The official who had final authority to approve new vaccines in Canada says at no time was she pressured to authorize the COVID-19 shots, even though the prime minister had said vaccination was the only way to go back to normal. “No one ever told me that the prime minister wants this to be done,”…

The federal government has given an updated deal to a public-service union that signed its collective agreement in the fall in order to match deals reached with the Public Service Alliance of Canada during a strike this spring. A spokeswoman for the Treasury Board confirmed today that the agreement for a comptrollership group was adjusted…

The United States has approved more than $42 billion in federal student loan debt forgiveness for more than 615,000 borrowers in the past 18 months as part of a program aimed at getting more people to work in public service jobs, the U.S. Department of Education said this week. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program…

A law enacted in 2015 to reduce federal red tape imposed on Canadians and small businesses has achieved little, says a report by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Released in December, the agency’s “Report on the Internal Review of the Red Tape Reduction Act” states that there is a “disconnect” between what the law…

The federal government should revise the Access to Information (ATI) Act such that vital information that serves public interest can be released without any restrictions unless the release of them would cause undue harm to the country, says Canada’s largest federal public service union. In a submission to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)…

The federal government is launching an external review of the legislation that governs whistleblower protection in the public service. Treasury Board President Mona Fortier is asking a nine-member task force to consider reforms to the federal disclosure process that would strengthen supports for bureaucrats who come forward to report wrongdoing. The review of the Public…

Federal workers are increasingly cynical, skeptical and disillusioned about the idea of reporting wrongdoing in the public service, says a recent survey. That pessimism is more “palpable and widespread” now than it was before the pandemic, and bureaucrats have become more likely to fear reprisals for whistleblowing. Research firm Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc. delivered the…

Commentary Liz Truss, who may well become the next UK Conservative Party leader, has pledged to slash 350 woke jobs from the civil service, claiming such jobs “distract from delivering on the British people’s priorities.” It would take a lot more to rid the Australian government of ideologues working against the priorities of ordinary people….

Commentary Not only is the federal vaccine mandate a gross overreach by the state, but it is also full of holes. Prime Minister Trudeau boldly stated that “this is no time for half measures,” when announcing vaccination requirements for travellers in Canada. Blacklock’s Reporter revealed on Oct. 7 that up to 212,000 federal civil servants…

The Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled details of a major overhaul of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, making it easier for long-time public-sector workers to qualify for student loan debt relief. Congress created the PSLF program in 2007 to encourage college graduates to pursue public service careers. Borrowers who are employed 10 years…