MINUTES OF THE NUMCC MEETING BETWEEN THE CRA AND THE AFS GROUP - April 23, 2024

MINUTES OF THE NATIONAL UNION-MANAGEMENT CONSULTATION COMMITTEE

(NUMCC) MEETING BETWEEN THE CANADA REVENUE AGENCY (CRA) AND

THE AUDIT, FINANCIAL AND SCIENTIFIC (AFS) GROUP

April 23, 2024 

 

OPENING REMARKS

The Commissioner welcomed everyone to the meeting and began by acknowledging the Indigenous Peoples of all the lands on which we reside. He said that this is an important meeting and that he’s happy that participants were able to meet in person. He added that the meeting provides a valuable forum for the Union-Management Approach (UMA) and contributes to solidifying the dialogue between Management and the AFS Group. He invited Management and the AFS Group to participate and collaborate during the discussions with the aim to find workable solutions and present innovative ideas, while recognizing that they may not agree on all points.

The Commissioner began by congratulating Maryse Lavigne who recently joined the Agency and was appointed as the new regional Assistant Commissioner of the Québec Region. He also congratulated Chantal Tourigny on her appointment as the regional Assistant Commissioner of the Atlantic Region.

 

He reiterated his congratulations on the new collective agreement signed on December 14, 2023 and acknowledged the tremendous efforts of both bargaining teams for working together in an efficient and constructive manner. He thanked the Human Resources Branch (HRB) team for the rapid and smooth implementation of the agreement following its ratification.

 

He further mentioned the ongoing discussions between the Joint CRA-AFS Consultation Committee that was created last summer. He was also pleased to note the progress on the terms of reference for the review panel related to the application of the Employer's Directive on Virtual Work Arrangements and the CRA's Requirement for on-site presence.

 

The Commissioner recognized that the budget is tighter this year than it has been in previous years. Nonetheless, because of the Annual Resource Alignment Process (ARAP) exercise that helped the organization to finalize its Refocussing Government Spending (RGS), he believes that the Agency has the capacity to deal with the financial constraints. He highlighted that the RGS process went well and, therefore, he does not expect major impacts on operations, programs and employees. Furthermore, there should not be any impact on service to Canadians as a result of the RGS process.

 

On the matter of the 2023 CRA Charitable Campaign, the Commissioner highlighted that it was again a great success with the raising of an impressive sum of $3,615,202.

 

In terms of recognition, he mentioned that he was happy to share that the CRA has been selected as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers, for the third consecutive year. The Agency has also been selected as one of Canada’s Top employers for Young People and has once again been recognized as one of the National Capital Region's Top Employers.

 

The President, AFS Group, began by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is the traditional unceded territories of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People. For those of us joining on a virtual platform, he acknowledged the importance of the land, which we all call home. We do this to reaffirm our commitment and responsibility in improving relationships between nations and to improve our own understanding of local Indigenous peoples and their cultures.

 

He welcomed the participants to the first NUMCC meeting of 2024. He said that the union is glad to be once again able to meet in person.

 

He indicated that since the last meeting, the new collective agreement had been ratified. He added that its implementation had been proceeding well, and that the union is working with CRA’s negotiations and compensation teams to resolve the remaining issues.

 

The President from the AFS Group, pointed out what he called ‘the black cloud’, in reference to another round of government restraints. He believes that these restraints directly affect AFS Group members’ careers. He nevertheless underlined the importance, more than ever, of the openness of management to consult with the union.

 

He said that the national consultation team is unchanged since the last meeting.

 

He ended his remarks by saying that the AFS Group is looking forward to discussing with senior CRA management a number of important issues for AFS members.

 

 

1. Status of the implementation of the PIPSC-AFS Group agreement and update on AFS contract revisions

 

The Assistant Commissioner, Human Resources Branch (AC, HRB), provided a status update on the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada for the Audit, Financial and Scientific (PIPSC-AFS Group) implementation process of the collective agreement.

 

The AC, HRB, indicated that she was pleased that a new collective agreement was signed between the CRA and the PIPSC-AFS Group on December 14, 2023. The agreement that was reached was a result of the hard work and dedication of both parties working diligently, and in the true spirit of interest-based negotiations to find understanding and common ground. She shared that since the signing of the agreement, the CRA has been working with all partners, including the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), to implement the provisions of the collective agreement.

 

She highlighted the considerable progress that has been made on the implementation of the new contract. Specifically:

• The new AFS Group rates of pay were implemented to reflect on the March 13, 2024, pay.
• The vast majority of AFS Group members received their retroactive payments two weeks later on March 27, 2024.
• Eligible AFS Group members were also paid the $2,500 lump sum allowance on March 13, 2024.

She also outlined the new leave provisions for Traditional Indigenous Practices that were implemented in the Corporate Administrative Systems (CAS). She informed that the Compensation Client Service Centre was processing a small number of cases that require manual review, and that the work is expected to be completed prior to the end of the 180-day implementation period.

 

The AC, HRB, mentioned the updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with respect to classification matters included in the new agreement. The MOU indicates that the Employer will provide updates to the union regarding classification modernization within six months of signing the agreement. Initial discussions between the parties took place during a meeting on March 19, 2024. In addition, another updated MOU with respect to flexible working arrangements is included in the new agreement.

