Report of the President - Executive Council

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS (AGMs):

Since mid-February, our Locals have begun holding their Annual General Meetings (AGMs) virtually.

The feedback received so far has been extremely positive and, despite the normal concerns people may have had prior to the virtual meetings, the meetings are generally going very well.

In addition, we are pleased to note that there has been an increase in member participation compared to the last series of AGMs that were held in person prior to the pandemic.

The annual general meeting season is in full swing and we have several more meetings scheduled for this spring through to early June.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Locals for their hard work and resilience in these difficult times. Indeed, our local representatives are doing a great job of preparing for this event in collaboration with our IT specialist, Alex Thon, who is supported by our Communications/Web Officer, Susan Duncan. I would also like to sincerely thank Alex for agreeing to work evenings during the week and sometimes weekends in addition to his regular weekday schedule. This is greatly appreciated and the quality of service provided to the Locals and our members is simply excellent and the comments received are very positive. 

MEETINGS WITH THE CRA :

I continue to have monthly phone conversations with the Chief Human Resources Officer.

In addition, I have had several conversations with other senior officials of the Agency regarding various issues and current topics such as:

• Corrective measure following the delay in the implementation of the new Clause 60.01 of the collective agreement;
• Call Centre Agents who received incorrect instructions from the employer in April 2020 and as a result provided incorrect information to some self-employed workers for a few weeks regarding their eligibility to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB);
• Copy of the collective agreement for members;
• CRA Orientation Sessions - Online Product;
• Outsourcing to a third-party service provider to respond to general taxpayer inquiries regarding emergency benefits.

On the last issue mentioned above, I have contacted the PSAC and the Chair of our Political Action Committee, Brother Jamie vanSydenborgh, to have UTE and the PSAC work together to develop and launch a campaign to denounce this regrettable decision made by the Agency.

DISCUSSION WITH THE CRA COMMISSIONER:

I have spoken with the Commissioner of the Agency regarding the following three (3) topics:

• The incorrect instructions given by the employer to call center agents who then passed on this incorrect information to self-employed Canadians regarding their eligibility to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB);
• The decision by the Agency and specifically the Assessment, Benefit, and Service Branch (ABSB) to contract out general inquiries about emergency benefits to a third-party service provider;
• The hours of work in the call centers.

DISCUSSION WITH THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL REVENUE:

I spoke with the Minister of National Revenue, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, regarding the Agency's decision to contract out the mandate of responding to general inquiries on emergency benefits to a third party supplier.

I expressed our frustration and disappointment to her as our members have demonstrated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic crisis that they have a great capacity to mobilize and adapt to continuously changing workloads. Our members delivered the goods and contracting out is an insult and a lack of consideration for them.

I demanded a commitment from the Minister that the contract being outsourced be terminated as soon as possible and not be renewed at the end of August 2021. The employer says it had no choice but to make this decision because the CRA would not have had the capacity and infrastructure to implement the service in such a short period of time. The UTE wants to ensure that this regrettable decision is a one-time occurrence and that it is not repeated. I have asked that the Agency commit to working with our union to increase its capacity and improve its infrastructure so that this workload can be brought back in-house and the work done by our union members who are CRA employees and federal public service workers.

The Minister has confirmed to me that the Agency will not be renewing the contract with the third party supplier when it expires.

Despite this, I have informed her that our Political Action Committee is working closely with the PSAC to launch in the near future a campaign to denounce this decision and that she and her government will be targeted by this campaign. We want to make sure that our message is strong, clear and understood by the government and all federal political parties that turning federal public service jobs over to the private sector is unacceptable.

MEDIA RELATIONS :

I have given multiple media interviews in reference to the following topics:

• Incorrect instructions given by the employer to call center agents who then passed on this incorrect information to self-employed Canadians regarding their eligibility to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB);

• The Agency's decision to contract out general inquiries about emergency benefits to a third-party service provider;

• Bill C-224 concerning the implementation of a single income tax return in Quebec administered by Revenu Québec and putting at risk thousands of jobs of our members working in Quebec and elsewhere in the country.

QUEBEC SINGLE INCOME TAX RETURN ADMINISTERED BY THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC :

In January, we learned that Bill C-224, a private member's bill introduced by Bloc MP Gabriel Ste-Marie, had passed second reading in the House of Commons. The Liberals, in minority, voted against it, but the Bloc, Conservatives and New Democrats all voted in favour. Green Party MPs, with the exception of Jenica Atwin, and independent MPs voted against.

