Archived: Response from Parks Canada
From: Public Services and Procurement Canada
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Mr. Michael Wernick
Clerk of the Privy Council
and Secretary to the Cabinet
Privy Council Office
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0A3
Dear Mr. Wernick:
Thank you for your letter of November 2, 2017, requesting information on Parks Canada’s actions in support of stabilizing the pay system.
Parks Canada has had a challenging but successful Canada 150 operational season. One of the key reasons for this success has been the stellar support that the Agency has received from Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and its satellite pay office in Montréal.
At the end of 2016, in preparation for Canada 150, Parks Canada and PSPC agreed to a dedicated team of compensation advisors in Montréal that would deal with processing pay for seasonal and temporary staff.
On top of its full-time year‑round staff of 2,500, Parks Canada brought on strength over 6,000 additional staff consisting of approximately 1,500 seasonal indeterminates, 1,000 term employees for specific tasks and 2,500 students, all in a period of about 6 weeks. Without a dedicated team to manage this influx, the consequences on staff pay could have been very serious. At the height of this operational season, there were 8,900 employees on strength, with only 15 percent of those reporting a pay issue in comparison with over 60 percent the previous year. You will find enclosed, for your information, a letter I recently addressed to my colleague, Ms. Marie Lemay, in recognition of the excellent work accomplished by Mr. Les Linklater, Associate Deputy Minister, and the PSPC staff who have supported Parks Canada.
In addition to the collaboration with PSPC, the Agency adopted a series of initiatives to streamline internal processes, better communicate with staff, and increase the number of resources dedicated to compensation. I have also enclosed Annex A, which identifies key pay stabilization actions.
Please also note that Parks Canada is in discussion with PSPC to formalize the arrangement with the Montréal satellite pay office and make it a permanent relationship for next year and years to come.
Should you or your staff have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Mr. Pierre Richer de La Flèche, Chief Human Resources Officer, at pierre.richerdelafleche@pc.gc.ca or by telephone 819-420-9133.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel Watson
c.c.: The Honourable Catherine McKenna, P.C., M.P.
Ms. Yaprak Baltacıoğlu
Mr. Les Linklater
Ms. Catrina Tapley
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