 

In this broad perspective of implementing the new agreement, she emphasized that the union and management have first agreed to extend the existing Quebec Region Flexible Hours Guidelines and Flex System to a staggered national implementation starting with the Atlantic Region, followed by the Western Region and finally the Headquarters and Ontario Regions. This staggered implementation is to be completed within 15 months of implementation of the collective agreement. The parties also agreed to proceed with a separate six (6) month pilot project in the Quebec Region for field workers. She explained that the Quebec regional working group first met in February 2024 to review the draft project plan and initiate discussions regarding the implementation of the Flex system for field workers, and further met a second time in early April 2024 to determine the next steps.

 

As the Agency is working on finalizing the details of this agreement and moving forward, the AC, HRB concluded that the CRA will continue to foster positive and constructive union-management relations and work diligently with the union to identify and resolve issues.

 

The President, AFS Group, commented that significant progress has been made towards the implementation of the new collective agreement, and that it has been proceeding very smoothly. He acknowledged that AFS members’ wage rates have been adjusted and most retroactive salary revisions have been paid out.

 

However, he expressed the union’s disappointment that nothing was done to assist AFS Group members on long-term leave from the consequences of not receiving their lump sum payments, while on income loss reduction programs, such as Employment Insurance or long-term disability. The President, AFS Group, explained that the union’s members were negatively impacted for reasons beyond their control because of their health or family status. He also said that it is unfortunate that management’s insistence on avoiding duplication of lump sum payments resulted in some represented employees getting no lump sum payment at all.

 

He noted that despite the delays in updating time codes which caused a lot of confusion at the field level, the new codes have since been implemented and most concerns have been resolved. The union is hoping that the issue around making up unpaid leave for indigenous practices will soon be resolved.

 

He highlighted that the AFS Group was the first PIPSC group to have achieved full gender inclusivity in its collective agreement language. He reminded that the AFS Group and the Agency worked on this together for several rounds of bargaining, and that significant work was done this last round to complete the task. He thanked the PIPSC staff and the CRA’s Negotiations team for getting this done. He commented that this is an important accomplishment that should be recognized.

 

The President, AFS Group, would also like to see delays over the publishing of the new agreement and the distribution of hard copies to the union’s stewards resolved soon.

 

He further shared that the union and the Agency were working to implement the provisions of the Letter of Agreement on Virtual Work Arrangements (VWA).

 

He stressed that the union’s professional members deserve better pay raises and they certainly deserve to have their purchasing power maintained. This is paramount to the Agency being able to recruit and retain the employees needed for the Agency to thrive and serve Canadians in the future.

 

Despite being on opposite sides of the negotiation table, the President, AFS Group, thanked Marc Bellavance and his team for working with the union to reach the new collective agreement. He wished Marc all the best on his new assignment. In the same vein, he thanked the PIPSC-AFS negotiator, Vance Coulas, and the union’s team for all of their preparation and hard work towards reaching the agreement.

 

 

2. Controlled access to online generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) websites

 

The Director General, Research and Innovation Lab Directorate, Service, Innovation and Integration Branch (DG, RILD, SIIB) provided a follow-up on the implementation of controlled access to online Gen AI at the Agency.

 

She opened the subject by mentioning that artificial intelligence has been a hot topic within the agency in the past years. She recognized SIIB’s role in the development and maintenance of AI as well recognizing the crucial role of other branches. She then explained that Gen AI has become the term for a set of applications, models, and processes designed to automatically produce content across a range of different media (such as text, images, audio, video, or a combination of them) in response to prompts provided by a user, typically in the form of text. She reminded that outputs from online Gen AI are just sophisticated reproductions of training data that is typically sourced from the Internet, and that this can lead to potential bias, both of the user and the AI generated output.

 

The DG, RILD, SIIB, warned to be more cautious with the use of the Gen AI, because if not used correctly, it will have impacts on the Agency and it can be damaging to the trust that Canadians place in the CRA. To prevent this situation from happening, the Agency implemented controlled access to all online Gen AI tools on January 15, 2024. She further explained that since there are a lot of unknowns around this new tool, the Agency opted to take a cautious approach and ensure organizational readiness through the controlled access to all online Gen AI. This is supported by communications, an awareness and educational campaign as well as other activities. She said that measures have been implemented reminding users about the risks and their responsibilities. To date, over 600 employees have requested exemptions to the controlled access.

 

The DG, RILD, SIIB, indicated that Access controls do not impact use of Gen AI tools for sanctioned business use (project-based). To increase Agency readiness to responsibly adopt Gen AI tools, she listed the following seven work streams being undertaken by an internal Tiger Team:

• Access Controls: Including monitoring and reporting on the number of exceptions approved and rejected. Categorizing and understanding the reasons for all exception requests through our existing Customized Internet Access system.
• Risk Assessment: A risk register has been developed and will be used to score identified risks and establish whether mitigation plans will be required for those risks.
• Policy instruments improvements: Guidelines for Employee Use outlines responsible use of online Gen AI will flow through the official approval mechanisms for corporate policy instruments.
• Education and Awareness Campaign:
  • To source and, if necessary, create resources for education and awareness surrounding responsible use of online Gen AI for employees working in the area.
  • Because this is new and because people do not necessarily understand, there are some courses available provided by the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS0 such as DDN321 and DDN243 related to Gen AI and ethics, in addition to internal online resources on the AI Hub which acts as a central repository for employee AI resources at the Agency.
• Communications Strategy: This stream has been mostly wrapped up as the majority of the work was completed prior to the implementation of controlled access.
• Popup Action Plan: A popup was added to online Gen AI sites for all who have been granted access, reminding users of their responsibilities when using these tools.
• Adoption Strategy: Developing a framework to prioritize use cases and building a strategy for how to adopt Gen AI across the Agency.

