2008-2009 Annual Report - Letter from the President (09-13)

2009-10-09

I am pleased to provide you with a copy of the Public Service Commission 2008-2009 Annual Report, audit reports of four organizations, namely Infrastructure Canada, Health Canada, Canada Border Services Agency and Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, as well as a follow-up audit of the Office of the Correctional Investigator. These reports were tabled today in Parliament.

We are also releasing three studies, namely:

• Study on the data collection of non-advertised appointment processes;
• Drop-off of employment equity groups in recruitment; and
• Career progression in the federal public service – Temporary versus permanent start-ups.

In addition, we are releasing updates to four previous studies:

• Time to staff in the federal public service – An update;
• Acting Appointments and Subsequent Promotions in the Federal Public Service (Update);
• New indeterminate employees: Who are they? (Update);and
• To what extent do casuals become employed under the Public Service Employment Act? (Update).

All of these documents, as well as the Report on investigations conducted by the Public Service Commission in 2008-2009, are available on our Web site at www.psc-cfp.gc.ca.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent agency reporting to Parliament, mandated to safeguard the integrity of the public service staffing system and the political neutrality of the public service. In addition, the PSC recruits qualified Canadians from across the country.

This year was the third full year of operation under the Public Service Employment Act, which came into force in 2005. Departments and agencies, and the PSC, continued to make progress in implementing the objectives set out in the Act, with significant achievements being made in some areas. However, the PSC is concerned that there are early and important signs that added vigilance is required to ensure that Canadians continue to benefit from a merit-based, non-partisan public service in the years ahead.

Yours sincerely,

Maria Barrados, PhD