The idea of a single income tax return administered by Quebec continued to gain momentum as it made its way through parliamentary committee.

I immediately contacted PSAC President, Brother Chris Aylward, to ask him to hold a meeting as soon as possible with the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Jagmeet Singh, in order to understand the change in his political party's position and to reiterate our own. Indeed, the NDP had joined the Liberal Party of Canada during the last federal election campaign in October 2019 in opposing this proposal.

On February 4, Brother Aylward and I met with Mr. Singh and he told us that his party would oppose the passage of the bill at third reading after it is studied by the Standing Committee on Finance because New Democrats share our concerns about the inevitable job losses that would follow the implementation of such an initiative.

Subsequently, I received an invitation to appear as a witness before the Finance Committee at its February 23^rd meeting. During my appearance before the committee, I reiterated our concerns about this bill and the job losses in the federal public service that would result. I also explained to the members of the committee that it was premature to try to implement a single income tax return in Quebec because the two tax laws, the one from the federal government and the one from the Quebec government, have many important differences in their respective policies. This makes it almost impossible to implement a single income tax return in Quebec in the current state of affairs. It is imperative that both levels of government agree to harmonize their tax laws before considering the implementation of a single income tax return in the province of Quebec.

On March 2, we were pleased but also surprised to learn that Bill C-224 was defeated at another meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance and therefore would not return to the House of Commons for third reading. The Liberal members of the committee voted against the bill while the Conservative members all abstained from voting. Bloc Québécois MP Gabriel Ste-Marie and NDP MP Peter Julian voted in favour. The abstention of the Conservative MPs, an unexpected turn of events, caused the bill to be defeated.

That same day, when I met with the Minister of National Revenue, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, regarding the outsourcing contract, she told me that my intervention before the Finance Committee seemed to have made several MPs understand the problems associated with this bill.

On March 3^rd, I met with Conservative MP Luc Berthold. He is a member of the Finance Committee. He confirmed the comments made by the Minister by explaining that the Conservative MPs realized during my testimony that significant job losses were inevitable if the current bill was adopted and that there were also important issues at stake in terms of taxation policies. I took the opportunity to ask Mr. Berthold to put pressure on Treasury Board to finally make available the form that former federal government employees and former PSAC and UTE members will have to fill out in relation to the general compensation of the Phoenix settlement. MP Berthold is the Conservative Party of Canada's critic for Treasury Board.

STAFFING AT THE NATIONAL OFFICE:

Following the departure of one of our Labour Relations Officers, David Girard, for a minimum period of one (1) year, we have launched a selection process to find a replacement. Our Senior Labour Relations Officer, Shane O'Brien, and my Executive Assistant, Daniel Camara, are in charge of this process.

In accordance with the collective agreement between UTE and AEU (Unit V), preference will be given first to qualified candidates in the following order:

1. Members of the Alliance Employees’ Union (AEU), Bargaining Unit V;
2. Other members of the Alliance Employees’ Union;
3. Employees of the PSAC and its Components who are not members of the AEU;
4. Members of the Union of Taxation Employees; and
5. General Public.

We reviewed the resumes of those who applied. From this list, two (2) candidates met the selection criteria.

The two (2) individuals came to the National Office on February 23rd to be tested on their ability to analyze and evaluate information, interpret collective agreements and legislation, develop convincing arguments when presenting their case, and communicate in writing in both official languages.

Candidates who successfully complete this step of the process will be invited to the next step, the interview.

We will keep you posted as soon as the selection process is completed.

In addition, we are still trying to find a replacement for Sister Sylvie Bastien to fill the position of Administrative Assistant to the National President. Sister Bastien has agreed to come out of retirement temporarily until the end of April in order to help us out. This position is one of the excluded (unrepresented) positions in our organization. We will be posting a new and revised job offer in the near future.

PRESIDENTS' CONFERENCE, CONVENTION COMMITTEES AND TRIENNIAL CONVENTION:

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage, we have officially decided to hold these meetings virtually.

To this end, we have called upon the services of Encore Canada. This company specializes in the management and execution of large-scale virtual events.

