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An Act to modernize employment and labour
relations in the public service and to
amend the Financial Administration Act
and the Canadian Centre for
Management Development Act and to
make consequential amendments to
other Acts
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[Assented to 7th November, 2003]
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Her Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate and House of Commons
of Canada, enacts as follows:
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Short title
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1. This Act may be cited as the Public
Service Modernization Act.
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2. The Public Service Labour Relations
Act is enacted as follows:
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An Act respecting labour relations in the
public service
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Preamble
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Recognizing that
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the public service labour-management
regime must operate in a context where
protection of the public interest is paramount;
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effective labour-management relations
represent a cornerstone of good human
resource management and that collaborative
efforts between the parties, through
communication and sustained dialogue,
improve the ability of the public service to
serve and protect the public interest;
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collective bargaining ensures the
expression of diverse views for the purpose of
establishing terms and conditions of
employment;
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the Government of Canada is committed to
fair, credible and efficient resolution of
matters arising in respect of terms and
conditions of employment;
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the Government of Canada recognizes that
public service bargaining agents represent the
interests of employees in collective
bargaining and participate in the resolution of
workplace issues and rights disputes;
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commitment from the employer and
bargaining agents to mutual respect and
harmonious labour-management relations is
essential to a productive and effective public
service;
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NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate and
House of Commons of Canada, enacts as
follows:
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Short title
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1. This Act may be cited as the Public
Service Labour Relations Act.
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Definitions
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2. (1) The following definitions apply in
this Act.
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``adjudicator''
« arbitre de
grief »
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``adjudicator'' means a member assigned to
hear and determine a grievance referred to
adjudication under subsection 209(1) or
section 216 or 221 and includes, if the
context permits, a board of adjudication
established under paragraph 223(2)(c), a
person named as an adjudicator in a
collective agreement and a person
otherwise selected as an adjudicator by the
parties to the grievance.
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``arbitral
award''
« décision
arbitrale »
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``arbitral award'' means an award made by an
arbitration board in respect of a dispute.
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``arbitration
board''
« conseil
d'arbitrage »
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``arbitration board'' means a board
established under Division 9 of Part 1.
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``bargaining
agent''
« agent
négociateur »
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``bargaining agent'' means an employee
organization that is certified by the Board as
the bargaining agent for the employees in a
bargaining unit.
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``bargaining
unit''
« unité de
négociation »
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``bargaining unit'' means a group of two or
more employees that is determined by the
Board to constitute a unit of employees
appropriate for collective bargaining.
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``Board''
« Commission
»
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``Board'' means the Public Service Labour
Relations Board established by section 12.
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``Chairperson'
'
« président »
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``Chairperson'' means the Chairperson of the
Board.
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``collective
agreement''
« convention
collective »
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``collective agreement'' means an agreement
in writing, entered into under Part 1
between the employer and a bargaining
agent, containing provisions respecting
terms and conditions of employment and
related matters.
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``core public
administration
''
« administrati
on publique
centrale »
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``core public administration'' has the same
meaning as in subsection 11(1) of the
Financial Administration Act.
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``council of
employee
organizations'
'
« regroupeme
nt
d'organisatio
ns
syndicales »
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``council of employee organizations'' means
a council formed by two or more employee
organizations.
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``deputy
head''
« administrate
ur général »
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``deputy head'' means a deputy head referred
to in any of paragraphs (a) to (c) of the
definition ``deputy head'' in subsection
11(1) of the Financial Administration Act.
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``dispute''
« différend »
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``dispute'' means a dispute or difference that
arises in connection with the entering into,
renewal or revision of a collective
agreement and in respect of which
arbitration may be requested under
subsection 136(1) or conciliation may be
requested under subsection 161(1).
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``employee''
« fonctionnair
e »
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``employee'', except in Part 2, means a person
employed in the public service, other than
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(a) a person appointed by the Governor in
Council under an Act of Parliament to a
statutory position described in that Act;
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(b) a person locally engaged outside
Canada;
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(c) a person not ordinarily required to
work more than one third of the normal
period for persons doing similar work;
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(d) a person who is a member or special
constable of the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police or who is employed by
that force under terms and conditions
substantially the same as those of one of
its members;
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(e) a person employed in the Canadian
Security Intelligence Service who does
not perform duties of a clerical or
secretarial nature;
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(f) a person employed on a casual basis;
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(g) a person employed on a term basis,
unless the term of employment is for a
period of three months or more or the
person has been so employed for a period
of three months or more;
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(h) a person employed by the Board;
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(i) a person who occupies a managerial or
confidential position; or
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(j) a person who is employed under a
program designated by the employer as a
student employment program.
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``employee
organization''
« organisation
syndicale »
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``employee organization'' means an
organization of employees the purposes of
which include the regulation of relations
between the employer and its employees for
the purposes of Parts 1 and 2, and includes,
unless the context otherwise requires, a
council of employee organizations.