She shared that the Agency has recently completed a callout for Tiger Team membership to increase branch representation and broaden the team’s expertise. She further informed that through regular consultations with other government departments, the CRA learned that the Canada Border Services Agency has implemented the same access controls that the CRA has for online Gen AI, and Statistics Canada has reached out to the CRA to learn more about its access controls.

 

The DG, RILD SIIB, concluded that the Gen AI space continues to expand and change rapidly. For example, within 4 months of the Treasury Board Secretariat releasing their guidelines on Gen AI, they have already revised and republished their direction. She noted that the CRA is carefully monitoring these changes and agilely continuing to develop its understanding of the risks as well as the benefits and ensuring that employees have the necessary support/resources for how to use Gen AI responsibly.

 

The Commissioner believes that this is an area that has great potential for the Agency in terms of making decisions. CRA will continue to look at opportunities where AI could be further developed while taking a prude approach. Finally, the Commissioner shared feeling comfortable with the Agency’s current use of AI.

The President, AFS Group, thanked the DG, RILD, SIIB, for the update, and then shared that the union anticipates that AI will be an increasingly important issue for the union going forward, and that they will raise questions and concerns to Management as they come. He added that AI, and employee monitoring software, will be important issues for the union to address in the next round of bargaining.

 

The NCR-IT Region AFS Representative, asked whether the Gen AI can be used to target non-compliant taxpayers and ultimately enhance tax compliance.

 

The DG, RILD, SIIB, responded that Gen AI is not optimal as a predictive analytics tool; however, there are several other types of AI that the Agency is using to inform compliance programming decisions. As Gen AI continues to evolve, the agency will consider the possibility of expanding its use to several areas including consideration of tax compliance.

 

 

3. People Strategy

 

In the introduction of the topic, the Commissioner said that the Agency is doing well in terms of diversity and inclusion, as part of People Strategy, but recognized that there are still miles to travel to fully include diversity. The AC, HRB, provided an update on the Agency People Strategy.

She mentioned that the pursuit of a People Strategy for the Agency is one of HRB top priorities. She believes people are at the heart of strong organizations. She recalled having shared the initial vision of the Strategy in the materials in advance of the annual Workforce Planning Advisory Committee meeting in September of 2023, to which both unions were invited. She explained that the vision for the Agency is one that nurtures a spirit of exploration, collaboration, and inclusion. One that leverages people, data, technology, and workplace flexibilities to facilitate change, foster organizational resilience, and support employee growth.

 

The AC, HRB, pointed out that the vision was developed to look at the current state, or the diagnostic, to find out the gaps in terms of what is working well, and identifying what isn’t working and needs to change, before building a strategy or implementing solutions. She shared that employees across the Agency engaged in conversations to provide their thoughts on the People Strategy. Discussions also took place at management level, and consultations were held with external stakeholders in the HR Community.

 

The diagnostic revealed that the CRA’s foundation is strong, yet adapting and evolving in response to a dynamic external and internal environment is imperative to ensure continued relevance and success. What was heard from employees is that putting people first works; that People First is well understood in serving Canadians. The diagnostic highlights the fact that employees have noticed that focusing on service to clients means improved outcomes.

 

The AC, HRB, detailed the four founding elements of the diagnostic:

• Change management: For organizations to remain relevant, embracing change is both inevitable and necessary.
• Effective skills management: Ensuring employees have the right skills for their jobs will be a key factor in supporting the agency’s priority to nurture a high-performing, diverse, and inclusive workforce. Skills management includes not just attracting, developing, and retaining talent in a highly competitive job market, but also ensuring technical capacity to deliver programs.
• A culture of continuous feedback: Regular feedback enhances employee engagement and satisfaction, identifies areas for improvement, supports employee development, and fosters communication, transparency, retention, and skills management. Ensuring that a proper process for feedback is in place is key to the success of our strategy. Feedback loops touch in inclusion, diversity and feeling valued and a sense of belonging. The organization should be able to use the information that comes from employees much faster to implement the desired changes.
• Leadership: Over time, the evolving landscape of leadership responsibilities has significantly heightened the demands on managers. They are expected to adapt swiftly, while upholding leadership skill sets amidst growing responsibilities. This has led to a situation where managers are struggling to meet these ever-increasing expectations. The AC, HRB, recognized that there might be situations where managers are left by themselves. There might also be occasions where they demand more management training because they need clarity on what is expected of them, what to prioritize, what decisions are within their level of authority and how they are supported in making those decisions. She added that the diagnosis reveals that the leadership aspect is going quite well in the Agency but the basic management skills may need to be reinforced.

The AC, HRB, concluded by saying that she is hopeful to have a final draft of the People Strategy ready by June 2024, and that she will continue to keep the unions apprised of the progress.

 

The President, AFS Group, thanked the AC, HRB, for the update, and he is looking forward to meeting with her in the upcoming months to discuss this strategy.

 

 

4. GC Cloud Strategy update

 

The Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Information Technology Branch (DAC, ITB) provided an update on the impacts of the GC Cloud Strategy at the Agency.

 

The DAC, ITB, said that the objective of the update is to share a brief summary of the changes to the GC Cloud Strategy and the approach taken to position the Agency. He reminded that the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Office of the Chief Information Officer (TBS, OCIO) and Shared Services Canada (SSC) announced changes to the Cloud Computing Strategy for the Government of Canada on November 3, 2023. The new strategy aims to make improvements in 3 key areas:

• Financing model
• Governance model
• Procurement model.

