Grits warn cuts could cost jobs
WolfSinger @ Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:51 am
OTTAWA -- The Conservative government will be forced to kill thousands of jobs in the public service to curb spending growth and pay for pricey campaign promises, Opposition MPs warned yesterday.
Liberal finance critic John McCallum, who oversaw a massive expenditure review program when the Grits were in power, said he has already taken... FULL STORY HERE
After reading this article in today's news, I can only wonder what that will mean in the long run. Thoughts, anyone?
Zoraja @ Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:57 am
So those 5 extra people sitting doing in the OSAP office wont be there. Oooo cry me a river.
hwacker @ Sat Mar 11, 2006 9:15 am
Get rid of the dead wood and make people really put in a 40 a week.
Get the AXE out Stephen.
Bodah @ Sat Mar 11, 2006 3:02 pm
Good, If theres dead wood cut away...
Start with Edith's job,
$1:
[align=center]A legitimate Canadian affiliation
Separatist must get back job at Canadian Heritage, adjudicator rules
The Ottawa Citizen
Saturday, March 11, 2006 [/align]
A federal government employee who was fired for being president of a Quebec separatist group must be given a job with the government and full retroactive pay for all of the time she has been off, according to a ruling rendered by a provincial adjudicator.
The ruling, which will be made public next week, says Edith Gendron, president of separatist group Quebec un Pays (Quebec a Country), is to be given a federal government job and is to receive almost two years of back pay from the federal government.
The ruling follows a grievance by the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the union representing Ms. Gendron, in 2004.
In a copy of the ruling obtained by the Citizen, adjudicator Sylvie Matteau states that Canadian Heritage was heavy-handed in terminating Ms. Gendron's employment.
"The employer opted for a solution that terminated the grievor's employment and income. This is a significant adverse consequence of her exercise of the rights of freedom of expression and participation in political life," the decision reads.
The decision also said Ms. Gendron has a right to her political opinion as a sovereigntist.
"The grievor's actions do not constitute either a direct criticism of the government's policies or decisions ... or malicious criticism," the decision reads. "In the present case, the grievor adopted a political philosophy that is defended by two political parties, one federal and the other provincial, in Quebec."
Officials at Canadian Heritage deferred all comments about Ms. Gendron to Treasury Board Secretariat.
A spokesman for Treasury Board said it was too early for the government to comment on the decision. Ms. Matteau's decision was handed out Thursday and the federal government's lawyers are still reviewing it to plan their course of action. Treasury Board would not say whether it would comply with Ms. Matteau's ruling about re-hiring Ms. Gendron or paying her retroactively.
PSAC applauded the ruling as proof that federal employees are free to be affiliated with any political party or movement that they choose.
"I hope people won't focus on the sovereignty issue," said Ed Cashman, executive vice-president of the national capital region for PSAC. "The ruling stated that federal employees are citizens first."
Mr. Cashman said many federal employees in the nation's capital are afraid to put lawn signs on their property during an election in fear of showing partisan ties and losing their jobs. He said there was a time in the 1980s when federal employees were being fired for working on an election campaign on their own time.
The Gendron ruling should prove that federal employees are free to support any political party they choose, not just the party in power.
Ms. Gendron is married to the newly elected Bloc Quebecois MP for Gatineau, Richard Nadeau. She began her battle in February 2004, when she told her employer she was going to run for president of Quebec un Pays.
Initially, the federal department had no complaints about Ms. Gendron's decision. But in April, after winning the election, she received a letter stating she must relinquish her position as president or be fired.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006
Separatist must get back job at Canadian Heritage, adjudicator rules
The Ottawa Citizen
Saturday, March 11, 2006 [/align]
A federal government employee who was fired for being president of a Quebec separatist group must be given a job with the government and full retroactive pay for all of the time she has been off, according to a ruling rendered by a provincial adjudicator.
The ruling, which will be made public next week, says Edith Gendron, president of separatist group Quebec un Pays (Quebec a Country), is to be given a federal government job and is to receive almost two years of back pay from the federal government.
The ruling follows a grievance by the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the union representing Ms. Gendron, in 2004.
In a copy of the ruling obtained by the Citizen, adjudicator Sylvie Matteau states that Canadian Heritage was heavy-handed in terminating Ms. Gendron's employment.
"The employer opted for a solution that terminated the grievor's employment and income. This is a significant adverse consequence of her exercise of the rights of freedom of expression and participation in political life," the decision reads.
The decision also said Ms. Gendron has a right to her political opinion as a sovereigntist.
"The grievor's actions do not constitute either a direct criticism of the government's policies or decisions ... or malicious criticism," the decision reads. "In the present case, the grievor adopted a political philosophy that is defended by two political parties, one federal and the other provincial, in Quebec."
Officials at Canadian Heritage deferred all comments about Ms. Gendron to Treasury Board Secretariat.
A spokesman for Treasury Board said it was too early for the government to comment on the decision. Ms. Matteau's decision was handed out Thursday and the federal government's lawyers are still reviewing it to plan their course of action. Treasury Board would not say whether it would comply with Ms. Matteau's ruling about re-hiring Ms. Gendron or paying her retroactively.
PSAC applauded the ruling as proof that federal employees are free to be affiliated with any political party or movement that they choose.
"I hope people won't focus on the sovereignty issue," said Ed Cashman, executive vice-president of the national capital region for PSAC. "The ruling stated that federal employees are citizens first."
Mr. Cashman said many federal employees in the nation's capital are afraid to put lawn signs on their property during an election in fear of showing partisan ties and losing their jobs. He said there was a time in the 1980s when federal employees were being fired for working on an election campaign on their own time.
The Gendron ruling should prove that federal employees are free to support any political party they choose, not just the party in power.
Ms. Gendron is married to the newly elected Bloc Quebecois MP for Gatineau, Richard Nadeau. She began her battle in February 2004, when she told her employer she was going to run for president of Quebec un Pays.
Initially, the federal department had no complaints about Ms. Gendron's decision. But in April, after winning the election, she received a letter stating she must relinquish her position as president or be fired.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006
Virgil @ Sun Mar 12, 2006 7:19 pm
hwacker hwacker:
Get rid of the dead wood and make people really put in a 40 a week.
Get the AXE out Stephen.
Get the AXE out Stephen.
mmmmmmmm. I am disturbed by your ignorance. It's a good thing all Canadians don't think like you.
Jobs are an important. The Liberals should have pointed this out during the campaigne.
Knoss @ Wed Mar 15, 2006 5:07 pm
40 a week thats 40/7 = 5.71 hours a day
I've work a regular 14 hour day it's not that hard I know a 71 year old who works a 16 hour day.
BTW Alberta has a negative unemployment they could go work in a feedlot over there.
MustangJay @ Thu Mar 16, 2006 3:54 pm
I'm confused, is this article supposed to garner sympathy from the rest of Canadians? Let's be realisitic, the only reason its even an issue is because the vast majority of government employees hail from "La Belle Provence". The manufacturing industry, on the other hand, has shed over 200,000 jobs in the past 10 years....these are real working people with families, where communities are affected...I'd like to see the public service union try and garner support from them, or northern B.C. where entire towns have closed up due to the demise of Canada's lumber industry. Personally, even as an Ottawa resident, I'm not opposed to seeing a trimmer more efficent public service....I think the entire PS needs to be restructured! Do away with those inflated salaries, ourtrageous language requirements, and make staff more accountable (e.g. taking the afternoon off to shop in the Rideau Centre is no longer acceptable!).
That's my two cents