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Public Service Employment Act (S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12, 13 )

Act current to 2024-10-30 and last amended on 2023-07-01. Previous Versions

Public Service Employment Act

S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12, 13

Assented to 2003-11-07

An Act respecting employment in the public service

[Enacted by sections 12 and 13 of chapter 22 of the Statutes of Canada, 2003, in force December 31, 2005, see SI/2005-122.]
Preamble

Recognizing that

the public service has contributed to the building of Canada, and will continue to do so in the future while delivering services of highest quality to the public;

Canada will continue to benefit from a public service that is based on merit and non-partisanship and in which these values are independently safeguarded;

Canada will also continue to gain from a public service that strives for excellence, that is representative of Canada’s diversity and that is able to serve the public with integrity and in their official language of choice;

the public service, whose members are drawn from across the country, reflects a myriad of backgrounds, skills and professions that are a unique resource for Canada;

authority to make appointments to and within the public service has been vested in the Public Service Commission, which can delegate this authority to deputy heads;

those to whom this appointment authority is delegated must exercise it within a framework that ensures that they are accountable for its proper use to the Commission, which in turn is accountable to Parliament;

delegation of staffing authority should be to as low a level as possible within the public service, and should afford public service managers the flexibility necessary to staff, to manage and to lead their personnel to achieve results for Canadians; and

the Government of Canada is committed to an inclusive public service that reflects the diversity of Canada’s population, that embodies linguistic duality and that is characterized by fair, transparent employment practices, respect for employees, effective dialogue, and recourse aimed at resolving appointment issues;

  • 2003, c. 22, s. 12 “Preamble”
  • 2021, c. 23, s. 276

NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Public Service Employment Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

  • 2 (1) The following definitions apply in this Act.

    Board

    Board means the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board referred to in subsection 4(1) of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board Act. (Commission des relations de travail et de l’emploi)

    Commission

    Commission means the Public Service Commission continued by subsection 4(1). (Commission)

    department

    department means

    • (a) an organization named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act;

    • (b) any other organization that is designated by the Governor in Council as a department for the purposes of this Act; or

    • (c) any part of any organization that is designated by the Governor in Council as a department for the purposes of this Act. (ministère)

    deployment

    deployment means the transfer of a person from one position to another in accordance with Part 3. (mutation)

    deputy head

    deputy head

    • (a) in relation to an organization named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act, its deputy minister;

    • (b) in relation to any organization or part of an organization that is designated as a department under this Act, the person that the Governor in Council designates as the deputy head for the purposes of this Act; and

    • (c) in relation to any organization named in Schedule IV or V to the Financial Administration Act to which the Commission has the exclusive authority to make appointments, its chief executive officer or, if there is no chief executive officer, its statutory deputy head or, if there is neither, the person designated by the Governor in Council as its deputy head for the purposes of this Act. (administrateur général)

    employee

    employee means a person employed in that part of the public service to which the Commission has exclusive authority to make appointments. (fonctionnaire)

    employer

    employer means

    • (a) the Treasury Board, in relation to an organization named in Schedule I or IV to the Financial Administration Act; or

    • (b) in relation to a separate agency to which the Commission has exclusive authority to make appointments, that separate agency. (employeur)

    equity-seeking group

    equity-seeking group means a group of persons who are disadvantaged on the basis of one or more prohibited grounds of discrimination within the meaning of the Canadian Human Rights Act. (groupe en quête d’équité)

    external appointment process

    external appointment process means a process for making one or more appointments in which persons may be considered whether or not they are employed in the public service. (processus de nomination externe)

    internal appointment process

    internal appointment process means a process for making one or more appointments in which only persons employed in the public service may be considered. (processus de nomination interne)

    minister

    minister, except in section 131, means any minister referred to in section 4.1 of the Salaries Act and any minister of State referred to in the Ministries and Ministers of State Act. (ministre)

    organization

    organization means any portion of the federal public administration named in Schedule I, IV or V to the Financial Administration Act. (administration)

    public service

    public service means the several positions in or under

    • (a) the departments named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act;

    • (b) the organizations named in Schedule IV to that Act; and

    • (c) the separate agencies named in Schedule V to that Act. (fonction publique)

    separate agency

    separate agency means an organization named in Schedule V to the Financial Administration Act. (organisme distinct)

    statutory deputy head

    statutory deputy head means any officer who, by any Act of Parliament, is or is deemed to be a deputy head or who has, or is deemed to have, the rank of a deputy head. (administrateur général au titre de la loi)

    Tribunal

    Tribunal[Repealed, 2013, c. 40, s. 403]

  • Marginal note:References to deputy head

    (2) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,

    • (a) a reference to a deputy head in relation to an employee shall be construed as a reference to the deputy head of the department or other organization, as the case may be, in which the employee is employed; and

    • (b) a reference to a deputy head in relation to an appointment shall be construed as a reference to the deputy head of the department or other organization, as the case may be, in which the appointment is made.

