Phoenix implementation a 'big steaming pile' left for us, Trudeau says
Zoya Martin, 34, raised concerns about the federal pay system and her maternity leave
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government was left a "steaming pile" by its predecessor after an Iqaluit scientist confronted him about problems with parental leave benefits caused by the Phoenix pay system.
"We're trying to be as open as we can while not doing too much blaming of the previous guys," Trudeau told 34-year-old Zoya Martin after posing for pictures with her baby.
"They laid off everyone who was supposed to help with the transition and left us with a big steaming pile."
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Martin asked the prime minister for transparency on the problematic transition to the Phoenix pay system at Trudeau's community tea event at Inuksuk High School during the northern leg of his cross-country tour.
The transition to Phoenix happened across the federal government almost a year ago, leaving tens of thousands of federal employees underpaid, overpaid or not paid at all.
Martin is a biologist who has lived in Iqaluit for the last six years and works for the federal government.
She said her family was able to prepare "financially and mentally for not getting paid for a while" before her maternity leave, but she still isn't being paid.
"They're saying that now I have to wait six months to get paid," she told Trudeau.
Parental leave a trigger for Phoenix problems
At that point, the prime minister called to Zita Astravas, director of issues management in his office, to take down Martin's information and get the pay issue resolved.
He acknowledged that while most of the remaining problems are minor, some big issues remain. He said maternity leave appeared to be a "trigger" for problems.
"Everyone I know on mat leave is facing problems," Martin told CBC News. "[They] might not be identical to mine — some are worse, some are having an easier time — but all of us are having pay centre issues."
She said "irritating calls" to the pay centre cause stress and take her away from her young son.
"You can't take that time back as easily when they're older," she said.
Martin said northern pay, which compensates federal employees for the higher cost of living in the north, has also triggered Phoenix problems.
She said the quick response from the PMO to her problem gives her hope her issue will be resolved quickly, but a broader solution is needed.
At a technical briefing Wednesday, Public Services and Procurement Canada said the cases of anyone with parental leave problems in the backlog will be resolved by the end of March and disability leave problems will be resolved by the end of April.
As of April and May, the government hopes to be able to resolve 95 per cent of any new parental and disability leave claims within 20 working days of being filed, which is the standard.
With files from CBC Iqaluit's Nick Murray