Procedure and House Affairs Committee on April 24th, 2018

[Robert Graham]

Yes, it's based on a doctor's note. I don't have the details of the breakdown, but that may be one of them.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

In that environment now with the full complement you talked about earlier—except for the 8% you just discussed—this is going to continue to be a less stressful workplace. But are there other factors? You mentioned the wellness program.

Is that a part of this package, saying that you recognize that there's a high level of stress amongst the employees at PPS?

[C/Supt Jane MacLatchy]

I think it's inherent in any type of protective function to have a stress level that can be exaggerated, depending on the threat being faced on a day-to-day basis. It's a job that is very routine the vast majority of the time, but we have to be vigilant at all times, and the nature of the work does increase the stress levels. That being said, I think what we've come to recognize across protective policing intelligence functions is that stress is a definite issue, and the organization needs to address it and find ways to help its employees.

We have resources in place right now for our employees to access from a wellness perspective. We do have 24-7 assistance available to them. When we did have a tragic event recently, we made sure we had counsellors available on site for our members. That's all part of the wellness piece that I'm speaking of, but we are engaging a full-time individual to work on exactly that aspect, the health and wellness piece.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Certainly, the need has arisen in the past three, four years.

[C/Supt Jane MacLatchy]

We see across multiple organizations that it really is a requirement. I see it no differently here. The Parliamentary Protective Service is made up of some really committed and professional people who are going to come to work regardless, so we have to make sure we take care of them.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Thank you for that.

Just quickly, I don't mean to belabour the point, but why is one bargaining unit better than two?

[C/Supt Jane MacLatchy]

There are a number of reasons for that. From my perspective, the most important, and it's one of the things that we're trying to build within PPS right now—and I grant you, it's a challenge at this point—is that unified spirit amongst all the uniforms that make up the organization—across the protective officers, the detection specialists, and the RCMP members who assist us in the exterior positions.

The RCMP would be—

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

But do they not have different functionalities?

[C/Supt Jane MacLatchy]

Yes, they do, absolutely, and the RCMP is a separate service supplier. We're looking at them as a separate entity, obviously. But in terms of PPS itself, that solid, unified service is incredibly important, both for esprit de corps and for the interoperability piece across the board. It crosses a bunch of different aspects in terms of training and scheduling and benefits. If we can get everybody within the same group, I think we would really enhance the organization as one service going forward, and there's no doubt the actual day-to-day logistic pieces, in terms of scheduling, etc., would be easier.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Easier for you.

[C/Supt Jane MacLatchy]

Well, for the organization, absolutely; it simplifies the entire logistics piece. But the idea of one bargaining unit going forward for a unified PPS goes far beyond the conveniences that would entail.

It's that esprit de corps piece that I think we're missing. We need to be a unified, solid, proud force, all for one. I don't want to be throwing adages out there, but I personally feel in my bones that one bargaining unit would be best for this organization going forward.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

So it's a team-building exercise. I'm sorry. I don't mean to put words in your mouth.

[C/Supt Jane MacLatchy]

Yes, to build a team, absolutely.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

To me, that's what esprit de corps means.

[C/Supt Jane MacLatchy]

It's to be able to embrace the pride as one organization. It doesn't matter what category of employee you are within the service, it's that you're all part of the same team—to use your expression. I think that's the most important piece involved in this, and that makes for a far more professional and capable service.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Thank you.

I have a quick question to end with. We are moving into West Block shortly, within months or so. God forbid we should delay things, but shouldn't we have waited till after the next election?

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

That's a rhetorical question, right?

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

You see? Geoff...oh, sorry, Mr. Speaker, you expected no less.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Well, look, the Board of Internal Economy, as I said, will receive a report in June on the state of things, and it will make decision at that time. There will be a number of options, obviously. One is to proceed this summer. One, of course, would be during the break in December-January. Of course, it will be a decision for the board to make.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

You have 30 seconds.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

[Inaudible—Editor] You didn't know at the time and maybe there's been some research done. Do you know of any other police force across this country that has separate bargaining units, for example, between their front-line officers and special constables, as the case may be?

[C/Supt Jane MacLatchy]

I do not. I did some research on that, and I was not able to identify any, although I do know some police forces that have separate bargaining units for the senior management ranks versus the front line.

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

We'll now go to Mr. Reid.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Just for confirmation, is it five minutes at this point?