Vol. 151, No. 10 — May 17, 2017

Registration

SOR/2017-81 May 5, 2017

PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYMENT ACT

Regulations Amending the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary Employment Regulations

P.C. 2017-464 May 5, 2017

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and the Public Service Commission, pursuant to section 21 of the Public Service Employment Act (see footnote a), makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary Employment Regulations.

Regulations Amending the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary Employment Regulations

Amendment

1 Section 1 of the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary Employment Regulations (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following:

1 These Regulations apply to the positions designated by position numbers 00025450 to 00025460 in the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary and the persons occupying them that are excluded from the application of the Public Service Employment Act, with the exception of the definitions Commission and public service in subsection 2(1) and of sections 17 to 21, 54 and 55, 68 to 72, subsection 111(1), sections 112 to 116, section 118, sections 120 to 122, section 134 and 135 of that Act.

Coming into Force

2 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.)

Issues

The Office of the Governor General’s Secretary human resources (HR) system changed in October 2015 in anticipation of the federal government-wide Transformation of Pay Administration Initiative. The migration to the new government pay system took place in April 2016. The system changes resulted in an unintended consequence: the new system generated new position numbers for all positions at the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary, including the 11 excluded positions specifically mentioned by their old position numbers in the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary Employment Regulations (Regulations) [GGS-S-910 to 920](see footnote 2). An amendment to the position numbers in the Regulations is required in order to ensure that they continue to apply to the 11 excluded positions and persons occupying these positions.

Background

The Office of the Governor-General’s Secretary Exclusion Approval Order excludes 11 positions and persons occupying those positions at the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary from the application of the Public Service Employment Act except

These 11 positions and persons, who carry out functions such as Executive Assistant to His Excellency, and Executive Assistant, are thus exempt from provisions of the Public Service Employment Act such as those pertaining to the basis of appointment (section 30), and to preferences, priorities and entitlements of appointment (section 39).

The Regulations prescribe how to deal with these excluded positions and persons. Historically, the Regulations have given the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary parity with the authority exercised by ministers who are able to hire personal staff to ensure the functioning of their office.

Objectives

The objective is to replace the numbers of the 11 excluded positions at the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary (rendered obsolete by a move to a new electronic HR system) with new position numbers to ensure that the Regulations continue to apply to these positions.

Description

The Regulations Amending the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary Employment Regulations replace the now-obsolete position numbers of the 11 excluded positions at the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary with new position numbers designated as 00025450 to 00025460. The position numbers are a reference to the Governor General’s exempt staff positions. The Regulations continue to give the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary parity with the authority exercised by ministers who are able to hire personal staff to ensure the functioning of their office.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to this regulatory amendment, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to this regulatory amendment, as there are no costs to small business.

Consultation

The Office of the Governor General’s Secretary has been consulted on this regulatory proposal throughout the regulatory process and is supportive of these amendments.

Rationale

The regulatory amendment is required to ensure that the Regulations continue to apply to the right staff (i.e. those who occupy excluded positions in the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary).

The Public Service Commission is of the opinion that the amended Regulations allow for a more flexible and effective appointment process for persons employed in excluded positions in the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary. The absence of these amendments would impact the administration of the Office of the Governor General’s Secretary.

Contact

Belinda Wong
Senior Policy Advisor
Public Service Commission
22 Eddy Street
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0M7
Telephone: 819-420-6488
Fax: 819-420-6460
Email: Belinda.Wong@cfp-psc.gc.ca