Here are the three (3) dates to remember for these events:

• Presidents' Conference: March 23-26, 2021;
• Convention Committees: April 27-30, 2021;
• Eighteenth UTE National Triennial Convention: July 19-23, 2021.

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF THE CANADIAN LABOUR CONGRESS (CLC):

The 29th Constitutional Convention of the Canadian Labor Congress (CLC) will be held virtually from June 16-18, 2021 through an interactive online platform.

The registration fee per delegate is $150 and the deadline for receiving credentials is Sunday, May 16, 2021.

WEB/COMMUNICATIONS:

Our website is working well, and updates are occurring in a timely fashion. Members were pleased to receive their UTE calendars with their December newsletter.  We had requests for calendars for those who are visually impaired.  We looked into the feasibility of creating braille and large print calendars and contacted the locals to find out how much of a demand there would be.  We have decided to go ahead with the printing of these calendars and they should be going out shortly.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:

All IT systems have been running well. Regular software maintenance of internal computers, servers and network was performed. All the employees have been working from home since the closure of the PSAC building. Since working from home, we have started to use more of our Microsoft 365 cloud services (Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, etc.).

Microsoft Teams usage is increasing. Since December 2020 we made 181,600 minutes of Teams audio calls. We are using Teams to collaborate on AGM work.

The virtual AGMs via Zoom have been going well. We have had 4 AGMs so far and another 13 in the month of March and 9 in April.

DONATIONS / SPONSORSHIPS:

Donations/Sponsorships
Dons/Commandites
As of February 25, 2021 / Au 25 février 2021

Donations/Sponsorships
Dons/Commandites
As of December 31, 2020 / Au 31 décembre 2020

NON-UTE UNION EVENTS:

Non-UTE Union Events
Événements syndicaux autres que ceux du SEI
As of February 25, 2021 / Au 25 février 2021

Non-UTE Union Events
Événements syndicaux autres que ceux du SEI
As of December 31, 2020 / Au 31 décembre 2020

GRIEVANCES:

GRIEVANCE REPORT
DECEMBER 1ST, 2020 TO FEBRUARY 28TH, 2021

During Q4, twenty-two (22) new grievances were received in the National office. Forty-three (43) grievances were presented. Fifty-five (55) final level replies were received from CRA, thirty (30) were denied and twenty-four (24) were partially allowed. Forty-three (43) grievances were closed; two (2) were not adjudicable, and one (1) was withdrawn.

1. Grievance in abeyance pending HRT & WSIAB complaints. The complaints are still active and outside legal counsel has carriage of file. The complaints are currently held in abeyance.
2. These grievances are held in abeyance pending a statutory freeze complaint scheduled for Sept 9 to 12, 2019.
3. Pending tax appeal

There are presently one hundred two (103) grievances in the National Office inventory which have not yet been presented at the Final Level dealing with a variety of issues.

You will note that there are a number of grievances that have not been presented or are awaiting reply for quite some time. A review of these grievances has been undertaken and follow-ups made as required. Many of these grievances relate to work descriptions where we are awaiting the Agency to establish a committee to review the work descriptions before a reply is issued. Thirty-three grievances are the subject of potential settlement discussions with the employer as a result of a recent successful unfair labour practice complaint. Five grievances have resulted in significant delays as additional information is needed from the grievors who are awaiting ATIP requests.  Efforts are being made to advance these grievances in as timely manner as possible.

Minor delays have also been experienced due to a recent vacancy caused by the departure of one of our Labour Relation Officers. A selection process is currently underway to fill the vacant position and the work has been distributed on an interim basis amongst the remaining LRO’s. 

POLICY GRIEVANCE

There were no new policy grievances filed during this period.

CLASSIFICATION GRIEVANCES

There were no new classification grievances filed during this period.

INDEPENDENT THIRD-PARTY REVIEWS (ITPRs)

Four (4) ITPRs were received in the National Office during this quarter where representation has been requested by the National office.

CRA POLICY GRIEVANCES

There were no new CRA Policy Grievances received during this period. 

