For the latest on contract negotiations, diplomatic appointments and what’s been lost and found at the Canadian Museum of History, here are the latest public service updates you need to know in our bi-weekly roundup.
• Global Affairs Canada announces new diplomatic appointments
• “Parliament: The Immersive Experience” opens to the public
• Prime Minister announces upcoming Cabinet retreat
• Audit finds weaknesses in Canadian Museum of History’s conservation practices
A number of new diplomatic appointments have been announced by the federal government since the beginning of the month. On Aug. 8, Mélanie Joly, minister of foreign affairs, announced the following appointments:
• Jessica Blitt became Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia, replacing Alan Bowman
• Gavin Buchan became Ambassador to Romania, replacing Annick Goulet
• Kathy Bunka became Ambassador to the Republic of Iraq, replacing Gregory Galligan
• Caroline Charette became Consul General in São Paulo (Federative Republic of Brazil), replacing Heather Cameron
• Sandra Choufani became Ambassador to Mongolia, replacing Catherine Ivkoff
• Cheryl Cruz became Ambassador to the Slovak Republic, replacing Troy Lulashnyk
On Aug. 15, Joly announced an additional appointment. Kevin Hamilton became Ambassador to the Republic of Türkiye, replacing Jamal Khokhar.
Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) members working at Parks Canada have voted in favour of ratifying a new tentative agreement, following ratification votes from July 17 to Aug. 4.
The agreement includes compounded wage increases of at least 12.6 per cent over the life of the agreement, from Aug. 5, 2021, to Aug. 4, 2025. It also offers group-specific allowances, protections against contracting out and new remote work language, echoing what was established in Treasury Board and Canada Revenue Agency workers’ agreements earlier this year.
“The agreement addresses many long-standing concerns for Parks members,” PSAC said in a news release, adding that the agreement will be signed in the coming weeks.
Parks Canada has 180 days upon the signing of the contract to implement wage increases, adjustments and allowances. All non-monetary terms will come into effect immediately after signing.
PSAC’s Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement for over 4,000 members working at the government agency.
“The CFIA bargaining team unanimously recommends ratification of the agreement,” PSAC said in a news release.
According to PSAC, a full explanation of the agreement and the ratification kit were to be available in the coming days.
A new visitor attraction with the goal of showcasing Canada’s Parliament opened this Thursday. The 45-minute multimedia show titled “Parliament: The Immersive Experience” opened to the public on Aug. 17, following an announcement from the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons on Tuesday.
The free attraction, located at 211 Sparks St. and produced by the Library of Parliament, allows visitors to explore Canada’s history and get an inside look at Centre Block, which is currently undergoing renovations. It includes an immersive show and an exhibit.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this week that he will hold a three-day cabinet retreat in Prince Edward Island later this month, following the recent cabinet shuffle.
Taking place in Charlottetown from Aug. 21 to 23, the retreat will focus on “making life more affordable, growing the economy, building more housing, improving health care, fighting climate change and more,” according to a press release issued on Monday.
“This summer, we continued to listen to Canadians in their communities across the country about what matters to them,” Trudeau said in the news release. “I hear people loud and clear when they tell me life is getting too expensive, we need more affordable housing, wait times to get the medical care they need are too long, and they’re concerned about the impacts of climate change in their communities — from hurricanes and floods to wildfires. I look forward to working together with our new team to keep making real progress on those issues and build a better future for all Canadians.”
A recent audit completed by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada found “several weaknesses that amounted to a significant deficiency” with the Crown corporation’s conservation and management practices.
According to a news release issued late last week, the Canadian Museum of History’s conservation practices “expose the objects in its collections to various risks.” The corporation, the news release indicated, manages collections with over four million objects at its two museums in the National Capital Region.
“The audit found that more than 800 items were declared as missing through several inventory verifications conducted by the corporation between 2012 and 2022, more than 300 items lacked proper storage, and more than 15,000 items had no source information,” the release indicated. “The corporation did not have any plans to deal with these issues.”
The Canadian Museum of History said in a statement last week that it had recovered five missing significant artifacts – three masks, a pair of moccasins and a backrest – listed in the auditor report.
The audit found that the Canadian Museum of History “reasonably maintained systems and practices to carry out its mandate” and followed good practices in terms of corporate governance, strategic planning and risk management, though opportunities for improvement were identified.
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OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Quebec wants to curb excessive tipping.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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