Mid-week podcast: The Phoenix controversy and the Premiers get together
As if not paying federal public servants what they're owed wasn't bad enough, CBC News has learned that the government was warned in January of a privacy breach inside the troubled Phoenix pay system.
Documents obtained by the CBC show the government-wide system has compromised the personal information of 300-thousand federal workers, giving managers within the public service access to employees' personal record identifiers.
Public Works and Procurement Minister Judy Foote told The House she only learned of the security problem this week, even though the issue had been flagged inside her department back in January, and again in March.
"It came up, again, someone told me this had happened, that a call went through to Treasury Board who sent the call over to Public Works and Procurement because, we of course, are the ones dealing with Phoenix," Foote said.
The system has been plagued with problems since it rolled out earlier this year.
Earlier this week, federal officials apologized to more than 80,000 employees who have had problems with their pay and promised to work around the clock to fix the failed system.
About 720 public servants — mostly new hires and students — have not received pay. Another 1,100 have not received paternal, long-term disability or severance payments, while more than 80,000 employees entitled to supplementary pay for extra duties, over-time or pay adjustments have had problems.
Foote told The House that the priority is to ensure those people who haven't been paid get their money in the next week or two. She's also written the Auditor General Michael Ferguson to ask him to review the project, but won't disclose his response.
"The letter is addressed to me," she said when asked why she couldn't release it. "But I'm told they would prefer, because some of the information in it was intended for me and not for public consumption, that an access to information request to the AG will get you that letter."
Chris Aylward, the National Executive Vice-President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, told CBC News that the privacy problems are yet another reason to rethink the new pay system.
"It`s just another demonstration of this whole system called Phoenix simply was not ready to be implemented, it should never have been implemented and now it's time for this government to shut it down," he said.
Council of the Federation needed more than ever, says Jean Charest
It's become a tradition.
Every summer, the country's Premiers gather to discuss common issues. This year's meeting is taking place in Whitehorse with health care funding, inter-provincial trade, climate change and CETA all on the agenda.
The concept was first pitched by Jean Charest soon after becoming Quebec Premier in 2003.
"The idea of a Council of the Federation meant that the provinces would work more closely together on common projects that are within our jurisdiction, but also in helping us manage our relationship with the federal government," Charest told The House.
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper famously refused to meet with the Premiers as a group, choosing instead to meet them one-on-one.
But with Justin Trudeau having already shown a willingness to do things differently, is the Council of the Federation still needed?
Absolutely says Charest.
Especially given the breakdown in the relationship between Ottawa and the provinces in recent years.
"There needs to be a rebuilding of that relationship to make the country function more effectively," he said.
The complex and ongoing climate change and health care funding negotiations could prove to be the first real tests of this new phase of the Ottawa-provinces relationship, and a chance to see how the Premiers now plan to use the Council of the Federation.
