Government Operations Committee on May 10th, 2021

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Maybe you could provide it for us.

[Marie-Chantal Girard]

Yes, we could, but the breakdown right now indicates that, although it was the primary reason at the beginning, it's not anymore.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

I realize that. That's why I'm asking why it's still being used after a year. Are we just not able to provide technology or access to public servants? Maybe you can get back to us.

[Marie-Chantal Girard]

Yes.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

In November 2020 there was a change in 699 about sick leave, and employees were required to use up their sick leave before going on 699. I understand that's being grieved by the various unions. Can you update where we are on that grievance?

[Marie-Chantal Girard]

Right now, when I look at the number of grievances—

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

No, I'm talking about the specific grievance about the change of November 9, 2020.

[Marie-Chantal Girard]

I don't have the specific breakdown of when the November 2020—

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Are you aware of the grievances?

[Marie-Chantal Girard]

I'm aware there are policy grievances and individual grievances.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Starting November 9, public servants were supposed to burn off their accrued sick leave first before claiming 699. I wonder how many days have been used that way. Can you provide that for us?

[Marie-Chantal Girard]

We'll look into it and get back to the committee on that specific question.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

I have a couple of quick questions. I'm almost out of time.

You mentioned temporary measures put in place to facilitate more flexible, alternate work arrangements and support employees unable to work remotely. What are some examples of those measures?

[Marie-Chantal Girard]

For employees who weren't able to work remotely, we've been working very hard to provide them with adequate equipment or improve their access to a secure system. We've also provided equipment, if they needed it—if they were under a duty for accommodation directive—so that they had the right equipment and would not fall sick when working from home.

We've also looked at the working hours, being mindful that sometimes in a couple, both are working for the federal government, so we made arrangements so they could stay productive while taking care of their young children.

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

I think my time's up.

[The Chair, Conservative, Robert Gordon Kitchen]

Thank you.

Ms. Girard, if you feel you can give a more fulsome answer to that question, and if you could provide that in writing to the committee, that would be appreciated. Thank you.

We'll now go to Mr. Kusmierczyk.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I think this question might be for Mr. Yalkin.

We've seen that COVID has really accelerated the future of work and how we perceive our workplace, as we've had to adapt quite significantly. I'm really intrigued by the GCcoworking initiative that was launched in 2019. It was about a two-year pilot project.

I just wanted to ask you: How has GCcoworking prepared federal departments for making sure that we continue service throughout the pandemic? What are some of the lessons that pilot project may have provided as we're preparing for the next steps?

[Tolga Yalkin]

Mr. Chair, it's a very interesting question, one I know that colleagues at Public Services and Procurement Canada would be far better placed than I am to comment on, since they are the lead department when it comes to advancing GCcoworking.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Okay. That's not a problem. I guess we'll move on to another question.

What are the engagements and consultations that the chief human resources officer has undertaken to ensure that the guidance is relevant and useful?

[Tolga Yalkin]

There are a number of ways, and I'm sure Madame Girard would be equally well placed to speak to how we engage various stakeholders and how we have engaged various stakeholders over the course of the pandemic as we've been evolving the guidance and approaches we've taken.

I can perhaps speak to my experience of engaging directly with many of the stakeholders, for example, bargaining agents, from whom the committee will hear in short order, who have shown themselves to be very helpful partners in informing the evolution of our approaches. In addition, though, we have engaged directly with the various networks that span the Government of Canada, including the youth council and the national managers' community.

A really interesting phenomenon in our work—especially as it relates to ensuring that we're taking into consideration diversity inclusion—are the many diversity employee networks that represent equity-seeking groups and the role they've played in informing our way forward.

Perhaps I'll end there. If there are any further questions, we'd be happy to answer them.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

I agree. I really appreciate that.

I know we've heard from previous testimony, but I think this bears repeating. What measures has TBS put in place since the beginning of the pandemic to support the federal public workforce?

[Tolga Yalkin]

Mr. Chair, I'd be happy to take that question.

There are, obviously, a number of different ways in which Treasury Board Secretariat has supported deputy heads who have the authority and are accountable for the administration of their organizations.

For example, on the issue of equipment, a number of questions were raised early in the pandemic as to how and under what circumstances deputy heads should be considering the elaboration of policies for equipping their public servants in a pandemic. Treasury Board Secretariat provided guidance, I believe in April of last year, on equipping employees. It helped to establish consistent and uniform norms that the departments could then apply, depending on their own context.

A series of guidance has been provided on the duty to accommodate. I believe Madam Girard raised that in her remarks. That was key to ensuring that in a remote working context, we are are abiding by our commitments under the Canadian Human Rights Act to ensure that employees who need reasonable accommodations are adequately accommodated.

A whole host of guidance has been provided on mental health, including a mental health hub that has been developed for employees. I believe it has garnered over 300,000 unique page views, which I think is a testament to the importance of that guidance.

Mr. Chair, I could go on, but perhaps I'll stop there. I'm happy to answer any additional questions.

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

I appreciate that. Thank you very much.

I'll allow my colleagues to potentially follow up on that question.

I wanted to zero in, with the amount of time I have left, on rapid testing as a component of safety measures that are put in place. According to the Government of Canada, access to rapid tests for screening purposes will be expanded to “key public sector workplaces where there is a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19 due to occupational tasks, where there is an increased possibility for an outbreak to occur, or where it is recommended by local public health authorities.”

What workplaces have been identified as having a higher risk of exposure? What workplaces currently have rapid testing available to them? Where does rapid testing come into play here in terms of our strategy moving forward?

[The Chair, Conservative, Robert Gordon Kitchen]

I'll ask you to give a very brief answer. If you feel like you need to give more of a response, you can provide that in writing.

[Marie-Chantal Girard]

Thank you. I will quickly respond to the question.

For example, it is the critical employees working in correctional facilities or at the Coast Guard. Employees whose functions clearly take them on boats and ships are examples.

Most recently, with the census being administered by Statistics Canada, some of the employees delivering the census would be targeted by the rapid testing initiative.