President’s 2022 New Year’s Message

I want to thank you for entrusting me with the great honour and responsibility of being president of our union.

For those of you who don’t know me, I have worked for over two decades in the federal public services as an environmental engineer, and have been active at PIPSC for almost as long. 

Most recently I served on the PIPSC Board of Directors, where I focused my efforts on member engagement, open communication, and representational services. 

As your new president, my priorities include:

  • Safe workplaces, both physical and psychological
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Work-life balance
  • Collaborative but firm approach to bargaining
  • Open communication and engagement with our members

I will base my approach on an overarching principle: that an informed member is an engaged member. 

With this in mind, I want to begin my mandate by:

Listening to and addressing all members’ needs

No matter what job you do or where you do it, you deserve good service. We need to provide high-quality support to every member – whether you work for a big employer or a small one, whether you work remotely, on-site or both.

Giving special attention to the “member experience”

When you contact your union, you should feel heard, empowered, and secure in your knowledge that PIPSC has your back. I will look at how to improve member contact with our union, and how to best address issues to make sure you get the services you need.

Reviewing how we can better support our consultation teams

I will equip our consultation teams to tackle health and safety, discrimination, and harassment issues.

Improving the timely and transparent flow of information

I will make sure you can access all the information you need, when and how you need it.

Please contact me at any time at president@pipsc.ca if I can be of service.

I wish you and your families all the best for 2022.


6 October 2017
Radio-Canada and the CBC have reported this week that Phoenix was “doomed from the start.” The reason? The business case prepared in 2009 under the previous government “lacked proper risk analysis and was politically motivated.” In the words of former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page, “You look at this business case, you can drive trucks through some of the holes under the risk analysis.”

3 October 2017
In light of the Phoenix fiasco and as part of a commitment made to bargaining agents to make it easier for their members to obtain information about their pay, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSCPC) has just released its Pay Bulletin for September.

2 October 2017
The Institute has just filed two new policy grievances on Phoenix-related issues, accusing the Treasury Board of failing to implement the terms of the AV and SP Group collective agreements within the specified timeframe (120 and 90 days respectively).

29 September 2017
While much has been reported about the impact of the Phoenix pay system on current federal employees, comparatively little has been said about the harm done to retirees.

21 July 2017
Recently, I sent an opinion piece to the Globe and Mail about our members’ ongoing problems with the Phoenix pay system and what I consider to be one of the root causes of the debacle: outsourcing.

12 June 2017
The recent recommendations of yet another consultants’ report on Shared Services Canada (SSC) demonstrate that, when it comes to federal government outsourcing, there’s no shortage of private sector advice.