He explained that SSC would centrally manage all funding for application hosting, whether for the cloud or on-premises. Application hosting will be governed by the TBS, OCIO, until the departments and agencies have demonstrated maturity in the field. Larger, longer-term contracts will be established to reduce purchasing risks. He added that this will also drive changes to the way the Agency operates in the cloud, and that any potential impact on employees will be considered during the planning process.

 

The DAC, ITB, shared that the TBS, OCIO and SSC are starting mobilization activities with departments and agencies in the form of workshops and working groups. ITB will have a representative for each of the working groups. In response to this announcement, ITB has launched cross-functional working groups, with leads identified for the following areas of work:

• Procurement: The team will develop, among other things, minimum viable requirements, an interim approach for non-contract/service order workloads, and solicitation strategies.
• Finance: The team will contribute to the funding model, prepare necessary recommendations for the Resource Management Committee, and influence the interim approach established by SSC.
• Communication: The team will develop a Communications Plan and a Change Management Plan including tactical activities to support the people's side of change.
• Operating model: The team will analyze and evaluate the operating model to develop an enterprise-wide “GC/CRA cloud operations concept”. This concept will be based on various cloud consumer personas including roles, responsibilities and team interactions.
• Projects and cloud suitability criteria: The team will, among other things, review and analyze the impacts on CRA projects based on provisional processes and procedures and the final state. The team will also develop the risk/issue and mitigation log, and participate in defining cloud suitability criteria.

He underlined that the objectives of the working groups are not only to evaluate the impacts of the announcements on the Agency but to prepare recommendations to influence upcoming decisions.

 

To manage risks and problems, ensure good decision-making and establish an escalation mechanism with senior management, the DAC, ITB, informed that the Branch developed a new DG committee and a new governance framework. This was launched on January 18^th, 2024, to inform stakeholders of the way forward and interim states.

 

He concluded by indicating that although some activities have started in all streams, the majority of activities are in the early stages.

 

The NCR-IT Region AFS Representative, commented that transitioning from the current system to a cloud-based system could introduce additional complexity for AFS members, potentially limiting their access due to geographical constraints or system design considerations.

 

According to the Commissioner, before implementing changes, the Agency scrutinizes them to ensure there are no impacts on the organization.

 

The President, AFS Group, thanked the DAC, ITB for the update. He looks forward to receiving more information, as well as further discussing the Agency’s GC Cloud Strategy after this meeting, stressing a particular interest in any impacts on AFS members.

 

 

5. Employee transfers

 

The President, AFS Group, expressed the union’s concern about the period of time it takes to onboard employees transferred from other federal government departments and agencies. He emphasized that the delays in the Agency getting compensation files from the pay centre appear to be a minimum of two years, which for this to be the service standard, is unacceptable. As a result of this, it means that they are not paid the CRA-AFS wages, overtime is not paid, and access to leave reports is restricted. He added that the Agency does have a work around for leave, as they will forward an amount that complies with a member’s years of service. However, amounts in leave banks are not accessible.

 

He mentioned understanding that the Agency is handcuffed by the Treasury Board but shared that it is still the Agency’s responsibility to ensure that the collective agreement is adhered to. He added that it is also CRA’s responsibility to ensure that all leave provisions are properly complied with and that proper pay is paid to the member, in a reasonable amount of time. He insisted that two plus years is not reasonable.

 

The President, AFS Group, suggested that the Agency requests a screenshot of leave balances from the new member when transferring from the core, and forward amounts equal to those balances, or that the member can estimate what they had in the balance. If they used more than actual, then they would go into a negative amount when the Agency eventually gets the file from the core. In that same vein, the Agency should be able to pay overtime by estimating what the member’s pay rate should be. Any adjustments from the estimates to the actual can be made after receiving the file from the core.

 

He acknowledged that this may create a situation where a member could be in the negative when final adjustments are made, but it should be more important to the Agency to uphold their legal obligation of properly paying their employees. He further objected to the fact that the AFS members are underpaid and that proper leave is not provided for two years or more, believing that any overpayments can be recovered from the first available funds.

 

The AC, HRB, explained that due to the way the Phoenix Pay System works, CRA is not able to access pay accounts for transferring employees until the former department processes their transfer out. However, the Agency regularly escalates transfers with the Pay Centre when the delays become unreasonable or when there are other individual factors that warrant escalation. She shared that the CRA has made changes to the Corporate Administrative System that allow employees with a pending transfer to key timesheets and obtain system accesses required for their jobs. While recognizing that there are still many limitations related to processing pay transactions for affected employees such as the inability to process change in hours, acting appointments or any other pay-related actions until the transfer is completed. She highlighted that the Agency continuously raises this issue with PSPC and The Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer (OCHRO) and is looking for options to lessen the impacts on employees.

 

The AC, HRB, mentioned the option to alleviate the inability to access accrued leave that is allowing employees to provide a personal copy of their leave report from their former department, which could be used to update their leave balances at the CRA. In other words, this option would allow employees to start using their leave balances until the transfer is completed. Once the transfer is completed and the Agency has the leave report from the former department, proper adjustments can be made, as required. She informed that this process is under review for feasibility.

 

She concluded by saying that the Agency will continue to escalate the transfer issue with PSPC in hopes of improving the overall process and to reduce delays.

 

The President, AFS Group, stated understanding that the blame does not simply lay on the Agency, however, two years or more is not acceptable. He added that any other employer would be expected to meet basic standards to correctly pay employees and provide correct leave accrual balances. He urged the Agency to do more.

