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Chapter 2
A highly delegated staffing system
2.1 Prior to the implementation of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) in December 2005, the Public Service Commission (PSC) had already delegated much of its appointment authority for internal staffing to deputy/agency heads. The PSEA encouraged the PSC to go even further. The Preamble to the Act states that delegation of staffing authority should be given to the lowest level possible within the public service.
2.2 In line with the spirit of the PSEA, in 2005 the PSC maximized the delegation of its appointment and appointment-related authorities to deputy heads. The major changes of the PSEA were related to the delegation of authority for executive staffing as well as external recruitment.
2.3 The formal document by which the PSC delegates its authorities to deputy heads is the Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument (ADAI). The ADAI identifies the authorities, any conditions related to the delegation and sub-delegation of these authorities and the way in which deputy heads will be held accountable for exercising them.
Employees under the Public Service Employment Act
2.4 On March 31, 2009, there were 82 ADAIs in effect between the PSC and deputy heads. The organizations covered by the ADAIs represented a total of 208 947 individuals, including 183 932 in indeterminate positions, 13 171 in specified period (term) positions, 7 162 casual workers and 4 682 students. This represented a growth of 4.5% over the previous year.
2.5 Compared to March 31, 2008, the number of indeterminate employees and the number of students increased by 5.3% and 10.4%, respectively. The number of specified period (term) employees and casual workers decreased by 3.0% and 4.2%, respectively. As of the end of March 2009, the number of casual workers has decreased for the first time in four years.
2.6 It should be noted that the number of employees covered by the ADAIs includes only those employees in organizations for which the PSC has the exclusive authority to make appointments. As of March 31, 2009, approximately 50 000 additional employees were subject to Part 7 of the PSEA, which means that the PSC oversees their political activities but does not have the authority to make appointments. Part 7 of the PSEA applies to deputy heads and chief executive officers of other public service organizations whose enabling legislation provides that the PSEA applies to them, and to separate agencies whose enabling legislation provides that the political activities provisions of the PSEA apply to their employees. This includes the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada; the Canada Revenue Agency; the Parks Canada Agency; the National Film Board of Canada; and the Public Service Staffing Tribunal.
Figure 1 – Public Service Employment Act population by tenure and year
Source: PSC population files
2.7 Notable growth occurred in the Canada Border Services Agency, Correctional Service Canada, Environment Canada, Health Canada and National Defence (public service employees), contributing close to 60% of the population increase over the last year. Please see Table 40 in Appendix 7 for a detailed listing of population changes by organization from March 2008 to March 2009.
Overall public service hiring and staffing activities
2.8 As the public service continues to experience growth, coupled with the retirement of the "baby boomers," the level of staffing activity in the public service continues to increase. This impacts the demands on managers and the human resources community as well as opportunities for Canadians and employees.
2.9 Organizations under the PSEA conducted 126 651 staffing activities in 2008-2009, an increase of 3.7% over the previous fiscal year. Of these staffing activities, 93 705 were appointments to or movement within the public service (78 561 indeterminate and 15 144 specified period appointments). In addition to these appointments, 18 699 casual hires and 14 247 student hires were made in 2008-2009.
2.10 Increases in staffing activity were seen within the public service as well as in hiring from outside the public service. Hiring activity to the public service totalled 56 690 during 2008-2009, an increase of 3.6% from the previous fiscal year.
2.11 The number of new indeterminate hires from outside the public service increased to 12 705 appointments from 10 579 (an increase of 20.1%) and represented 22.4% of all new hires. While the number of student hires increased to 14 247 from 13 600 (4.8%) from the previous year, the number of appointments to term positions and casuals decreased slightly (2.0% and 3.1% respectively).
Figure 2 – Overall public service hiring and staffing activities*
Source: PSC hiring and staffing activities files
*Please see technical notes, Table 31 within Appendix 7.
Hiring activity to the public service by geographic area
2.12 Figure 3 shows the distribution of hiring activity and population figures by geographic area. In 2008-2009, approximately 68% of all hiring activity was in the National Capital Region (NCR), Ontario and Quebec, which is equivalent to the proportion of public service employees in these three areas. In more than half of the provinces, there was an increase in the number of hires compared to the previous fiscal year. The number of employees also increased in most areas.
Figure 3 – Hiring activity to the public service for fiscal year 2008-2009, compared to the number of employees as of March 31, 2009, by geographic area*
Source: PSC hiring and staffing activities files and population files
* Totals include indeterminate, specified term, casual and student hiring activity to the public service and population.
