitations and to adapt the measures to meet departmental needs.

We also supported Health Canada’s National COVID-19 Volunteer Recruitment Campaign, building and managing an inventory of close to 55 000 volunteers to help the federal, provincial and territorial governments during the pandemic. We identified and referred volunteers, and rapidly developed new tools to process requests for volunteers and referrals.

Departments and agencies demonstrated collective resilience in hiring crucial resources during the pandemic. However, there are still lessons to be learned about recruitment during an emergency crisis, and indications that managers need more flexibility for temporary hiring during emergencies.

Hiring for the future

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a paradigm shift: the federal public service had to immediately adopt tools and practices that were once thought of as the future of work. We had to quickly implement digital technology solutions and rapidly learn to work in a new, virtual environment. Fortunately, like many departments and agencies, we were already working on projects to better incorporate digital technology into our processes and tools. The pandemic was an accelerator, pressing us to innovate from this existing foundation at unprecedented speeds.

Before the pandemic, the federal public service was already increasing its use of technology in hiring. Departments and agencies were starting to embrace digital tools to hire and assess scarce and in-demand skills, to make the recruitment process more efficient and to onboard new talent.

Employment and Social Development Canada, in collaboration with the Public Service Commission, undertook a study on using algorithms to help screen candidates in selection processes with many applicants. During the first phase of this study, the team tested algorithms that informed human decision-making. Preliminary results were promising, but more work remains. During the second phase of this research project, continued testing will ensure that algorithmic screening is technically feasible and does not lead to bias in the recruitment process.

To decrease time to staff and improve the job seeker experience, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada implemented a collaborative staffing approach for high-volume staffing needs, developing talent pipelines for several of the most-staffed groups in the department. These recruitment campaigns are promoted through many channels (social media, professional networks, in-person events) and are designed to meet a variety of similar needs by focusing on core competencies rather than specific skills and experience. A dedicated team administers virtual assessment tools such as unsupervised internet testing and email exams, eliminating time-consuming duties (like scheduling and test administration) associated with in-person assessments. Hiring managers have the flexibility to then assess position-specific qualifications, and can select candidates when they need them. Using this approach, pools of qualified candidates have been created in as little as 5 weeks.

We are drawing on lessons learned from these and other initiatives to transform the public service recruitment system. With the GC Jobs Transformation project, we are building a new system that will:

• improve the job search and application process for all Canadians
• reduce time to staff and help hiring managers to quickly find skilled employees
• contribute to a representative public service

This year, we launched an agile procurement process for the GC Jobs Transformation project in collaboration with Public Services and Procurement Canada, and held discussions with recruitment industry leaders. Throughout this process, we will conduct hands-on testing of potential recruitment solutions with participating departments and agencies to provide federal employers, and Canadians, with a system that is inclusive, effective and adaptable.

Although the drive to modernize is critical, we must not lose sight of the full range of recruitment options. In 2019–20, face-to-face events continued to resonate with job seekers and hiring managers alike. Vancouver’s Impact Career Fair aligned job seekers with employers who shared their values. We partnered with Public Services and Procurement Canada at the event to show junior and mid-level job seekers the benefits of serving the public.

Persons with a priority entitlement and veterans

Occasionally, a public servant’s life changes drastically. An employee may have to take an extended leave of absence and then return to work. A spouse may need to re-locate for their job, and find themselves on the other side of the country… or world! A Canadian Armed Forces member may no longer be able to perform their duties for a medical reason. Priority entitlements help people who experience career changes because of these types of life events.

The evaluation found that veterans and eligible Canadian Armed Forces members face barriers to finding public service jobs. These barriers include a lack of understanding and knowledge of:

• the provisions found in the Veterans Hiring Act
• available support
• federal public service job opportunities
• how military expertise and competencies line up with federal public service occupational classifications

We are committed to working with our partners to build understanding and increase awareness of Veterans Hiring Act provisions among public service hiring managers and human resource advisors. We are also committed to providing veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members with the support they need. As part of this support, we provide the services of 2 veteran advisors. Now public servants, these advisors are veterans themselves, who previously had a priority entitlement for medically released Canadian Armed Forces members. They provide specialized guidance and advice to former Canadian Armed Forces members with a priority entitlement on policies, practices and procedures related to priority entitlements. They also draw on a shared vocabulary and their own experience and knowledge to explain how the priority system works, and consult with veterans on ways to improve our services.

