Glimmer of hope

Liberals pledge to replace disastrous program

Civil service unions vowed Wednesday to hold the Trudeau government’s feet to the fire after the Liberals pledged in their latest budget to replace the troubled Phoenix pay system with a “next-generation” compensation system that works.

Federal employees rallied in at least a dozen cities across the country to mark the second anniversary of the disastrous launch of Phoenix.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau introduced a federal budget that included plans to spend $16 million over two years exploring options for building a new pay system while eventually scrapping the IBMbuilt Phoenix program.

The system is clearly not delivering as it was supposed to, Morneau said Wednesday in a post-budget event at the Economic Club of Ottawa.

“What we’ve said over the long term is that we need to find a new approach — a new approach that works.”

While many workers said they were encouraged that the pay system will be replaced, their unions were determined not to let their guard down until the government delivers on its pledge.

“I see this as a glimmer of hope in a long two years of constant stress and financial worry for our members,” said Debi Daviau, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, at a rally in Ottawa.

“We need a pay system that works, and we have the people to build it,” Daviau said, pointing to the government’s benefit distribution system, the NetFile tax filing system and border control systems as prime examples of what her members can do. “These are the same professionals who designed and built virtually every important computer system that the government relies on.”