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``employer''
« employeur »
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``employer'' means Her Majesty in right of
Canada as represented by
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(a) the Treasury Board, in the case of a
department named in Schedule I to the
Financial Administration Act or another
portion of the federal public
administration named in Schedule IV to
that Act; and
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(b) the separate agency, in the case of a
portion of the federal public
administration named in Schedule V to
the Financial Administration Act.
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``managerial
or
confidential
position''
« poste de
direction ou
de confiance »
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``managerial or confidential position'' means
a position declared to be a managerial or
confidential position by an order made by
the Board under subsection 62(1), section
63, subsection 74(1) or section 75.
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``member''
« commissaire
»
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``member'' means a member of the Board,
whether full-time or part-time.
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``membership
dues''
« cotisations
syndicales »
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``membership dues'', in respect of employees
represented by a bargaining agent, means
the amount that the employer is required to
deduct from the pay of the employees and
remit to the bargaining agent under any
collective agreement that is entered into
between the employer and the bargaining
agent.
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``Minister''
« ministre »
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``Minister'' means the member of the Queen's
Privy Council for Canada, other than a
member of the Treasury Board, designated
by the Governor in Council as the Minister
for the purposes of this Act.
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``public
service''
« fonction
publique »
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``public service'', except in Part 3, means the
several positions in or under
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(a) the departments named in Schedule I
to the Financial Administration Act;
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(b) the other portions of the federal public
administration named in Schedule IV to
that Act; and
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(c) the separate agencies named in
Schedule V to that Act.
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``separate
agency''
« organisme
distinct »
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``separate agency'' has the same meaning as in
subsection 11(1) of the Financial
Administration Act.
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``strike''
« grève »
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``strike'' includes a cessation of work or a
refusal to work or to continue to work by
persons employed in the public service, in
combination, in concert or in accordance
with a common understanding, and a
slow-down of work or any other concerted
activity on the part of such persons that is
designed to restrict or limit output.
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``Vice-Chairp
erson''
« vice-préside
nt »
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``Vice-Chairperson'' means a
Vice-Chairperson of the Board.
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Employment
status
preserved
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(2) A person does not cease to be employed
in the public service by reason only that the
person ceases to work as a result of a strike or
by reason only of the termination of the
person's employment contrary to this Act or
any other Act of Parliament.
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Persons who
are not
employees
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(3) For greater certainty, a person is not an
employee if
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(a) the person is engaged under subsection
50(1); or
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(b) the person's compensation for the
performance of the regular duties of the
person's position or office consists of fees
of office or is related to the revenue of the
office in which the person is employed.
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Casual
employment
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(4) For the purposes of paragraph (f) of the
definition ``employee'' in subsection (1), a
person employed in the part of the public
service to which the Public Service
Commission has the exclusive right and
authority to make appointments is employed
on a casual basis if the person was appointed
under section 21.2 of the Public Service
Employment Act.
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References to
occupants of
positions
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(5) Every reference to a person who
occupies a position, or to the occupant of a
position, includes a person who is acting in
that position or who has assumed wholly or
substantially the duties and responsibilities of
that position, and a reference to a person's
position includes the position of a person who
is acting in that position or who has assumed
wholly or substantially the duties and
responsibilities of that position.
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Descriptive
cross-
references
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3. If, in any provision of this Act, a
reference to another provision of this Act is
followed by words in parentheses that are
descriptive of the subject-matter of that other
provision, the words in parentheses form no
part of the provision in which they occur and
are deemed to have been inserted for
convenience of reference only.
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Definitions
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4. (1) The following definitions apply in
this Part.
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``essential
service''
« services
essentiels »
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``essential service'' means a service, facility
or activity of the Government of Canada
that is or will be, at any time, necessary for
the safety or security of the public or a
segment of the public.
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``essential
services
agreement''
« entente sur
les services
essentiels »
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``essential services agreement'' means an
agreement between the employer and the
bargaining agent for a bargaining unit that
identifies
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(a) the types of positions in the
bargaining unit that are necessary for the
employer to provide essential services;
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(b) the number of those positions that are
necessary for that purpose; and
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(c) the specific positions that are
necessary for that purpose.
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``mediator''
« médiateur »
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``mediator'' means a person appointed as a
mediator under subsection 108(1).
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``National
Joint
Council''
« Conseil
national
mixte »
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``National Joint Council'' means the National
Joint Council whose establishment was
authorized by Order in Council P.C. 3676,
dated May 16, 1944.
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``parties''
« parties »
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``parties'', in relation to collective bargaining,
arbitration, conciliation or a dispute, means
the employer and the bargaining agent.
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``public
interest
commission''
« commission
de l'intérêt
public »
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``public interest commission'' means a
commission established under Division 10.
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When position
is necessary
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(2) A position that is necessary for the
employer to provide essential services for the
purposes of paragraph (a) of the definition
``essential services agreement'' in subsection
(1) includes a position the occupant of which
is required, at any time,
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(a) to perform the duties of the position that
relate to the provision of essential services;
or
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(b) to be available during his or her off-duty
hours to report to work without delay to
perform those duties if required to do so by
the employer.
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