PRESIDENT’S ITINERARY

DATE           ACTIVITY                    PLACE

NOVEMBER 2020
30         PSAC Component Presidents’ Meeting             Gatineau

DECEMBER 2020
1           PSAC NBoD Meeting – Health & Safety Presentation on Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations             Gatineau
1           Meeting with CRA Director Corporate Compensation, HRB             Gatineau
3           PSAC SJF Steering Committee Meeting             Gatineau
4           Printing of the collective agreement process              Gatineau
7           Meeting on Virtual AGM’s             Ottawa
7-10      Executive Council meeting             Ottawa
11         Monthly meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB             Gatineau
11         “In Camera” PSAC NBoD Meeting             Gatineau
14         PSAC Component Presidents’ Meeting             Gatineau
15         Meeting with CRA Director Corporate Compensation, HRB             Gatineau
15         PSAC NBoD Meeting – Anti racism training             Gatineau
16         Conference Call with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB             Gatineau
16         PSAC Holdings Board Meeting             Gatineau
17         Conference Call with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB             Gatineau
17         UTE All Staff Meeting             Gatineau
17         Executive Council meeting (preparation for NUMCC)             Gatineau
18         UTE-CRA National Union Management Consultation Committee Meeting             Gatineau
21         Meeting with CRA Deputy Assistant Commissioner, ABSB             Gatineau
22         Meeting – CRA Briefing to Bargaining Agents on the simplified process for claiming the home office expenses             Gatineau

JANUARY 2021
7           Pre-Meeting - Fall 2020 Economic Statement and the impact on Call Centers             Gatineau
8           Meeting with CRA - Fall 2020 Economic Statement and the impact on Call Centers             Gatineau
11         PSAC Component Presidents’ Meeting             Gatineau
12         PSAC NBoD Meeting             Gatineau
13         Meeting on CRA’s Workplace of the Future with HRB             Gatineau
14         Special Executive Council meeting – Virtual AGMs             Gatineau
15         “In Camera” PSAC NBoD Meeting             Gatineau
18         Monthly meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB             Gatineau
19         Meeting with CRA - Staffing Plan, CVB             Gatineau
21         Arbitration Hearing – UTE/AEU PSAC Pension Plan Contributions             Gatineau
22         Follow-up meeting with CRA – New Clause 60.01              Gatineau
25         PSAC Component Presidents’ Meeting             Gatineau
27         Follow-up meeting with CRA – New Clause 60.01             Gatineau

FEBRUARY 2021
1           Follow-up meeting with CRA - Fall 2020 Economic Statement and the impact on Call Centers             Gatineau
1           Executive Committee Meeting             Gatineau
2           PSAC NBoD Meeting             Gatineau
4           Meeting with PSAC on Call Centers Privatization             Gatineau
4           Conference Call with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB             Gatineau
4           Meeting with PSAC National President and NDP Leader – Bill C-224 - Quebec Single Income Tax Return             Gatineau
5           Arbitration Hearing – UTE/AEU PSAC Pension Plan Contributions             Gatineau
8           PSAC Component Presidents’ Meeting             Gatineau
9           Special Executive Council Meeting             Gatineau
9           PSAC NBoD Meeting             Gatineau
10         PSAC SJF Steering Committee Meeting             Gatineau
10         Meeting with PSAC - Call Centre Contracting Out Campaign             Gatineau
11         Monthly meeting with the CRA Assistant Commissioner, HRB             Gatineau
12         Special Executive Council Meeting             Gatineau
16-17    PSAC NBoD Meeting             Gatineau
18         Arbitration Hearing – UTE/AEU PSAC Pension Plan Contributions             Gatineau
23         Appearance – Finance Committee of the House of Commons – Bill C-224 - Quebec Single Income Tax Return            Gatineau
24         Special Executive Council meeting             Gatineau
25         Special Executive Council Meeting – PSAC 2021 Regional Conventions             Gatineau
26         Meeting with the CRA Commissioner             Gatineau

Acronyms
ABSB – Assessment, Benefit, and Service Branch
AEU – Alliance Employees Union
AGM – Annual General Meeting
CERB – Canada Emergency Response Benefit
CRA – Canada Revenue Canada
CVB – Collections Verification Branch
HRB – Human Resources Branch
NUMCC – National Union Management Consultation Committee
NBoD – National Board of Directors
PSAC – Public Service Alliance of Canada
SJF – Social Justice Fund
UTE – Union of Taxation Employees

MEMBERSHIP:

Respectfully submitted,

Marc Brière
National President