Suspended CBSA workers fight `spurious, scandalous' allegations
Senior federal officials ask Federal Court to quash preliminary statement of facts
From a court appeal asking for an investigation to be restarted to a strike that just won't end, here are five public service updates you need to know.
1. Suspended public servants involved with Arrivecan ask court to block CBSA review
Cameron Macdonald and Antonio Utano, two public servants who were suspended without pay amid investigations into the multimillion-dollar Arrivecan app have appealed to the Federal Court to shut down an internal Canada Border Services Agency report and order an independent third party to restart the investigation.
In their application for judicial review, the public servants say the preliminary statement of facts report sent by CBSA to its deputy heads before their suspension is 360 pages and that the allegations set out in it are “spurious, scandalous and clearly designed to discredit” them.
The document adds that the preliminary statement of facts (PSF) should be “quashed” and that CBSA'S process was unfair as the pair were denied details of the complaint that triggered the investigation and denied the ability to participate in the investigation until after the preliminary statement of facts was released.
“CBSA'S conduct clearly demonstrates that its actions with respect to the investigation and the PSFS are intended to harm the applicants, rather than uncover the truth of issues raised,” the court file says. “The only relief available to ensure that procedural fairness is afforded to the applicants is to have the PSFS quashed, and the investigation restarted by an independent third-party who will afford the applicants with the full ability to respond.”
The court file asks that the CBSA provide a declaration that it “exceeded its statutory jurisdiction” in undertaking the investigation as well as declarations that the pair of public servants were “denied procedural fairness” and that there was “apprehension of bias” on the part of the agency.
Guillaume Bérubé, a CBSA spokesperson, said the agency had “no comment on this matter” as its internal investigation was ongoing.
2. NPF workers rally downtown as strike continues
Non-public Funds workers represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada made their way to the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council on Friday to call for an end to a strike that began in January.
Pickets, who have previously been gathering outside Treasury Board offices at the C.D. Howe Building, were joined Friday by more than 120 union leaders from PSAC and its component union, the Union of National Defence Employees, from across Canada.
Under the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services, NPF workers support Canadian Armed Forces members, veterans and their families by delivering morale and welfare services. Forming part of the federal public service, they work in retail food service, financial planning, community service, physical fitness and recreation.
Without a contract since 2022, the parties were at the bargaining table this past week alongside a mediator for their first talks since the strike began on Jan. 15.
“While workers are hopeful for progress, they will continue to increase political pressure and garner public support until they reach a fair contract,” a PSAC news release said.
3. Interim commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada is appointed
Longtime military member Werner Liedtke has been appointed as interim commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.
Liedtke began working at FCAC in March 2019 as chief financial officer and assistant commissioner for corporate services, following a long military career.
“I extend my thanks to Mr. Liedtke for stepping up as interim commissioner,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland said in a statement
Friday. “His extensive experience will serve Canadians well as he delivers on FCAC'S mandate to protect Canadians and uphold the stability of the financial sector.”
Liedtke is taking over the role from the outgoing commissioner, Judith Robertson. A permanent commissioner will be appointed by the government after the completion of a formal selection process.
4. Feds reach a tentative agreement for around 3,200 public servants
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Association of Justice Counsel have reached a tentative agreement that, upon ratification, will apply to around 3,200 workers in the Law Practitioner group.
The AJC says these employees work for the Department of Justice and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, providing in-house legal services to federal agencies, tribunals and courts across Canada.
Negotiations began last December.
The four-year agreement, which was reached on Feb. 9, will expire on May 9, 2026. It includes wage increases that follow “the established pattern in the federal public service” plus a one-time payment of $2,500 for members and “wage harmonization” across the group.
“To date, the Government of Canada has reached agreements with 17 bargaining units covering approximately 80 (per cent) of the collective bargaining population in the core public administration,” a Treasury Board news release stated.
5. Black Class Action Secretariat to hold a news conference on Monday
The Black Class Action Secretariat (BCAS) is set to hold a news conference in Ottawa on Monday regarding the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
BCAS is the organization behind the Black Class Action lawsuit, filed by Black public service workers in 2020, alleging decades of systemic racism and discrimination.
In March 2023, a ruling by the Treasury Board Secretariat, following grievances submitted by AJC and other bargaining agents, found that the Canadian Human Rights Commission, an independent government agency dealing with complaints of discrimination in employment, had discriminated against its Black and racialized employees.
At the time, BCAS executive director Nicholas Marcus Thompson said many workers didn't have confidence in the commission.
“We've contended for a long time that these institutions and processes are unable to address anti-black racism and systemic discrimination because it's inherent in all the organizations,” said Thompson, who has called on Canada to establish a Black equity commissioner. “We've just had confirmation of this.”