Evidence of meeting #152 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was year.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
It's not regarding the estimates. It's regarding general public service.
4:50 p.m.
President, Public Service Commission
A-base is generally recognized as the budget that normally, on a year-to-year basis, doesn't change. This is subject to parliamentary approval, of course, as main estimates always are. B-base budgets are recognized as those items that are approved for a very specific purpose. It could be a strategy or a new program, but it's a one-time item that's going to last two years, and I think that's when—
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
The indeterminate employees should not be considered for B-base or C-base, should they?
4:50 p.m.
President, Public Service Commission
That's up to the manager to decide. If you want to take a risk, if you have money that's only available for one or two years.... The best way to get the resources you need is to offer indeterminate employment, but you know that you'll be able to redeploy those people to other positions elsewhere. There's a lot of mobility in the public service, right? You can have—
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Should we have general rules about what's A-base, B-base, or C-base, so that we don't have indeterminate positions that should be A-base getting funded through B or C?
4:50 p.m.
President, Public Service Commission
I don't think that's necessary. I think managers should have the flexibility. In cases where there may be a reduction in budget, then of course the priority system is also there to backstop the government and departments. We manage the priority system, so on behalf of the government, we would then look at employees who are displaced and find ways to redeploy them to other positions through the priority system.
4:50 p.m.
President, Canada School of Public Service
If I may, I could supplement that. What you're asking really is—
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
4:50 p.m.
President, Canada School of Public Service
No. What you're asking is the nature of the employment versus the funding that the department receives. Typically, as Patrick said in a different way, most organizations in the Government of Canada have an attrition level of anywhere from 10% to 20%, so you know every year that x many people are going to move, and that allows you to move your employees around between priorities.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
You're both confident that it's a perfectly valid, above board way to operate.
4:50 p.m.
President, Canada School of Public Service
Well, we've never blown our vote, so to speak. No organization has.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Thank you very much.
I just want to come back to where you said that at the Canada School of Public Service you had hired two staff, or that it cost $99,196 to hire two staff, for the balance of the year.
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
It's the same number for the Public Service Commission.
Did you guys hire essentially the exact same staff here? Is it just coincidence that the figure is same?
4:55 p.m.
NDP
4:55 p.m.
President, Public Service Commission
It's based on the amount of money that was available to distribute to departments.
We got $99,000. We're spending more than that on pay-related issues.
4:55 p.m.
President, Public Service Commission
We did hire one senior person. That's roughly the salary for a senior person.
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Okay. It's not a function of what it costs for a particular type of FTE to do that type of work, but a function of the total amount and then how it was divided.
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Okay. Thank you. That's what I was wondering.
I apologize if there's some repetition, but could you each just tell us how many employees you guys serve in terms of administering pay?
