The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
Log in

Letter to the Chief Human Resources Officer about the PSES

October 15, 2018

Nancy Chahwan
Chief Human Resources Officer
OCHRO, Treasury Board Secretariat
219 Laurier, Ottawa ON K1P 5J6
By email: nancy.chahwan@tbs-sct.gc.ca

Dear Ms. Chahwan,

I am writing today about the contracting-out to Advanis, a Canadian market and social research firm, of the administration of the 2018 Public Service Employee Survey (PSES). As you know, previous surveys had been administered by Statistics Canada on behalf of your Office.

Because the Institute firmly believes that informed data should be used to effect change, I supported our members’ full participation in the 2018 PSES. That said, I believe that outsourcing the survey to Advanis represents a missed opportunity on the Treasury Board’s part to demonstrate its full commitment to Canada’s professional public service.

I am sure you are aware of the grave concerns repeatedly expressed by public service employees over the continued outsourcing of their work to the private sector. At a time of growing demand for government services, over-reliance on contractors has taken its toll on the professionals who deliver these services to Canadians. Morale, accountability and productivity are all seriously impacted by the contracting-out of work best performed “in-house”. In addition, outsourcing costs the federal government billions of dollars annually, money that would be better invested in improved public services.

I therefore urge your Office to return the administration of future Public Service Employee Surveys to Statistics Canada, a first-rate organization mandated “to provide statistical information and analysis about Canada’s economic and social structure to develop and evaluate public policies and programs (and to) improve public and private decision-making for the benefit of all Canadians”.  Given the Department’s mandate and amply demonstrated expertise in its field, I would be quite interested in understanding the reasoning behind the decision to contract out its work to Advanis.

I look forward to your response and thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Debi Daviau
President,
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada

Published on 15 October 2018

20 November 2019
Applause

PIPSC Welcomes the New Federal Cabinet

On November 20, 2019 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the composition of his new Cabinet.
18 November 2019
bed bugs

Bed bugs in government offices

As you are certainly aware given the extensive media coverage over the past few days, at time of writing bed bugs have been found in at least 8 government buildings located in the National Capital Region. They have also been reported in federal government buildings in Montreal and Winnipeg. There may be other affected locations across Canada that have yet to be formally identified.
13 September 2019
Vote 2019

Your 2019 Federal Election Toolkit

We have developed this online Election Toolkit that will help you make an informed choice in electing a government that will protect public services and respect the people who provide them.
11 September 2019
Nix Phoenix

An important victory for our members: the government commits $117M to the Next Generation human resources and pay system

On September 6, 2019, the government announced the investment of $117M in the design and delivery of the Next Generation human resources and pay system (NextGen), the much-awaited successor to the disastrous Phoenix.
31 July 2019
Announcement

The Federal Election on the Horizon

Parliament has risen and MPs are back in their home ridings — we are getting closer to the next federal election. With fixed election dates, we can expect Election Day to be Monday October 21, 2019.
10 July 2019
Image representing employment inequality

Letter to the Public Service Commission President about Employment Equity

I recently wrote to Public Service Commission (PSC) President Patrick Borbey about the Employment Equity Promotion Rate Study published by his organization in late May 2019.