  • Marginal note:References to occupational groups

    (3) A reference in this Act to an occupational group shall be construed as a reference to a group or subgroup of employees defined by the employer, and a reference to the executive group shall be construed as a reference to an occupational group or subgroup designated by the employer and consisting of management personnel.

  • Marginal note:References to abuse of authority

    (4) For greater certainty, a reference in this Act to abuse of authority shall be construed as including bad faith and personal favouritism.

  • Marginal note:References to error, omission or improper conduct

    (5) A reference in this Act to an error, an omission or improper conduct shall be construed as including an error, an omission or improper conduct that results from a bias or barrier that disadvantages persons who belong to any equity-seeking group.

  • 2003, c. 22, ss. 12 “2”, 271
  • 2005, c. 16, s. 17
  • 2013, c. 40, s. 403
  • 2017, c. 9, s. 48
  • 2021, c. 23, s. 277
Previous Version

Marginal note:Descriptive cross-references

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 the provision referred to, 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.

PART 1Public Service Commission, Deputy Heads and Employer

Commission

Marginal note:Commission continued

  • 4 (1) The Public Service Commission is continued, consisting of a President and two or more other Commissioners.

  • Marginal note:Eligibility

    (2) In order to be eligible to hold office as a Commissioner, a person must be a Canadian citizen within the meaning of the Citizenship Act or a permanent resident within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

  • Marginal note:Full-time or part-time

    (3) The President shall serve on a full-time basis and the other Commissioners on a part-time basis.

  • Marginal note:Other employment or activities

    (4) Commissioners shall not accept or hold any office or employment, or carry on any activity, that is inconsistent with their functions, and the President shall devote the whole of his or her time to the performance of the President’s functions.

  • Marginal note:Appointment of Commissioners

    (5) The President and other Commissioners shall be appointed by the Governor in Council. The appointment of the President shall be made by commission under the Great Seal, after approval by resolution of the Senate and House of Commons.

  • Marginal note:Tenure and term of office

    (6) A Commissioner holds office during good behaviour for a term of seven years, but may be removed by the Governor in Council at any time on address of the Senate and House of Commons.

  • Marginal note:Re-appointment

    (7) A Commissioner, on the expiration of a first or any subsequent term of office, is eligible to be re-appointed for a further term not exceeding seven years.

  • Marginal note:Oath or affirmation

    (8) Before commencing his or her functions, a Commissioner shall take an oath or make a solemn affirmation in the following form before the Clerk of the Privy Council or the person designated by the Clerk:

    I, blank line, do swear (or solemnly affirm) that I will faithfully, truly and impartially, to the best of my judgment, skill and ability, execute and perform the office of (Commissioner or President, as the case may be) of the Public Service Commission. (Add, in the case where an oath is taken, “So help me God” (or name of deity).)

Marginal note:Salaries

  • 5 (1) The Commissioners shall be paid the remuneration determined by the Governor in Council.

  • Marginal note:Expenses

    (2) The Commissioners are entitled to be paid reasonable travel and other expenses incurred by them in the course of their duties while absent from their ordinary place of residence or, in the case of the President, while absent from his or her ordinary place of work.

  • Marginal note:Application of Public Service Superannuation Act

    (3) The President is deemed to be employed in the public service for the purposes of the Public Service Superannuation Act.

  • Marginal note:Application of other Acts

    (4) The Commissioners are deemed to be employed in the federal public administration for the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and regulations made under section 9 of the Aeronautics Act.

Marginal note:President

  • 6 (1) The President is the chief executive officer of the Commission.

  • Marginal note:Residence

    (2) The President shall reside in the National Capital Region as described in the schedule to the National Capital Act or within the distance of it specified by the Governor in Council.

  • Marginal note:Acting President

    (3) If the President is absent or unable to act or if the office of President is vacant, the minister designated under section 23 may authorize a Commissioner or other qualified person to act as President for a period not exceeding sixty days, and the Governor in Council may authorize a Commissioner or other qualified person to act as President for any longer period.

Marginal note:Quorum

  • 7 (1) A majority of the Commissioners constitutes a quorum of the Commission.

  • Marginal note:Vacancy

    (2) A vacancy in the membership of the Commission does not impair the right of the remaining Commissioners to act.

Marginal note:Head office

8 The head office of the Commission shall be in the National Capital Region described in the schedule to the National Capital Act.

Table of Contents

 

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