An inclusive public service

The strength of diversity

Subgroup distribution for Indigenous peoples ^{Footnote 6}

Subgroup	2018–19 applicants to external advertised processes	2018–19 hires	2019–20 applicants to external advertised processes	2019–20 hires *
Inuit	3.8%	4.2%	3.9%	-
Métis	41.0%	39.5%	40.8%	-
North American Indian / First Nation	46.5%	38.0%	48.0%	-
Other	8.7%	18.2%	7.4%	-

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Subgroup distribution for persons with disabilities ^{Footnote 8}

Subgroup	2018–19 applicants to external advertised processes	2018–19 hires	2019–20 applicants to external advertised processes	2019–20 hires *
Blind or visual impairment	4.6%	4.9%	4.7%	-
Coordination or dexterity	4.3%	5.7%	3.9%	-
Deaf or hard of hearing	9.6%	10.2%	9.2%	-
Mobility	12.7%	13.7%	13.1%	-
Speech impairment	1.4%	1.9%	1.7%	-
Other disability	67.5%	63.6%	67.5%	-

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Renewal through diversity

An accessible public service

Accommodation measures over time

The Public Service Commission of Canada offers assessment accommodation services to federal departments and agencies, and has fulfilled over 17 000 requests for assessment accommodation over the last 6 years. Over this period, requests have increased by 74%. Increases in requests for assessment accommodation due to psychological, emotional, psychiatric and attention-related limitations are especially notable: these requests have more than tripled.

In 2019–20, 17% of requests involved limitations related to psychological conditions, compared to 9% in 2013–14. Requests for accommodation measures related to learning disabilities have declined as a proportion of all requests, from 24% to 16% between 2013–14 and 2019–20. While many factors are at play, informal consultations suggest that the increased proportion of requests related to psychological limitations could be partly due to candidates’ greater comfort levels in revealing functional limitations related to emotions or anxiety, for example. This trend coincides with the federal public service’s increased focus on mental health, which may have reduced the stigma associated with psychological limitations.

Our regional presence ^{Footnote 12}

As of March 31, 2020, the total population (indeterminate, term, casual, and student) for departments and agencies subject to the Public Service Employment Act was up across all regions. Over the past 10 years, the federal public service population has remained consistently higher in the rest of Canada combined than in the National Capital Region; however, this gap has narrowed. The 10-year trend shows that the share of public servants in the National Capital Region has increased to 47.3% of the federal public service workforce as of March 31, 2020, up from 43.6% as of March 31, 2011.

This reflects a staffing imbalance in the federal public service: the share of public servants working in the National Capital Region is growing while the share of public servants working outside of the region is shrinking. The imbalance is also reflected in the ratio of new hires, with the National Capital Region accounting for 53.2% (30 537) of new hires (indeterminate, term, casual and student). The COVID-19 pandemic proves that the federal public service can successfully work virtually. A greater reliance on employees working remotely can improve our ability to reach talent anywhere in the country, and to draw on Canadians regardless of where they live. These perspectives can further increase our diversity and improve the public service as a whole.

