Liberals add $142M in spending to solve Phoenix pay problems

The federal government is pouring more money into the bug-addled Phoenix payroll system in hopes of getting closer to solving the ongoing boondoggle – and it’s blaming the previous Conservative government for the extra cost.

The Liberals will spend $142 million over two years to hire 200 temporary workers on top of the 300 hired to date to deal with the problems wrought by Phoenix, which left tens of thousands of public servants underpaid, overpaid or not paid at all.

The money will address capacity issues that Steven MacKinnon, the parliamentary secretary to Public Services Minister Judy Foote, said are at the root of why Phoenix has yet to live up to expectations.

It will help officials deal with an expected increase in payments linked to new collective agreements coming into force and the hiring of summer students, MacKinnon told a news conference Wednesday.

MacKinnon blamed the expense on the previous Conservative government, which axed hundreds of workers who handled pay claims before Phoenix went live. The Liberals had no choice but to proceed with Phoenix last year, despite concerns, he added.

“The choice was not between Phoenix and the old system; the choice was between Phoenix and no system because the people required to operate the old system were no longer on the job,” MacKinnon said.

“We have no choice but to make this system a success, and we accept that responsibility.”

Kelly McCauley, the official Opposition’s deputy procurement critic, said the Liberals have been more focused on blaming others for their mistakes than they are with fixing Phoenix once and for all.

“If the government had legitimate concerns about staffing levels, they shouldn’t have waited almost two years to take action,” McCauley said in a statement.

“The Liberals’ lack of action and constant excuses are extremely offensive to employees who are on the verge of losing their homes, being forced to postpone their educations, or going into debt because they are not being paid properly.”

The extra spending adds to the mounting costs to taxpayers for a system that the previous Conservative government billed as an off-the-shelf, governmentwide solution that would save Canadians $70 million a year.

Between two years of unrealized savings, the spending announced yesterday and another $50 million spent last year to manage pay issues, the Phoenix project – which originally carried a $300 million price tag – has cost at least $332 million more than expected.