 

The Commissioner responded that despite the challenges, the Agency does better than other departments and agencies in the Public Service and will continue, recognizing that employees should not be penalized by the pay system. He concluded by indicating that the Agency recognizes the issue.

 

 

6. New functional program  

 

The Assistant Commissioner, Compliance Programs Branch (AC, CPB) provided an overview of the new Platform Economy Compliance Program.

 

The AC, CPB, started by reminding that in recent years, especially with the occurrence of the pandemic, there has been a rise in the number of taxpayers using online platforms to earn or supplement their income, as business models were adapted or re-imagined across all industry sectors. This increase has unavoidably been accompanied by a parallel rise in compliance-related challenges, as taxpayers using platforms often belong to groups with less experience and knowledge with respect to their tax obligations. As a result, and in keeping with its people-first philosophy, she shared that the Agency adopted an education-first approach using various compliance tools to improve compliance in both Income Tax and GST/HST in the Platform Economy. She informed that the Platform Economy Compliance Program was officially launched on April 1^st, 2024, and indicated that the objective of the Program is to act as a center of expertise to address issues related to the platform economy and to support auditors in their compliance activities.

 

The AC, CPB, indicated that in 2024, a total of 13 AU-01 dedicated auditors are being allocated nationally to address high-risk non-compliance cases in the platform economy. These auditors will work on national workload. This will primarily be a virtual workload, with possible field visits. She explained that these specialized platform economy audit teams will be concentrated in specific Tax Services Offices in Regions across the country to promote the development of expertise and the sharing of knowledge and information. Training sessions for new auditors began in March 2024 and focused primarily on specific tax elements faced by platforms and their participants who carry out activities on the platforms. She further provided some details on the auditors’ training saying that they will be trained on the use of soft skills to better prepare them when interacting with taxpayers. She added that following these initial training sessions, the auditors will receive additional support through ongoing collaboration between Headquarters and the Regions. The functional program team will continue to provide support through awareness raising, additional training, one-on-one assistance on specific cases, and regular publications and/or updates of specialized reference materials.

 

The President, AFS Group, commented that the union was not able to prepare for this topic as this is the first time that management has brought this item to the committee agenda. The union anticipates having follow up questions after the meeting.

 

The Toronto Region AFS Representative asked if management had considered assigning AU02s and AU03s in addition to the 13 AU01s to address high-risk non-compliance cases in the platform economy, given they are more experienced and have a more comprehensive use of soft skills.

 

In her response, the AC, CPB, said that she is unsure whether the AU02s and AU03s have been considered. She shared that what led to the choice of AU01s is the nature of the file, in the sense that the Branch does not anticipate the complexity of the program to be high. Nevertheless, she committed to take the question back to seek additional information and will share with the union later. 

 

The Commissioner commented that it is important to keep the dialogue open and he is looking forward to future discussions on the topic.

 

Commitment: The AC, CPB, committed to look at the question raised by the Toronto Region AFS Representative, regarding whether the AU02s and AU03s have been considered to address high-risk non-compliance cases in the platform economy.

 

 

7. Return to office on-site presence and Virtual Work Arrangements

 

The AFS Group requested a discussion/update on the Virtual Work Arrangements review panel and joint consultation committee and whether there are any planned changes to on-site presence requirements.

 

The President, AFS Group, opened the subject stating that the review panel will be a forum for the union and management to jointly review grievances filed against decisions, taken under management’s virtual work arrangements directive. He added that this is a voluntary process whereby, after the third level, grievances may be considered, and recommendations made to the Commissioner. He said that to date, management has disregarded the union’s concerns and feedback in finalizing the terms of reference. He further underlined that this is supposed to be a joint committee, not one imposed by management. He requested that management cooperate as intended in the spirit of the letter of agreement signed by both parties as there are cases waiting to be heard.

 

Before passing it over to the Secretary and CS National Consultation Representative, the President, AFS Group, shared that so far, the work of the joint consultation committee has been positive.

 

The Secretary and CS National Consultation Representative provided her update on the work at the joint consultation committee. More specifically, the review of the directive, and the eventual signature of the final draft of the Terms of Reference at the meeting scheduled for April 24, 2024. She further commented that now that the groundwork has been done, the union is looking forward to continuing the consultation process. She stressed the importance of the work/life balance and job satisfaction for union members. She added that she hoped that management will consult with the union and make improvements to the requirements for on-site presence.

 

According to the President, AFS Group, employees have suffered under the Agency’s requirement for on-site presence, which he qualified as an arbitrary decision. He shared the results of the most recent survey. He said that the survey revealed that 60% of respondents said that their satisfaction level had changed since the requirement for on-site presence was implemented. Of those employees, a predictable 93% indicated that they are less satisfied because they prefer:

• To telework full-time (80%);
• To have the flexibility of when they work form a CRA workplace (42%); or
• To have the flexibility to choose which CRA workplace they work from (14%)

He stated that these options were arbitrarily and without purpose removed by the return to office dictate.

 

Based on the results of the survey presented by the President, AFS Group, 48% of the respondents reported that their stress level is worse now compared to before the Agency announced the requirement for on-site presence. According to the survey, the following top three aspects of the hybrid work model are causing stress:

• The commute (83%)
• Transporting work and personal items (60%)
• Not having work-life balance (53%).

