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Results: 1 - 15 of 384
View Louise Thibault Profile
Ind. (QC)
Thank you very much. I will be very brief, Madam Chair.
I would like to thank Mr. Moore for his collegiality. It is a defining characteristic of this committee.
Minister, I would like to thank you and your officials for being here. When I saw the agenda I could not resist the temptation to come along, knowing that you would be following up on your recent testimony. I was not counting on asking you any questions, but I will ask you four.
Firstly, I am delighted to hear that the problems with the compensation system have been resolved. However, I wonder whether you will be able to keep the staff you assigned to resolve the problem. Departmental staff leave in the same way that hot buns fly off the shelves. We lose them because they go to work elsewhere.
My second question is as follows: will the proceeds from the sale of buildings automatically be put into the consolidated revenue fund or will you allocate some or all of the money elsewhere?
Now for my third question. Although I intend to read it, I have not yet read your report on plans and priorities; can you tell me whether it covers your responsibility with regard to heritage assets, a matter that we discussed at a previous meeting?
I will now ask my last question. You know that our regions are near and dear to my heart. With a few rare exceptions, costs are usually lower in the regions than in major urban centres. Is it therefore safe to assume that, regardless of what else happens in the context of your real estate strategy, the regions will keep their buildings—either as departmental property or as rental property—and that there will be no job reduction strategy? I am particularly thinking of the Quebec regions; that is where my interest lies.
View Louise Thibault Profile
Ind. (QC)
I want to begin by thanking the witnesses for being with us today.
Mr. Gordon, if this meeting were taking place in an amphitheatre on a college or university campus, or in a professional training centre, and I was one of the student apprentices sitting here listening to you, I can tell you I would not be the slightest bit interested in applying for a job in the public service, with the intention of working there.
Is that part of your message for us today?
View Louise Thibault Profile
Ind. (QC)
I am not only talking about equity.
I listened to your comments and I have your brief in front of me. You said that, based on average salary levels for men and women retirees, women are even less well off than men. I don't know whether that was before pay equity or since it has come into effect. As well, you talked about retirement pensions not being as generous as those in the private sector.
I am not trying to be ironic but, quite honestly, I want to ask you this question: after hearing that, why would anyone want to work for the public service, whether or not there is a demographic deficit?
Based on my own experience—because I was a public servant for 26 years—there is a certain reality in terms of working conditions. I left the public service a few years ago, but I would like to know whether the government has become a bad employer with respect to working conditions or for other reasons. I ask that question in relation to the challenge we are currently facing—that is the subject of our study today—in other words, the fact that many public servants will be retiring soon. Are we in a position to ensure that there will not be too much disruption as that occurs? Will we be able to find people who are just as competent to do the job even, in some cases, perhaps even more competent?
I have already talked about this, and you will notice if you have read the Committee proceedings. Indeed, it is clear that you read Ms. Barrados' testimony. Other than the pensions and the measures that you discussed with us, are you confident or do you think that Ms. Barrados put a positive spin on things in order to recruit new employees and stimulate interest, among not only young people but people in mid-career as well, in the idea of working for the public service and serving the people of Canada?
My question goes back to what my colleague asked you when he wanted to know whether you are confident that we will succeed, in spite of the obstacles and challenges we are facing. I understand that you are speaking for the 160,000 members of the Alliance.
View Louise Thibault Profile
Ind. (QC)
I see.
When Ms. Barrados appeared before us, I put a question to her. I asked her whether human resources planning was still just as bad.
And you are confirming that workforce and human resources planning is inadequate, because they are using a roundabout way—the fact is that this has been going on for ever, and I find it to be completely unacceptable, as I have also said—to recruit people on a temporary basis, even though they know that the need is permanent. So, the source of the problem is the staffing managers' delegation and the fact that people do not carry out any kind of human resources planning; they are content to meet the most pressing needs by hiring casual employees and figure that they will just wait and see what happens subsequently.
Did I understand you correctly in that respect?
View Louise Thibault Profile
Ind. (QC)
I see.
I imagine that the Chair is going to tell me that my time has run out. Madam Chair, I would like to ask one last question.
