Vol. 151, No. 10 — May 17, 2017
Registration
SI/2017-25 May 17, 2017
PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYMENT ACT
Office of the Governor General’s Secretary Exclusion Approval Order
P.C. 2017-458 May 5, 2017
His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services, pursuant to section 20 of the Public Service Employment Act (see footnote a), approves
- (a) the re-application of the provisions of that Act to the positions excluded pursuant to Order in Council P.C. 2010-1113 (see footnote b) and to the persons occupying them; and
- (b) the exclusion of positions designated by the position numbers 00025450 to 00025460 in the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary and the persons occupying those positions from the application of that Act, with the exception of the definitions Commission and public service in subsection 2(1) and of sections 17 to 21, 54 and 55, 68 to 72, subsection 111(1) (see footnote c), sections 112 to 116, section 118, sections 120 to 122, and section 134 and 135 of that Act.
Whereas the Public Service Commission, having decided that it is neither practicable nor in the best interests of the public service to apply certain provisions of the Public Service Employment Act (see footnote d) to positions designated by the position numbers 00025450 to 00025460 in the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary and to the persons occupying those positions, has decided, pursuant to subsection 20(1) of that Act, to exclude those positions and persons from the application of the Act, with the exception of the definitions Commission and public service in subsection 2(1) and of sections 17 to 21, 54 and 55, 68 to 72, subsection 111(1) (see footnote e), sections 112 to 116, section 118, sections 120 to 122, and section 134 and 135 of that Act;
And whereas, pursuant to subsection 20(2) of the Public Service Employment Act (see footnote f), the Public Service Commission has consulted with the employer;
Therefore, the Public Service Commission, pursuant to section 20 of the Public Service Employment Act (see footnote g),
- (a) reapplies the provisions of that Act to the positions excluded pursuant to Order in Council P.C. 2010-1113 (see footnote h) and to the persons occupying them; and
- (b) excludes positions designated by the position numbers 00025450 to 00025460 in the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary and the persons occupying those positions from the application of that Act with the exception of the definitions Commission and public service in subsection 2(1) and of sections 17 to 21, 54 and 55, 68 to 72, subsection 111(1) (see footnote i), sections 112 to 116, section 118, sections 120 to 122, and section 134 and 135 of that Act.
Ottawa, February 21, 2017
Gerry Thom
Acting President of the Public Service Commission
Susan Cartwright
Commissioner
Daniel Tucker
Commissioner
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Order.)
Proposal
The Office of the Governor General’s Secretary Exclusion Approval Order approves (1) the replacement of the previous Order with a new one; and (2) the exclusion from the application of the Public Service Employment Act of the same 11 positions at the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary as was subject of the previous Order, with new position numbers designated as 00025450 to 00025460 to replace the now-obsolete position numbers set out in the previous Order.
Objectives
The objective is to replace the position numbers of the 11 excluded positions at the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary (rendered obsolete by a move to a new electronic human resources system) with new position numbers designated as 00025450 to 00025460.
Background
The previous Order excluded the 11 positions and persons occupying those positions at the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary from the application of the Public Service Employment Act except
- (a) the definitions Commission and public service in subsection 2(1);
- (b) sections 17 to 19 (Commission audits);
- (c) sections 20 and 21 (Exclusions from the Act);
- (d) section 54 (Oath or affirmation);
- (e) section 55 (Effective date of appointment or deployment);
- (f) sections 68 to 72 (Investigation of appointments by Commission);
- (g) subsection 111(1) and sections 112 to 116, 118, 120 to 122 (Political activities);
- (h) section 134 (Authority to administer oaths and affirmations); and
- (i) section 135 (Access to Facilities and Information).
These 11 positions and persons, who carry out functions such as Executive Assistant to His Excellency, and Executive Assistant, were thus exempted from provisions of the Public Service Employment Act such as those pertaining to: the basis of appointment (section 30); and preferences, priorities and entitlements of appointment (section 39). Regulations prescribe how the excluded positions and persons are to be dealt with.
The Office of the Governor General’s Secretary human resources (HR) system changed in October 2015 in anticipation of the federal government-wide Transformation of Pay Administration Initiative. The migration to the new government pay system took place in April 2016. The systems changes resulted in an unintended consequence: the new system generated new position numbers for all positions at the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary, including the 11 excluded positions specifically mentioned by their old position numbers in the Order (GGS-S-910 to 920).
Implications
The Order permits the 11 affected positions and the persons occupying them to continue to be excluded from the application of the Public Service Employment Act, allowing for a more flexible and effective appointment process for these positions, as set out in the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary Employment Regulations. The absence of the Order would impact the administration of the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary, as future appointments would then have to be made under the conditions set out in the Public Service Employment Act.
Consultation
The Office of the Governor General’s Secretary was consulted and is supportive of the Order.
Departmental contact
Belinda Wong
Senior Policy Advisor
Public Service Commission
22 Eddy Street
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0M7
Telephone: 819-420-6488
Fax: 819-420-6460
Email: Belinda.Wong@cfp-psc.gc.ca
- Footnote a
S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12 and 13 - Footnote b
SI/2010-73 - Footnote c
S.C. 2014, c. 2, s. 55 - Footnote d
S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12 and 13 - Footnote e
S.C. 2014, c. 2, s. 55 - Footnote f
S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12 and 13 - Footnote g
S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12 and 13 - Footnote h
SI/2010-73 - Footnote i
S.C. 2014, c. 2, s. 55