The President, AFS Group, used the results of the survey to explain why the Agency is no longer a top 100 employer in Canada. From his perspective, the solution for the Agency to remain a desirable workplace is through the People First approach. He believes that the Agency is not intentionally trying to make its workers miserable. To this end, he thinks that it is critical that the joint consultation committee addresses serious structural issues for the benefit of AFS members and the Agency, including the requirement for on-site presence.

 

In response to the AFS Group’s concerns and comments, the Commissioner said that although there are advantages to working remotely, it is proven that some activities, such as training is better done in-person. He recognized that in some cases, the managers need more support to be able to make the hybrid work environment better. He observed that because of the pandemic and the remote work, there has been a lack of human connection at the Agency. He insisted on the fact that the Agency is always trying to find the right combination of different possibilities with respect to its organizational culture while being flexible. It can be different for different workloads. The Agency will make whatever changes are necessary, but nothing is currently in the works.

 

The Commissioner does not believe that the fact findings of the survey exposed by the President, AFS Group, are the reason the Agency did not make the top 100 employers rank. He added that the organizations across the government and across the private industry faced the same issues and tried to find the right work environment. He concluded by emphasizing that the Agency strives to provide a better future work environment for its employees.

 

The Deputy Commissioner took note of the survey results and stressed that the Agency will continue to build on the approach of the return to the office. She said that the Agency ensures that the work environment and the wellness of employees is such that they can continue to do their work. She was amazed by the passion and the dedication of employees. She thinks that the Agency is taking the right measures towards achieving a better work/life balance, and that the union will always be consulted on that matter.

 

The President, AFS Group, agreed with the Commissioner that, in many cases training works better in person but emphasized that employees are being called into offices to do training over Teams. In his opinion, in office presence does not build community as vastly distributed workload and the “need to know” rules prevent work related conversations. In addition, the banning of local social committees does not help build any community. The union believes that forcing people into an office on days not of their choice to sit with people who are not their work colleagues does not help build community. He concluded by indicating that those who want and can work from home, should be allowed to do so.

 

While highlighting some of the positive experiences in building work communities post-pandemic, the Commissioner acknowledged that there are challenges, and that both union and management will most likely continue to disagree on certain aspects.

 

The Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Human Resources Branch, said he was looking forward to more of these positive discussions within the CRA and AFS Joint Consultation Committee.

 

 

8. Refocusing government spending

 

The President, AFS Group, requested an update on the impacts of the refocusing government spending (RGS).

 

The Assistant Commissioner, Financial and Administration Branch (AC, FAB), started by mentioning that the Agency’s funding reductions for Phase 1 of the Government spending exercise, also known as RGS, were released recently. He explained that the CRA’s total reductions, amounting to $154.8 million annually in 2026-27 and future years, are now published in the Main Estimates and will be starting in fiscal year 2024-2025. Reductions in the areas of professional services and travel have already begun in 2023-2024, as presented in the 2023-2024 Supplementary Estimates (B). He stressed that the savings proposals put forward by the Agency were not expected to have significant impacts on revenue generation, service to Canadians and employees. With regards to employees, he confirmed that no job loss is expected as a result of RGS, adding that while a small number of employees may change roles, the vast majority of savings will be achieved through general efficiencies. Any human resources impacts will be mitigated, in large part, by leveraging attrition and the redistribution and change of workload.

 

The AC, FAB, informed that as part of Budget 2024 announcement, the government confirmed its intention to move forward with Phase 2 of the RGS where Departments and Agencies will be asked to contribute further budget reductions. Strategic discussions will take place pertaining to the timing and nature of a resource alignment process to address any requirements for additional savings, and the Agency will ensure to keep the unions updated.

 

He concluded that the CRA’s experience with similar financial reviews, coupled with its robust approach to costing, will ensure the most efficient and effective use of public funds.

 

The AC, HRB, pointed out that a Human Resources impact analysis was performed to ensure the RGS exercise won’t have impacts on employees and that there will be no job loss as a result of the exercise. She shared that for the next few years, the Agency will ensure that there will not be impacts on both employees and operations. She also mentioned that a meeting has been scheduled for the first week of May 2024 to discuss Workforce Adjustments (WFA) situations with the unions.

 

The President, AFS Group, observed that to date, few details have been shared other than the suspension of the policy for the automatic conversion of terms to permanent status employees. He said that most of AFS members being impacted are term CS employees, explaining that the CS employees are critical to the Agency’s ability to service Canadians, as they support the administration of Canada’s tax system and ensure that Canadian’s private information is protected. He warned that job insecurity will make it difficult to retain these indispensable workers.

 

Regarding the administrative conversion, and to give terms a reason to stay at the Agency, the union proposed that the CRA recognizes the service time of term employees during the freeze period, even if automatic conversions are temporarily halted. The President, AFS Group, believes that while the union is pleased that layoffs are not anticipated, there are clearly job losses.

 

He reminded that in previous rounds of Workforce adjustment, the Agency has openly shared information and worked with the union to ensure that its members were treated fairly. The AFS Group trusts that management will work with them in an open and transparent manner to ensure that the impact from this initiative on its members is minimized.

 

The Treasurer and BC/Yukon Region AFS Representative suggested that savings could be achieved by suspending the return to office mandate, and freeing up real estate.

 

The AC, FAB, responded by saying that in budget 2024, there is a commitment to reduce government offices and that this is not part of the CRA savings.

 

Responding to the union’s comments on the RGS and the Moratorium, the Commissioner shared his understanding of the union’s concerns regarding the impact on employees and looking at the right approach in the current, and future financial situations of the Agency. He recognized that these are not easy decisions to make but are required. He agreed with the President, AFS Group, that having more union-management dialogue is crucial.