On page 2 of the French version of your statement, you say, and I quote:
Added to this is the significant amount of harassment and discrimination reported by racialized members of the public service.
Can you tell me where I can get objective information about this? I have no doubt that this is not an allegation you make lightly. I would like to have documentation on this, because I believe this to be a very serious problem which has far-reaching consequences. I cannot just ignore this sentence on page 2 of your brief.
I imagine that my time is up, Madam Chair.
View Louise Thibault Profile
Ind. (QC)
View Louise Thibault Profile
Ind. (QC)
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I am going to do exactly what I did a little earlier for the witnesses we heard before you. Like Mr. Simard, I am wondering whether there is any hope. Would you say that your comments—I won't say your vision—apply to all of Canada? I'm asking that question because I want to talk about a region I feel particularly strongly about—my own, which is the Lower St. Lawrence and Gaspé region.
The Institut Maurice-Lamontagne is in the riding of one of my colleagues, in Sainte-Flavie. They carry out ocean research there. As you know, we're talking about Rimouski. It has connections to all the learning institutions as regards ocean sciences, including the University of Quebec in Rimouski, the Quebec Maritime Institute, the Rimouski Ocean Sciences Institute, research centres, and so on. I could name you several more.
I am talking about young people and some who are less young, of both female and male researchers. I see people who are very happy to work for the federal public service. Not only are they happy with their job, but they are also happy to be living in a wonderful region and to enjoy good quality of life living close to an estuary, their family, and so on, being able to go hiking, engage in recreational activities, go kayaking and do things that they may not necessarily find elsewhere. Is that what you are also hearing? Like your union colleagues that came before you, you talked about practical issues such as salaries, structures and resources. Of course, all of that is part of it. Someone would not agree to work for a pittance, but at the same time, there are other things in life. There is the future and everything that entails. Do you consider that? You talk in very rational terms—only about working conditions, salaries and retirement, because people have to work 30 or 40 years. Those are obviously factors. But there are other ones as well. Is the situation the same all across Canada or do you consider the fact that, in some regions, there are quite considerable differences?
View Louise Thibault Profile
Ind. (QC)
I am putting this question to you seriously. On page 10 of your brief, you say: “Professionals in the public service are already doing the job of two people due to the cutbacks in personnel since the early 1990s.”
Do you think that is because employees were lazy or because—
View Louise Thibault Profile
Ind. (QC)
My question had to do with the fact that one worker today is the equivalent of two workers back in 1990.
Also, what exactly are you doing as a union? Of course, I understand what you are doing and I am aware of that, but you are speaking on behalf of current members of the Professional Institute. I would like to know what you are doing for the people who join the public service later on. Surely you are out there in the field raising awareness. I'm not only talking about getting people to pay union dues; I'm talking about getting people interested in working for the public service and representing them. I would like to have two or three examples of tangible actions you are taking to help resolve the demographic deficit that will affect us all.
View Louise Thibault Profile
Ind. (QC)
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you for coming here, Mr. Harrison. Knowing you the way I do, I'm not surprised that you have come to appear as an individual despite the fact that you are no longer in this position.
In January, you provided the government with an opinion as part of a report. Can we know exactly what came out of it? Further to the consultations you held with the directors of agencies, you and the other three individuals—which it must be said is a small group given your mandate—were you able to develop tools enabling you to carry out your mandate? Did it enable you to comply with the requests for the Immigration and Refugee Board?
View Louise Thibault Profile
Ind. (QC)
I am going to interrupt you because I am sure that the chair is going to warn me that I have only one minute remaining. We only have seven minutes. Do I still have a minute left?
View Louise Thibault Profile
Ind. (QC)
I'm going to interrupt you because I would like to discuss something that concerns us. Would the criteria you developed guarantee, to parliamentarians and all citizens, that the process will be as watertight as possible, so that there would not be any room for partisan or ideological appointments? I am not referring only to the current minority government, but any government that wants to leave its mark.
Would that enable us to have a process that is truly transparent and not biased so as to give an advantage to people who share our points of view?
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