This National Public Service Week— June 14 to 20—PSAC is celebrating and honouring the critical role of Canada’s federal public service workers. Never have their important contributions been highlighted so starkly than by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

PSAC members—over 140,000 of whom are in the federal public service—have worked tirelessly to support Canadians through this pandemic. 

Sisters and Brothers,

The Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) has a reputation that it cares about the well-being of not only its members, but also of others, especially the most vulnerable in our society. In times of need, UTE has consistently stepped up on behalf of our members and has shown great generosity.

In addition to the crucial role played by its members to help the federal government fund a multitude of services to ensure the well-being of Canadians, our union believes it has an important social role to play in our society.

Sisters and Brothers,

Yesterday, we issued a message communicating the Union of Taxation Employees’ (UTE’s) position with respect to the employer’s decision to the involuntary deployment of our members occupying Collections Contact Officer positions to perform the duties of Call Centre Agents. Since issuing that communiqué, we have received several queries from members as to why the UTE did not adopt a similar position with respect to our members in the Compliance Programs Branch (CPB).

In over a decade at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Kathy Ajram has never seen such a rapid and profound transformation in how her organization conducts its work.