 

 

9. Expired debts to the Crown

 

The union requested to discuss strongly worded messages sent to employees to recover debts which are no longer legally owing to the Crown.

 

The President, AFS Group, expressed his serious concern with management using what he qualified as scare tactics to intimidate employees into paying debts that they are no longer owing. In his opinion, threatening to use the Code of Integrity and Professional Conduct to recover debts that are no longer legally owing is in their view an abuse of authority. He believes that such messages are contradictory to the Agency’s core values of respect and integrity.

 

Accordingly, he asked the Agency to respect the law, to cease and desist from sending the threatening messages.

 

The AC, HRB, provided the union with the context behind the message that was sent in early December 2023. She shared that TBS must approve write-off submissions of any statute-barred overpayment amount before departmental Finance can proceed, and departments need to show that all reasonable collection action has been taken. While the limitation period on proceedings for the collection of an overpayment is six years, the overpayment is still considered a debt owed to the Crown.

She recognized that even though the recourse available to recover an overpayment may be limited after the expiration of the limitation period, organizations are under a duty to take reasonable action to collect debts owed to the Crown. This includes sending a repayment letter to a debtor, which may lead to a voluntary payment of the debt. The AC, HRB, explained the content of the letter saying that it informs the employee of the overpayment and requests payment. However, it specifies that the balance owing results from an overpayment that was made over 6 years ago, for which the CRA may not initiate recovery through court action as per time limits imposed by the Crown Liabilities and Proceedings Act. She advised that the letter was reviewed by Finance and legal services, and the change in process and the new letters were shared with the unions in December 2023. She indicated that management did not receive feedback from the AFS Group.

The AC, HRB, said that this process ensures the Agency is following the direction from TBS and aligning with the rest of the Government of Canada while also being transparent with employees. She concluded that the Agency is committed to being fair while balancing its responsibility to recover overpayments.

The President, AFS Group, disagreed with the AC, HRB in that he confirmed having provided the union's feedback to management in December 2023. According to him, the Agency is not respecting the spirit or intent of the law and is taking collection action when it threatens consequences in order to collect these debts, which are no-longer legally owing.

The AC, HRB, indicated that she would look into what happened with the feedback provided. She further explained that from management’s perspective, the Agency is following the regular procedures that need to take place in this type of situation by communicating with employees when overpayments occur.

The Commissioner acknowledged that the Agency does not have a lot of flexibility on this matter.

Commitment: The AC, HRB, committed to look at the issue raised by the President, AFS Group, regarding the feedback they sent back to Management in December 2023.

 

 

10. Security projects update

 

The Assistant Commissioner, Security Branch (AC, SB), provided an update on the progress of two key security projects at the Agency, namely Internal Multi-factor Authentication (I-MFA), and Sensitivity Labeling.

 

The AC, SB, explained the strategy for rolling out security solutions quickly and effectively, by saying that management has been proceeding with a gradual approach to make sure the solutions work as intended, and fit the needs of the client before they are widely deployed. He added that management begins with small proofs of concept, then moves to 50 person pilots, 1,000 person pilots, and then gradual rollout across the Agency. Lessons are learned along the way and management makes improvements for usability at each stage. He further detailed the components of the projects.

1. Internal Multifactor Authentication (I-MFA)

He recalled that the last update on this project to the NUMCC-AFS was on June 6, 2023. The purpose of the I-MFA project is to enhance security safeguards against internal and external threat actors by introducing and additional level of authentication, in addition to user ID and Passwords. For CRA users, when accessing the network resources, the windows log on or Cloud application. This second level of protection will be enabled through one of two ways: either smartphone authenticator applications or USB security tokens.

• Smartphone authenticator apps:

Employees who have a CRA-issued smartphone will enable their second level authentication through this method. They will use an app to authenticate their identity as a second factor to allow them to access their PC. The AC, SB, shared that at this time, the Agency have completed a proof of concept and a 50-user pilot project.

• USB security tokens:

The AC, SB, informed that most CRA employees do not have a CRA-issued smartphone. About 10,000 employees do, or 20% of our workforce. The other 40,000+ employees will receive a USB token to plug into their computer to serve as a second authentication factor. He said that since the last update to the Committee, management has received 65,000 tokens for distribution. The proof of concept at windows logon and applications is complete. A pilot has begun in April 2024. Management is working on communication products and developing exception processes based on the initial pilot. With this in mind, the AC, SB, indicated that management wants to make sure that the Agency is prepared for eventualities such as “What happens if someone loses or breaks their token? What if it doesn’t work?”

 

According to the AC, SB, the pilot will be expanded to 1,000 users in May 2024. During this pilot, the Branch will test processes followed by a phased rollout for the rest of Agency employees throughout 2024 and 2025. Smartphone users will have the choice to use the token or the phone as an MFA device.

2. Sensitivity Labelling

The AC, SB, explained that this is a way to categorize information and documents as Unclassified, Protected A or Protected B. Sensitivity levels have proven to integrate well with the user-friendly Outlook and Office products and will eventually replace the Titus tool.

 

He stressed the importance of labeling the documents as it educates employees and reminds them of the importance of the information they work with, and further allows effective data loss prevention.

 

He informed them having completed the proof of concept and the 50 users’ pilot for the labelling portion. The 1,000 users pilot began on February 9, 2024, and is ongoing. Management is working on the communication and change management products and a larger rollout will begin in May 2024.

