Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Dear Brothers & Sisters:

The federal election on Janauary 23rd is a critically important event for most PSAC members. While all voters in Canada will be electing a government, most PSAC members have the opportunity to elect their employer. As a result it is important that PSAC members participate in the election campaign, and do what they can to ensure that candidates for election understand issues that are important to PSAC members and are willing to champion those issues in Parliament. In this mail out you will find a Brochure from the Canadian Labour Congress on their Better Choices Campaign and a summary of the issue leaflets that the PSAC has prepared and posted on the under the Think, Ask and Vote icon.

PSAC members have had the right to engage politically at the federal level since the union challenged the restrictions under the previous Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) back in 1991. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the only federal public sector workers who faced restrictions on political expression were deputy heads of departments. The Public Service Modernization Act changed the PSEA which has created new restrictions on all public service workers.

It has been brought to my attention that some departments and agencies are advising our members that they are not allowed to participate in the political process. This statement is overly broad and misleading.

When determining how you want to exercise your democratic rights, keep these guidelines in mind:
• do not conduct any political activity on the job;
• do not identify yourself publicly as a federal public sector worker while working on a campaign; and
• do not wear your uniform or your government identification at all candidate meetings or other public meetings.

For more information on this subject, go to the PSAC National website and read the publication titled Your Political Rights posted under the Think, Ask, Vote icon. If you are disciplined in any way for participation in a political activity, this can be grieved. If you are disciplined, contact your Local or Component for representation and advise the PSAC regional office.

How you vote is entirely up to you on Election Day, however, I hope you take the time to consider the issues that we feel are important to working families. The issues we have identified as making a difference for Canadian families are: Protection of Public Services; Medicare; Poverty; Childcare; and Labour Law Reform.

Working people who are informed, involved and mobilized are a positive force for positive change. We are organizing ourselves to ensure that our collective power has a positive impact at the ballot box. Ideally, this collective power would serve us when we we need to lobby MPs on our issues. We need to elect MPs who support our priorities and hold them accountable by ensuring they move those priorities forward after the election.

We want a government that will not only protect public services and our jobs but will ensure that, regardless of our financial standing or geography, everyone can access these important services.
We want a government that works to keep health care public so that everyone has access to quality care. We want public, not for profit childcare because our children deserve the best. We want a government who will pass anti-scab legislation, proactive pay equity legislation and meaningful whistle-blower legislation.

Here in British Columbia, this is the third election we have had in the last twelve months. While I recognize that many of us are suffering from “election fatigue”, I would urge each of you to participate in the process at whatever level you can. In this regard, PSAC members employed by Treasury Board are in a unique position to participate in the election campaign because their collective agreements provide a day’s leave per year to perform volunteer work. Since parties and candidates can use all the help that they can get, I would urge all PSAC Treasury Board members, who have not already used their volunteer day this fiscal year, to do so and to work for the candidate or party of their choice.

In Solidarity,

Patty Ducharme
REVP-BC