Regions	Hires	PSEA population *
1 British Columbia	3 836	18 739
2 Alberta	2 745	11 849
3 Saskatchewan	1 130	5 051
4 Manitoba	1 412	7 340
5 Ontario (except NCR)	5 758	27 712
6 National Capital Region (NCR)	30 537	109 261
7 Quebec (except NCR)	5 331	23 877
8 New Brunswick	2 072	9 044
9 Nova Scotia	2 573	9 645
10 Prince Edward Island	611	2 196
11 Newfoundland and Labrador	971	3 781
12 Yukon	98	346
13 Northwest Territories	98	436
14 Nunavut	103	259
15 International	119	1 497
Unknown	4 400	1 943

*Public Service Employment Act population as of March 31, 2020

Canada’s linguistic duality

The federal public service serves Canadians across the country in the official language of their choice. In 2019–20, the Public Service Commission participated in 48 events with official languages minority communities across the country to:

• promote linguistic duality
• better understand the needs of those communities
• encourage members to apply to federal public service jobs

A public service based on merit and non-partisanship

The Public Service Commission of Canada safeguards merit-based appointments and the non-partisanship of the federal public service. When the New Direction in Staffing was implemented in April 2016, deputy heads were given greater accountability and discretion to oversee staffing within their departments and agencies.

As part of this accountability, deputy heads must assess their department or agency’s staffing compliance with legislative and policy requirements at least once every 5 years, and report the results to the Public Service Commission. These cyclical assessments enable deputy heads to take a broad look at the health of their own staffing system.

We received 8 cyclical assessment reports from departments and agencies in 2019–20. The reports demonstrated a high degree of compliance with legislative and policy requirements.

This year, we started to work with 12 small departments and agencies, helping them to fulfil this mandatory requirement and strengthen their organizational oversight capacity. We also supported a number of departments and agencies in undertaking internal audits of staffing; in many cases, the results of these internal audits will be submitted as cyclical assessments. We will continue to report on cyclical assessment results in future annual reports.

Horizontal audits

Investigations

As part of our mandate to oversee the integrity of the staffing system and the political impartiality of the federal public service, we investigate concerns relating to specific appointment processes and allegations of improper political activities of federal public servants. This means that we investigate external appointment processes when there are concerns that:

• an appointment or proposed appointment may not have been based on merit
• there may have been an error, omission or improper conduct that affected the selection of the person appointed or proposed for appointment

We also investigate external and internal appointment processes when there are concerns that fraud may have occurred or that an appointment or proposed appointment may not have been free from political influence.

In 2019–20, we received 548 requests for investigations. Of these requests, it was determined that 257 fell under our mandate.

They included:

• 160 related to error, omission or improper conduct, or to merit not being met
• 68 related to fraud
• 29 related to improper political activities
• none related to political influence

The number of requests for investigations relating to fraud, error, omission or improper conduct, or to merit not being met during public service appointment processes was consistent in 2019–20 with previous years.

The number of allegations related to improper political activities increased from 18 in 2018–19, to 29 in 2019–20, largely because it was an election year that included a federal election and several provincial and municipal elections. In addition to these 29 new allegations, 10 were carried over from the previous year. Most involved a failure to seek and obtain permission from the Public Service Commission before running for office. Of these 39 investigations, 20 reached a founded conclusion and, when appropriate, corrective actions were ordered.

In 2019–20, we launched a series of outreach activities to raise awareness and help departments and agencies strengthen their investigations-related capacity. We delivered tailored workshops to help human resources professionals address the most common irregularities. The workshops also helped the human resources community prevent potential issues in appointment processes and to detect irregularities. We also collaborated with a group of federal departments and agencies to launch the Federal Government Investigators’ Community in February 2020. The community’s vision is to become a forum for investigators in the public service to share information, knowledge and experience on investigative techniques and best practices.

Non-partisanship and political activities

A non-partisan and professional public service is fundamental to a healthy democracy. Safeguarding this non-partisanship is central to our mandate. We ensure that public service employees serve the Canadian population, not a political party. A non-partisan public service means:

• appointments are made on the basis of merit, free from political influence
• programs and services are administered in a professional and non-partisan manner
• public service employees perform their duties in a politically impartial manner, and are perceived to do so

This does not mean that employees cannot express their political opinions or partake in political activities. Employees may consider seeking nomination or becoming a candidate in an election, donating to a political party, canvassing for a political candidate, or expressing their support for a political candidate on social media. In assessing whether they can engage in these activities, employees should examine their specific circumstances. Our online political activities resources offer information and guidance, as well as links to useful contacts. Public servants can draw on these to make informed decisions and to ensure that their activities do not impair, or are not perceived as impairing, their ability to perform their public service duties in a politically impartial manner.