2.13 Hiring activity within and outside the National Capital Region, compared to the number of employees under the Act as of March 2009 — Hiring activity inside the NCR as a proportion of all hiring activity has increased slightly since 2005-2006. Figure 4 shows that the proportion of hiring activity (indeterminate, specified term, casual and students) in 2008-2009 now exceeds the proportion of public service employees in the region as of March 31, 2009 (44.2% compared to 42.9%).
Figure 4 – Hiring activity within and outside the National Capital Region, compared to the number of employees as of March 31, 2009
Source: PSC hiring and staffing activities files and population files
Note: Totals include indeterminate, specified term, casual and student hiring activity to the public service.
2.14 The majority (64%) of indeterminate and term appointments to the public service under the PSEA were in two occupational categories: Administrative and Foreign Service (8 439) and Administrative Support (6 652). Within these two categories, three groups accounted for over 50% of the appointments to the public service: Clerical and Regulatory (6 582), Programme Administration (3 007) and Administrative Services (2 336).
2.15 Of the indeterminate and term appointees to the public service, 70% listed English as their first official language while 30% listed French. Women outnumbered men, accounting for 57% of these appointments. The average age of these appointees was 36.
Executive Group
2.16 As of March 31, 2009, 4 716 individuals occupied indeterminate or specified term positions in the Executive Group (EX-1 to EX-5) in organizations under the PSEA, an increase of 8.2% (359) from March 2008.
- Of the 5 levels in the EX Group, the EX-5 level had the highest rate of increase over the previous year, from 78 to 96 employees (or 23.1%). This increase was due to the staffing of previously vacant positions. The number of individuals at the EX-4 level dropped by three persons (or -1.5%) over the same period. The EX-1 level had grown by 282 (or 12.4%) since March 2008.
| Level | March 2006 | March 2007 | March 2008 | March 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EX-1 | 1 999 | 2 144 | 2 278 | 2 560 |
| EX-2 | 920 | 996 | 1 072 | 1 082 |
| EX-3 | 733 | 728 | 734 | 786 |
| EX-4 | 177 | 172 | 195 | 192 |
| EX-5 | 81 | 81 | 78 | 96 |
| TOTAL | 3 910 | 4 121 | 4 357 | 4 716 |
Source: PSC population files
Note: Totals include indeterminate and specified term positions only.
2.17 Staffing activities to and within the Executive Group by fiscal year and level — The total number of staffing activities in the EX Group in organizations under the PSEA rose steadily over the last four years, from 2 038 in 2005-2006 to 2 490 in 2008-2009. This figure includes appointments to the public service, promotions, lateral and downward movements (including deployments) and acting appointments of four months or more. These activities represented an increase of 6.2% over the previous year.
- In 2008-2009, almost 59% of the staffing activities within the EX Group were concentrated at the EX-1 level, a rate slightly higher than any of the last four years, when the percentage ranged from 50.6% to 58.2%.
- The number of staffing activities at the EX-5 level increased 32.4% from the previous year, from 34 in 2007-2008 to 45 in 2008-2009.
- Of the 2 490 EX appointments, 116 were appointments to the public service from the general public, casual employment or federal agencies not under the PSEA.
Figure 5 – Staffing activities to and within the Executive Group by fiscal year and level
Source: PSC hiring and staffing activities files
2.18 In 2008-2009, there were 662 EX acting appointments (of four months or more) in organizations under the PSEA. This is a decrease of 16.2% over the previous year. The number of promotions within the EX Group increased by 187 in 2008-2009, or 19.7% over the previous year.
| Activity | 2005-2006 | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | % change (over last year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 2 038 | 2 265 | 2 345 | 2 490 | 6.2% |
| Appointments to the public service | 63 | 89 | 109 | 116 | 6.4% |
| Promotions | 677 | 856 | 950 | 1 137 | 19.7% |
| Lateral and downward movements1 | 544 | 553 | 496 | 575 | 15.9% |
| Acting appointments | 7542 | 767 | 790 | 662 | -16.2% |
Source: PSC hiring and staffing activities files
1 Lateral and downward movements include deployments. As the type of appointment process is not captured by the pay system, it is not possible to differentiate between lateral and downward appointments and deployments.
