CFIA-IN Newsletter - September 2025

 

PIPSC WEBSITE

To view the CFIA-IN communications, please visit our website at https://pipsc.ca/groups/cfia-in.

While browsing, also look at our ServicePlus member benefits program and take advantage of several benefits offered by various partners. For more details, follow the link https://www.serviceplusgroup.ca/.

2024 CFIA-IN Group Bursary

The draw for the last round of CFIA-IN bursaries took place at the 2024 AGM. The names of all eligible applicants were placed in a container and names were randomly chosen.

We are pleased to announce that the winners were:

1. First draw for $500: Valerie Ouellet (Marc Ouellet’s daughter)
2. Second draw for $250: Alyssa Bernard (Mike Bernard’s daughter)

If you have any questions regarding the CFIA-IN bursary, please contact one of the Executive members.

2025 CFIA-IN Group Bursary

It is now time to send your entries for the annual bursary. Eligible applicants are children of Regular/Retired members in good standing or of members who were in good standing at time of death, if the member is part of the IN Group or was part of the IN Group at the time of death. Children of RAND deductees are NOT eligible. 

Applicants may enter any year of post-secondary education, in a full-time post-secondary program at an educational institution. This institution must be a member of the AUCC or AICC and includes CÉGEPs. 

Proof of attendance is not required in order to apply for this scholarship. Winners will be required to submit their proof of attendance at an accepted post-secondary educational institution for the Spring 2025 / Fall 2026 semester before the bursary is handed out.

All entries must be received by the end of day, September 25, 2025. Entries can be sent by e-mail to Alain Parent.

The draw will take place at this year’s AGM. The names of all eligible applicants will be placed in a container and a name will be randomly chosen. The names of the winners may be included in a future CFIA-IN newsletter. 

BARGAINING

We successfully negotiated a new agreement with the employer, and it was signed on December 16, 2024. The new agreement now expires on May 31, 2026.

The Collective Agreement is in the Quick Links section of our CFIA-IN group page.

The Institute approached the negotiation of the collective agreements in a two-step process: Group specific tables and a Central Bargaining Table that will negotiate some issues that are common to all PIPSC members.

In our collaborative efforts with the CFIA-S&A and CFIA-VM groups, we achieved considerable success at the CFIA PIPSC Central Table. During our initial meetings on October 17-18, 2023, and December 19-20, 2023, we reached agreement on 17 articles that address issues common across our groups. The collaborative spirit demonstrated by all parties involved allowed the union and the employer to sign off on all these items and we look forward to further productive bargaining sessions in the future.

With the central table negotiations completed, we then focused on matters specific to our group. We negotiated with the employer March 26-27, 2024, and June 4-6, 2024. The negotiations were successful, and a deal was reached.

We truly appreciate your continued support and engagement. Your involvement is crucial to our collective bargaining success, and we commit to keeping you informed of any developments.

As always, you can find updates on bargaining on the CFIA-IN group page.

Thank you for your trust and solidarity as we move forward together.

LOA (Letter of Agreement) with respect to telework

As part of the Collective Agreement negotiations, PIPSC also signed a LOA (Letter of Agreement) with the employer in respect to Work Arrangement Agreements. The LOA is in the Quick Links section of our CFIA-IN group page.

Your Bargaining Team

Your bargaining team consisted of:

• Don Kenny
• Filomena Tittarelli
• Alain Parent
• Spencer Underwood

Our PIPSC negotiators were Robert Séguin and Sumeeta Narula.

STEWARDS

We are always looking to recruit Stewards for the CFIA-IN group. We are always seeking more volunteers for Stewards. Steward training is provided by PIPSC for those who wish to step up and become involved. Our Stewards are:

• Alain Parent – Québec
• Carlos Fajardo – West
• Casey Howard – Atlantic
• Donald Kenny – NCR
• Houman Vafaie – NCR
• Spencer Underwood – NCR

So, what are stewards? What do they do?

Stewards are the official representatives of the Institute in the workplace and as such represents ALL Institute members, within a specific area of jurisdiction. They deal as equals with the employer and provide a channel of communication between the members, management and the Institute.

Stewards

• attend training offered by the Institute
• promote the Institute to the members
• act as Institute representative in dealings with the employer
• assist in solving members' work-related problems
• communicate members’ concerns and issues to the PIPSC regional office staff and the employer
• support and participate in labour actions as required

The steward's most important responsibility is to ensure that the provisions of the collective agreements are followed by the employer. The steward deals with member complaints, advises, assists and may represent members on the processing of a grievance, provides information to the membership on a variety of activities and issues, and represents members in meetings with management.   

The above information was extracted from the PIPSC’s Pocket Guide for Stewards.  Please consult the guide to know more about stewards.

What did your stewards do for you this year?

Your stewards:

• Advised the employer in those rare cases where provisions of the Collective Agreement were not being respected
• Advised the employer when messaging from management was inconsistent with the provisions of the Collective Agreement
• Assisted members in the interpretation of the Collective Agreement
• Discussed staffing-related issues with management
• Met with employer regularly during Union - Management consultations where we brought forth and discussed many issues of concern
• Redirected users to the proper PIPSC resource for cases that required more expertise than what the steward was able to offer
• Represented employees in disciplinary hearings

In addition, members of your CFIA-IN executive meet with the employer in a branch national-union management consultation on a regular basis. The minutes of those meetings are accessible in MS Teams. To access them:

1. Open MS Teams
2. Open the channel “Digital Services Branch – Direction générale des Services Numériques”
3. Access the Files section
4. Open the folder named “Minutes Rencontre patronale-Syndical, UMCC Minutes”

Some members of your CFIA-IN executive also attend other meetings and union-employer consultations.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

You are all invited to attend the CFIA-IN Group’s next Annual General Meeting on September 26, 2025. Our last AGM was held virtually on May 23, 2024. Please take some time out of your busy schedule to attend. You will have a chance to meet the current Executive and voice your opinion on the different issues and possibly help shape the new Executive. Reach out to your steward or executive if you need more information.

RECRUITMENT CALL!

We currently have vacant positions and succession planning is always a current focus.  It is extremely important that some new members stand for election to fill these positions. In addition, some members of the current Executive may not be continuing beyond their current term.

Without enough participation in the CFIA-IN Executive, our group could be moved under one of the other PIPSC groups at CFIA. We would then be represented by the CFIA-S&A group or by the CFIA-VM group who have different agendas than the CFIA-IN group. Being represented by another group means that we would be competing with other group members regarding which bargaining issues are raised and bargained for. As we are a very small group, we would have less opportunity to voice our concerns, and the concerns of other groups may not be compatible with our own concerns. This is not a desirable scenario.

Elected members to the CFIA-IN Executive select their officers by an internal vote which decides who holds which office.

We, therefore, need more participation to keep our independence and negotiate for our own interests.

In accordance with PIPSC and CFIA-IN Group Constitutions and By-Laws, elections for the CFIA-IN Group Executive are held to elect an Executive to hold office for a term of two (2) years starting one month after the ballots are counted. Each candidate must be nominated by two members of the CFIA-IN Group in good standing (not a RAND deductee). Candidates must indicate the area in which they currently work and are encouraged to provide a brief text. Should an election be required, this information will be printed and distributed, together with the ballots, to the membership.

Whether or not you are interested in a high-profile position or just want to be involved in meetings and decisions affecting the IN Group, we ask you to submit your name. Please advise a member of the current executive if you want to become a candidate for the CFIA-IN Group Executive.

Feedback

To provide feedback on any issue covered here, please reach out to a steward or an executive member.