Vol. 144, No. 14 — July 7, 2010

Registration

SOR/2010-148 June 17, 2010

PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYMENT ACT

Student Employment Programs Participants Regulations

P.C. 2010-774 June 17, 2010

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Public Service Commission, pursuant to section 21 of the Public Service Employment Act (see footnote a), hereby makes the annexed Student Employment Programs Participants Regulations.

STUDENT EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS PARTICIPANTS REGULATIONS

INTERPRETATION

1. The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

“Act” means the Public Service Employment Act. (Loi)

“student employment program” means the Federal Student Work Experience Program, the Research Affiliate Program, the Post-Secondary Co-op/Internship Program or any other student employment program established by the Treasury Board after consultation with the Commission. (programme d’embauche d’étudiants)

APPLICATION

2. These Regulations apply to participants in a student employment program who are excluded, for the purposes of hiring and during the course of their employment under the program, from the application of the provisions of the Act other than section 2, subsections 15(1) and (2), and sections 16 to 21, 24, 25, 29, 34, 54, 55, 66 to 72, 111 to 122, 134 and 135.

DEALING WITH EXCLUDED PERSONS

3. A participant may be appointed to the public service under a student employment program if the participant meets the qualifications for the work to be performed and the appointment is free from personal favouritism or political influence.

4. A participant who is a Canadian citizen, within the meaning of the Citizenship Act, must be appointed to the public service under a student employment program ahead of other persons who are not Canadian citizens and who have not previously been appointed to the public service under a student employment program if the participant meets the qualifications for the work to be performed.

5. A participant appointed to the public service under the student employment program is not eligible to participate in an internal appointment process unless it is advertised and the following conditions are met:

(a) participants in a student employment program are specifically included in the area of selection determined for the advertised internal appointment process;

(b) the participant meets the other criteria established for that area of selection; and

(c) the participant is able to demonstrate that they are capable of completing, within the period indicated in the advertisement for the appointment process, the post-secondary education program or vocational training program in which they were registered at the time of their most recent appointment under the student employment program.

6. A participant appointed to the public service under a student employment program who is selected as a result of an advertised internal appointment process may not be appointed under that process before they have successfully completed their post-secondary education program or vocational training program.

7. If a participant accepts an appointment to the public service that is outside a student employment program during the period in which they are appointed to the public service under that program, the participant must, for the purposes of section 61 of the Act, be dealt with as though they were appointed from outside the public service.

REPEAL

8. The Student Employment Programs Regulations (see footnote 1) are repealed.

COMING INTO FORCE

9. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT
ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issue and objectives

The Student Employment Programs Participants Regulations facilitate the appointment of full-time students in student employment programs established by the Treasury Board and reflect the spirit and intent of the Public Service Employment Act (see footnote 2) (PSEA), which came into effect in December 2005. Student employment programs provide the public service with an excellent recruitment pool of recent post-secondary graduates, enabling the public service to achieve its renewal objectives by allowing students to participate in any internal appointment process that specifically includes participants of student employment programs in the area of selection.

Description and rationale

The Student Employment Programs Participants Regulations prescribe how participants appointed to the public service under the Federal Student Work Experience Program, the Research Affiliate Program, the Post-Secondary Co-op/Internship Program or any other student employment program established by the Treasury Board after consultation with the Commission are to be dealt with. They include the following provisions:

• a participant may be appointed to work within a student employment program if the participant meets the qualifications for the work to be performed and the appointment is free from personal favouritism and political influence;
• a participant who is a Canadian citizen must be appointed to work within a student employment program ahead of other persons who are not Canadian citizens and who have not been previously employed in a student employment program if the participant meets the qualifications for the work to be performed;
• a participant appointed to work within a student employment program is eligible to participate in an advertised internal appointment process if the following conditions are met:

(a) the area of selection specifically includes participants in student employment programs;

(b) the participant meets the other criteria established for that area of selection; and

(c) the participant is able to demonstrate that he or she is capable of completing, within the period indicated in the advertisement for the appointment process, the vocational training program for a specific trade or profession or the post-secondary education program in which the participant is registered.

• a participant appointed to a position within the public service during the period in which he or she is appointed to work within a student employment program is subject to the probationary period, as if he or she was appointed from outside the public service.

The Regulations provide an efficient means to enable students to gain valuable work experience within the public service, while ensuring that they successfully complete their post-secondary education program or vocational training program. The bridging mechanism contained in the Regulations is an encouragement to students to participate in student programs and does to some degree facilitate their integration in the public service.

Consultation

During the course of developing these Regulations, the Public Service Commission consulted the Public Service Commission Advisory Committee and the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada, and they were given the opportunity to express their views. They all support the proposed Regulations.

The proposed Regulations were pre-published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on October 31, 2009, followed by a 30-day comment period. A total of two comments were received from organizations subject to the PSEA. As a result of these comments, the wording of the provision enabling students to participate in advertised internal appointment processes was revised to specify that, in order to enable students to participate in such an appointment process, the area of selection must specifically include participants in student employment programs. This ensures greater clarity and avoids any possible confusion or ambiguity. The English version of the provision preference to Canadian citizens ahead of other persons who are not Canadian citizens and who have not been previously appointed under a student employment program was revised to ensure consistency with the French version.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

Through its Policy Branch and its Audit Branch, the Public Service Commission monitors and audits the staffing practices followed in applying these Regulations.

Contact

Roch Davidson
Policy Specialist
Policy Development Directorate
Public Service Commission of Canada
L’Esplanade Laurier, West Tower
300 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0M7
Telephone: 613-943-2787
Fax: 613-943-2481
Email: Roch.Davidson@psc-cfp.gc.ca

Footnote a
S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12 and 13

Footnote 1
SOR/97-194

Footnote 2
S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12 and 13

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