Employees who are thinking about seeking nomination or becoming a candidate in a federal, provincial, territorial or municipal election must first request and obtain permission from the Public Service Commission. In assessing a request for permission, we consider many factors, including the nature of the election, the nature of the employee’s duties and the level and visibility of the public service position. Each request is assessed on a case-by-case basis. The assessment determines whether there is a risk to political impartiality. If we determine that there is a risk, to mitigate it, we will impose conditions that the employee must accept in order for the permission to be granted.

No requests for permission to seek nomination or to become a candidate were denied in 2019–20. Since 2005, when the legislation was revised to reflect this approach, only 9 requests for permission have been denied.

We do outreach to raise employees’ awareness about their rights and responsibilities relating to political activities. In 2019–20, over 45 information sessions on political activities and non-partisanship were delivered to various audiences. We also responded to 200 enquiries from public service employees and members of the public on a wide range of questions and issues related to the political engagement of public servants.

* Refers to elections and by-elections where a public servant sought permission.

** Refers to permissions granted only in 2019–20. In total, from 2017 to 2019, 36 permissions were granted for the 2019 federal election.

Social media and political activities

Looking forward

The Public Service Commission of Canada plays an important role in building the Government of Canada’s workforce and in maintaining Canadians’ trust in the federal public service. While efforts to modernize staffing were already well underway, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of modernization and spurred us to fast-track progress and leverage technological advances.

The rise of virtual work offers a tremendous opportunity to increase diversity in the federal public service. The ability to bring jobs to employees, rather than employees to jobs, opens the doors to Canadians from underrepresented communities and regions. This being said, our drive to innovate in staffing must be aligned with our progress on accessibility, diversity and inclusion, while maintaining our steadfast commitment to uphold merit in the hiring process.

We are pursuing the expansion of unsupervised internet testing and testing from home. Allowing candidates to use accessible technology in the assessment process reinforces diversity and inclusion, and it also highlights our commitment to innovating the staffing process.

In the year ahead, we will continue to explore leading practices and emerging technologies from the private sector, and seek inspiration in from other jurisdictions. We have already embarked on an ambitious redesign of our recruitment system, the GC Jobs portal, through which all Canadians can access jobs in the federal public service. We will ensure that it harnesses all the potential of digital technology to:

• help managers continue to build a talented, diverse, and inclusive public service
• support public service renewal
• improve the experience of those applying for public service jobs

We will strengthen our efforts to advance diversity and inclusion in the public service workforce. This past year saw the release of new workforce availability estimates for the 4 employment equity designated groups. A number of areas require our sustained attention, particularly increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities. We will expand on existing hiring programs to attract and retain more members of these groups. We will also focus on accessibility as we explore ways to reduce barriers in the hiring process.

The year 2021 will mark the 5-year anniversary of the New Direction in Staffing and new hiring provisions for veterans in the Public Service Employment Act. We plan to work with all departments and agencies to harness the staffing policy framework so that we can improve our approach to recruitment and attract the talent, including medically released veterans, who will serve Canadians well.

In this evolving landscape, the Public Service Commission of Canada’s role is more crucial than ever, both to ensure that merit and non-partisanship are upheld, and to bring about the modernization required to build tomorrow’s public service.

General note

Unless stated otherwise, all data reflects 2019–20 population and staffing activities to and within departments and agencies subject to the Public Service Employment Act. This does not include separate agencies such as the Canada Revenue Agency, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Parks Canada.

Additional information is available on the Open Government portal.

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For more information, please contact:

The Public Service Commission of Canada
22 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0M7

cfp.infocom.psc@cfp-psc.gc.ca

Twitter: @PSCofCanada