2 This number has been adjusted since it was first reported as 752 in the 2005-2006 Annual Report.
2.19 In 2008-2009, 1 926 of the 2 490 appointments to and within the EX Group (77.3%) in organizations under the PSEA were "bilingual imperative" processes. Processes identified as bilingual imperative mean that appointees must meet the language requirements of the position when the offer is made.
2.20 The steady increase in the percentage of bilingual imperative appointments made over the last four years is a continued result of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Directive on the Staffing of Bilingual Positions, which came into effect in April 2004.
2.21 Among all five levels of the EX Group, the EX-4 level had the highest percentage of bilingual imperative appointments, with 69 appointments (or 86.2%) being staffed as bilingual imperative.
| 2005-2006 | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | %* | No. | %* | No. | %* | No. | %* | |
| EX-1 | 674 | 65.4 | 865 | 65.6 | 880 | 68.8 | 1 092 | 74.8 |
| EX-2 | 338 | 64.6 | 363 | 69.5 | 418 | 72.6 | 408 | 76.7 |
| EX-3 | 284 | 79.3 | 240 | 79.5 | 245 | 70.8 | 319 | 85.5 |
| EX-4 | 60 | 72.3 | 68 | 85.0 | 80 | 73.4 | 69 | 86.2 |
| EX-5 | 35 | 81.4 | 38 | 86.3 | 30 | 88.2 | 38 | 84.4 |
| Sub-total bilingual imperative appointments |
1 391 | 68.2 | 1 574 | 69.5 | 1 653 | 70.5 | 1 926 | 77.3 |
| TOTAL | 2 038 | 2 265 | 2 345 | 2 490 | ||||
Source: PSC hiring and staffing activities files
*Percentages are calculated on the total of EX appointments by level
Official languages
2.22 PSC appointment data demonstrate that there are many opportunities for unilingual and bilingual Canadians to join the public service. Table 4 indicates the number of appointments to the public service, in organizations under the PSEA, by the language requirements of the position.
2.23 Of the 23 744 appointments to the public service, 17 009 (71.6%) were staffed as unilingual (e.g. English or French essential, French essential or English essential) and 6 393 (26.9%) were staffed as bilingual imperative.
2.24 However, the table shows that the proportion of appointments by the language requirement of the position varies depending on whether the appointment was indeterminate or for a specified period. Bilingual imperative appointments represented 34.2% of all indeterminate appointments, compared to 18.5% of all specified period appointments.
| Language requirements of position |
Total | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indeterminate | Specified term | |||||
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| Bilingual imperative | 4 351 | 34.2 | 2 042 | 18.5 | 6 393 | 26.9 |
| Bilingual non-imperative | 246 | 1.9 | 462 | 0.4 | 292 | 1.2 |
| English essential | 6 662 | 52.4 | 6 565 | 59.5 | 13 227 | 55.7 |
| French essential | 324 | 2.6 | 1 179 | 10.7 | 1 503 | 6.3 |
| English or French essential | 1 084 | 8.5 | 1 195 | 10.8 | 2 279 | 9.6 |
| Total1 | 12 705 | 100.0 | 11 039 | 100.0 | 23 744 | 100.0 |
Source: PSC hiring and staffing activities files
1 Totals include unknown language requirements. The percentages are calculated based on the sum of all components, known and unknown.
2 These records were incorrectly coded by organizations in the Public Works and Government Services pay system. They should have been coded as bilingual imperative.
2.25 Appointments to the public service by first official language — PSC statistics demonstrate that there are significant opportunities for both Anglophone and Francophone Canadians. In 2008-2009, 70.1% of persons appointed to the public service in organizations under the PSEA indicated English as their first official language, whereas 29.9% indicated French. These percentages have remained relatively unchanged over the past four years.
| Region | First official language group |
2005-2006 | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | ||
| Within the NCR | Anglophone | 3 640 | 63.2 | 4 266 | 60.4 | 5 428 | 60.3 | 6 415 | 61.8 |
| Francophone | 2 124 | 36.8 | 2 793 | 39.6 | 3 578 | 39.7 | 3 966 | 38.2 | |
| Subtotal | 5 764 | 100.0 | 7 059 | 100.0 | 9 006 | 100.0 | 10 381 | 100.0 | |
| Outside the NCR | Anglophone | 6 998 | 75.4 | 8 212 | 78.3 | 9 879 | 77.9 | 10 145 | 76.6 |
| Francophone | 2 287 | 24.6 | 2 275 | 21.7 | 2 806 | 22.1 | 3 104 | 23.4 | |
| Subtotal | 9 285 | 100.0 | 10 487 | 100.0 | 12 685 | 100.0 | 13 249 | 100.0 | |
