Madam Speaker, I cannot believe I am rising yet again in the House to talk about the Phoenix pay system fiasco. I especially cannot believe that the government does not see this as a priority or grasp the importance of taking action. Far from being resolved, the situation is only getting worse.
The federal government recently admitted that the Miramichi pay centre still has a backlog of more than 600,000 cases. Only 5,000 of the 600,000 cases have been resolved. That is unacceptable. However, for two and a half years now, the Prime Minister and his government have repeatedly claimed they are doing everything they can to make sure every federal public servant receives the wages they are owed. Somehow I doubt it. Of course, the government is going to respond that budget 2018 includes funding for modernizing Phoenix and for replacing this pay system in the distant future. The NDP, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, and the Public Service Alliance of Canada have been calling for Phoenix to be replaced for the past two and a half years.
Some say the February announcement about Phoenix was the government's attempt to improve its image. I did not say that. That is according to economist Jean-Pierre Aubry, who viewed the announcement as the government's attempt to make itself look good. He said it was a PR strategy. People affected by Phoenix do not need an image-boosting campaign though. What they need is their paycheque.
Each so-called file is a person, a real person like the rest of us. To help the House understand how serious this is, I would like to share some stories gathered by the Public Service Alliance of Canada and my riding office. Quebec City resident Toufic talked about going three months without a paycheque and said it was a huge emotional burden to bear. Vanessa from Nanaimo said she did not get paid for three months. If not for her family's second income, she would have lost her house. Meera from Ottawa said that, because she was not getting paid, her manager personally loaned her money to buy a bus pass so she could get to work. Daniel from Shawinigan said that one of his colleagues, a father of four, nearly lost his house because he was not getting paid.
Alexandre from Saint-Hyacinthe said that his pay grade had not been adjusted since September 2014. He was supposed to be at pay grade seven as of September 27, 2016, but he is still being paid at pay grade five. His pay has not been adjusted whatsoever nor has he received any retroactive pay. He says it is very frustrating, financially speaking. He has to get his French drain repaired at home and he is going to have to refinance his house for more than he planned. He wonders why the government is not making Phoenix a priority. Chantal from Gatineau, which should interest my colleague, owes $18,000 and is struggling to pay the bills. Mr. Massé, a carpenter at National Defence for the past 16 years, from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, said that because of Phoenix, he is unable to help his 21-year-old son who has a very rare form of cancer. For weeks now, as thousands of public servants have done before him, he has been calling on the Liberal government to help and to settle the Phoenix issue once and for all.
How can the parliamentary secretary remain indifferent to what Daniel, Chantal, Mr. Massé, Toufic, Vanessa, Meera, and Alexandre are going through? I ask him: how can he remain indifferent to all these people? I am outraged that for months now the government has not been paying our federal public servants for the exceptional services they provide to the public.