Government Operations committee  That's fine. Thank you. Mr. Chair and honourable members, thank you for the opportunity to appear before this committee to talk about veterans' access to the Canadian public service. My name is Luc Généreux. I retired from the Canadian Armed Forces following a medical release f

Government Operations committee  For the administrative obstacles, it's things like this: I served 34 years, I was considered bilingual for 33 years and I had a top secret qualification. One of the key issues right now blocking me from getting access is that I'm considered unilingual because I haven't had the te

Government Operations committee  I would say there are many obstacles that need to be lifted, anything to do with having VAC or the Canadian Forces help us to accelerate our security classification renewal so we're ready to be hired. The bilingual status, too, helps. The priority management system is confusing.

Government Operations committee  I was a Lieutenant Colonel. I was managing up to 600 people in my last position.

Government Operations committee  Interestingly, four of the positions for which I was called for an interview.... In fact, I got called for interviews during the same week for the four positions. All four departments had received a copy of my CV via friends of mine. I applied formally, but I also had them circul

Government Operations committee  There were pools that I had applied to—

Government Operations committee  There are two, in fact. There are positions posted that people within the priority hires can apply for, but the public service also has a pool of names. If a manager knows you're a priority and also in the pool, you may have more of a chance to be called for an interview.

Government Operations committee  In my case, I was initially released in 2014, on a voluntary basis. After two years, in 2016, they told me that I was being released for medical reasons. At that time, I learned through newsletters, documents or newspapers that I was eligible to apply and that I had a set number

Government Operations committee  Exactly.

Government Operations committee  I would say that there are barriers at several levels, in a number of departments. I've encountered barriers in the public service, at Veterans Affairs Canada and at the language centre. To get back to your question, for example—

Government Operations committee  Each department has different barriers.

Government Operations committee  I'd say no, and I'll tell you an anecdote. When I applied to work in the public service, I submitted my file by completing the requested form. The file was submitted to a classification expert. According to the decision, I could apply for an engineering apprenticeship position,

Government Operations committee  As my colleagues here today have said, and as a number of people have told me, there's a perception that the candidates on the priority list aren't the right candidates. A number of managers have acknowledged this perception. There's a system whereby positions are posted, and we

Government Operations committee  I've experienced this situation at the Department of National Defence, in two cases, and at Public Services and Procurement Canada, in another case. This has happened in at least three departments.

Government Operations committee  Yes.