| TOTAL | 15 178 | 17 699 | 21 838 | 23 744 | |||||
Source: PSC hiring and staffing activities files
1 The total includes unknown values. Percentages use the known first official language as the denominator.
2.26 Appointments to the public service by first official language group for bilingual imperative positions only — The number of Anglophones and Francophones being appointed to bilingual imperative positions in organizations under the PSEA has also remained stable over the past four years, with 35.2% of the appointees being Anglophone and 64.8% being Francophone.
Figure 6 – Appointments to the public service by first official language group for bilingual imperative appointments only*
Source: PSC hiring and staffing activities files
*Please see technical notes, Table 37 in Appendix 7.
Public Service Official Languages Exclusion Approval Order
2.27 Under the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Directive on the Staffing of Bilingual Positions, positions may be staffed on a non-imperative basis under specific circumstances. The Public Service Official Languages Exclusion Approval Order (Order) and the Public Service Official Languages Appointment Regulations (the Regulations) are the regulatory instruments whereby a public servant may be exempt for up to two years from the obligation to meet the language requirements of their position, if it was staffed on a non-imperative basis.
2.28 The 1981 Order — Until December 31, 2005, the PSC or authorized deputy heads could, at their discretion, extend the initial two-year exemption period in which persons had agreed to become bilingual. However, this Order did not specify the duration or circumstances of the extensions.
2.29 The new Regulations, which went into effect on December 31, 2005, specify that the initial exemption period may be extended for one or more additional periods of not more than two years in total, for the reasons set out in the Regulations. Note that official language proficiency is an essential qualification that must be met, unless there is an exclusion approved under the Order.
2.30 Of the 62 878 indeterminate appointments made to and within organizations under the PSEA in 2008-2009 (excluding acting appointments), 2 160 (3.4%) were appointments resulting from a bilingual non-imperative process.
2.31 The two-year exemption period of the Order applies to 403 of these appointments, for which the incumbents did not meet the language requirements of their positions at the time of appointment. These incumbents are entitled to language training and must meet the language requirements within two years of their appointment.
2.32 The percentage of non-imperative appointments decreased in 2008-2009, although the number of employees not meeting the language requirements on appointment has increased. These are the cases that the PSC monitors to ensure compliance with the Order.
| Fiscal year | Indeterminate appointments to bilingual positions | Non-imperative appointments (% of bilingual positions) |
Employees not meeting the requirements upon appointment (% of non-imperative appointments) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-2006 | 19 793 | 2 180 (11.0%) | 308 (14.1%) |
| 2006-2007 | 22 744 | 2 294 (10.1%) | 354 (15.4%) |
| 2007-2008 | 26 182 | 2 054 (7.8%) | 320 (15.6%) |
| 2008-2009 | 30 318 | 2 160 (7.1%) | 403 (18.7%) |
Source: PSC hiring and staffing activities files, excluding acting appointments
2.33 Each year, organizations are required to report instances in which employees who were appointed on a non-imperative basis still do not meet the language requirements of their position after the expiry of the initial two-year exemption period. On March 31, 2009, there were 311 employees whose initial two-year period had expired and who did not meet the language requirements of their position.
2.34 Trend towards compliance — If an exemption expires before the incumbent meets the language requirements of their position, it must be extended in accordance with the provisions of the Order. In the past, the PSC noted that organizations did not always ensure that exemptions were extended to keep them compliant with the provisions of the Order.
2.35 Since March 31, 2005, a steady decrease has been noted in the number of cases exceeding two years that are not compliant with the Order or its Regulations. On March 31, 2009, there were 69 such cases, whereas on March 31, 2005, there were 892. The reduction in the number of cases can be attributed to the PSC's monitoring and constant efforts to enhance the awareness of organizations and the increased vigilance of deputy heads.
Figure 7 – Number of non-compliant situations as of March 31 of each year
Source: PSC files on official languages
2.36 In its 2007-2008 Annual Report, the PSC identified organizations that had cases where the exemption period exceeded four years. In 2008-2009, the PSC asked the organizations to indicate the measures they had adopted to put an end to extensions granted under the old Order. Most organizations will be performing case-by-case follow-ups.