Yes.
Evidence of meeting #168 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 transition.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #168 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 transition.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:50 p.m.
As an Individual
When you activate it, it's not as quick as hit the button and you're on the list. There's a three-month turnaround time.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Obviously, that's not practical. My question is—and I was hoping to ask the other gentlemen—should it be 10 years and perhaps four years, or unlimited time? Do you see any practical reason that it should only be two years?
4:50 p.m.
As an Individual
Maybe it was for relevancy of skills, but it doesn't really apply, because the way their training works—
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
4:50 p.m.
As an Individual
Exactly. The way their training works, it's not like that.
4:50 p.m.
Nurse Practitioner Captain (Retired), As an Individual
It's just my opinion, but I think it should be indefinite, because a lot of the skills that you acquire in the military you retain for the rest of your life. It really disadvantages veterans if they only have two years once it's activated. For many of us, we're normal people, and some of us live paycheque to paycheque, or are waiting three or four months. That hurts financially.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
I'll ask other people as well, but I see no reason that it is five and two, and that it can't be 10 and unlimited, 15 and whatever, but I appreciate your feedback. I don't see any reason that we would restrict it.
I have other questions. Specifically, have you run into any language issues of any vets trying to get into the public service? It's going to be a question we'll ask others if they're English only or French only and accessing public service jobs. You may not be the right people to ask, but I'm going to ask everyone as we go along.
4:50 p.m.
Nurse Practitioner Captain (Retired), As an Individual
My experience as a non-commissioned member, an NCM, and also as an officer is that what we were often told was that even if you were a corporal but you wanted to get that French-language training, you were out of luck, you were S.O.L. Often, you had to be a master warrant officer or a chief warrant officer or, in the officer corps, a major.
There are many people who want to progress and/or are medically released, but if they're below that rank level, they're out of luck for French-language training.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
I'm specifically trying to get vets who are medically released or who leave the service into the public service. I'm dealing with a group in Edmonton that is a mixed group. Some were medically released, and some left the service. They run into this qualification thing. They have incredible skills, but they can't get even entry level jobs because of the qualifications.
We've heard before from other people appearing here—not vets hiring into public service but just people trying to get into the public service—that roadblocks are put up specifically by the hiring people so they can hire specific..... They call it nepotism, but they're not hiring family. They're hiring their friends or hiring people they prefer, as opposed to the best candidate or the candidate that's required.
Do you think that continues? Is it a big issue—it appears to me it is—that people are using these qualifications to keep out vets who should be hired?
4:50 p.m.
Nurse Practitioner Captain (Retired), As an Individual
For me, I can't speculate. I don't know. In relation to when I applied to Indigenous Affairs, I never had an interview, so I don't know. I didn't get any feedback, so I don't know.
I would suppose that it probably does happen in any area, civilian or military. It's about who you know, who you rub elbows with. It does happen. I'm not going to say that it doesn't happen. I've seen it in certain jobs where they know certain people; they do the interview but they were never going to hire that person.
How do you correct that? I don't know.
4:55 p.m.
As an Individual
To answer your question about language, here's one of the things in terms of a lot of the transitioning vets who I've worked with, both through work and just because they're friends of ours. When SISIP repays for schooling and things, French-language training is not one of the ones that's on their list, and if you start at that program, then you can't do other things, because they only pay for one program. That is a barrier.
On the question about how they get past that process, again, it all goes back to that template. They're given a template on Word to fill out their MPRR into Word, so every resumé starts with “I'm good at this, this and that”, but it doesn't calculate what the MPRR really means in skills transfer. You need to have a military background to read that. There's no translating that.
When I heard you say “concierge” earlier, you blew my mind, because that is not a thing.
4:55 p.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
4:55 p.m.
As an Individual
It's not a thing. Borden might be a pilot, yes, but people are doing this now.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
This is through the Public Service Commission. I've asked why so many vets are not able to get in. I mean, we have 320,000 public servants across the country. Even at a 10% turnover, there are 32,000 openings. Surely.... They say, “Well, we have them set aside in pools.”
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
4:55 p.m.
As an Individual
As the hiring manager, the first thing you have to do before you run a selection process is that priority search. If in the priority search they don't get through the first screening process, they're done. It doesn't matter how many priorities you have. If they don't meet the translated language from their MPRR to their resumé for the selection process....
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
This is a big issue. We were laughing with one of the other witnesses. Treasury Board has actually put out a video on how to apply for a government job. I asked a gentleman from LinkedIn who was here if he had ever heard of any company in Canada requiring a video on how to apply for a job, and he laughed in my face. Like never.... Good Lord, why do we do this? It sounds.... Why would we even need a video or training on how to apply for a government job? It seems that we are making it difficult.
4:55 p.m.
Nurse Practitioner Captain (Retired), As an Individual
We've become institutionalized.
4:55 p.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
4:55 p.m.
Conservative