 

3. Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

The AC, SB, indicated that the DLP tool is a superior security feature that protects the loss of sensitive data either by intentional or by accidental mishandling of information, through a set of rules applied to employees’ actions. It is a tool that triggers alerts or puts a block when large or specific types of information are being sent outside the Agency. This is done through pre-established rules based on the size and sensitivity of information.

 

In order to not put a stop to legitimate business, this feature will be deployed in stages beginning with the monitoring mode to assess whether legitimate workloads could potentially be affected.

 

In May 2024, the 1,000 users who are part of the Sensitivity Labelling pilot will be part of the DLP pilot followed by a broader rollout to all employees. The first phase will involve monitoring things like the usage of USB keys and the uploading of information to the Internet. Protecting emails will be in the next phase, likely starting next year.

 

In conclusion, the AC, SB acknowledged that partnering with the unions is key to success, particularly with regards to communicating the changes to employees. He said that management will continue to engage with the unions at key milestones throughout this project.

 

The President, AFS Group, thanked the AC, SB for the update. He shared the union’s appreciation for the quarterly updates that are provided by SB. He recognized that these updates are very important to the Agency and to AFS members because they provide information that allows the union to understand and improve security risks and measures at the Agency. He added that these briefings also allow the union to share with its members actions to take, or to not take, to ensure that they do not inadvertently harm the Agency or their own careers.

 

The National Capital Region-IT AFS Representative, inquired about savings for switching from Titus to Microsoft 365 (M365) Defender indicating that this would result in less contracting out.

 

The AC, SB, responded that he does not have the financial information handy, however, he indicated that before resorting to purchasing the DLP software, management is leveraging the M365 as it possesses a lot of security features that can be utilized. 

 

 

11. Values and Ethics

 

The AFS Group requested an update on how the Agency plans to use the Deputy Minister’s Task Team on Values and Ethics Report to the Clerk of the Privy Council and its recommendations.

 

The AC, HRB, started by outlining that this approach consists in building on the pride the employees feel of the work they do at the Agency, emphasizing on public servants and engaging the conversations on why they choose to be and remain public servants. She also said that the Agency encourages key behaviours that are linked to the four CRA values of professionalism, integrity, respect and collaboration.

 

The AC, HRB, highlighted that the renewed attention to the Values and Ethics is one of the Clerk of the Privy Council priorities. She mentioned the Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and Associate Secretary to the Cabinet, for whom the mandate of Values and Ethics is a priority. She shared that she had a chance to listen to her exchange with Chiefs of HR and really liked what she heard. It is all about enabling the new generations of managers to take better ownership of this sense of belonging to the public service. She thinks that what the Deputy Clerk said is in line with what the Agency wants to do.

 

She further informed that the Clerk of the Privy Council established a Task Team of Senior Officials dedicated to designing and leading an exercise to advance a broad conversation with public servants on the topic of values and ethics. The Task Team’s preliminary milestone report, shared in December 2023, outlined what they heard from public servants, external stakeholders and others and identified several key themes for consideration going forward. Organizational leaders across the public sector have been tasked to provide the Clerk with a written assessment of their progress by June 2024 on:

• Developing department specific values and ethics training plans
• Reviewing and updating organizational codes of conduct
• Fostering conversations at all levels of the organization on personal accountability to uphold our public service values and ethics.

The AC, HRB, thinks that the Agency is well positioned, and advised that the HRB works closely with the Agency’s Values and Ethics Champion, Tammy Branch. She further added that the conversations will continue in the branches and regions in the coming months. Managers will also be undertaking conversations with their employees as the Agency looks to update its policy instruments and supporting tools; AFS will be engaged as part of the review of the Corporate Policy Instruments (CPI). In conclusion, she hopes that the Agency can share its best practices as part of the second report of the Clerk of the Privy Council.  

 

The President, AFS Group, thanked the AC, HRB, for sharing this information, and said that Values and Ethics have long been a top priority of AFS members and the Agency. He believes that it would be productive to have further discussions after this meeting to address any questions or concerns. He further raised two questions:

1. Have instructions for holding conversations with employees been shared with supervisors at the field level? 
2. Has any training been developed? If not, will new training be developed?

The AC, HRB, thinks that these are very important points all are taken into consideration. In her response, she also indicated that the instructions for managers and employees are indeed very important. In terms of training, she shared that the Agency focuses on its current training that will be put forward. Apart from training, she believes that it is crucial to engage in discussions with employees, providing them with the opportunity to express themselves and to discuss their work environment, issues that may arise, and possible solutions that could be implemented.

 

The Commissioner confirmed that the Agency is well positioned. Given that the Agency has a lot of new employees, he believes that this is the perfect opportunity to reinforce its Values and Ethics.

 

 

12. Pay Equity Project

 

The President, AFS Group, requested a status update on the progress of the implementation of the Pay Equity Act at the Agency and how the Agency is progressing towards meeting the legislated deadline. He asked if it’s the Agency’s intention to ask for an extension.

 

The AC, HRB, began by saying that the Committee has continued to meet on a weekly basis and has made some progress on the tasks to be completed. She outlined that the Committee is working on finalizing its proposed job classes and preparing to embark on the assessment of the value of work. To this end, she shared that the Committee will be working towards conducting the assessment of value of work, by utilizing a job evaluation tool that they have customized, and comparing job classes in order to identify any wage gaps. According to her, this should pave the way to accelerate completion of the critical tasks required for the development of the Pay Equity Plan.

 

In response to the President, AFS Group, question, she indicated that following discussions with committee members, it was determined that the Committee would consider requesting an extension from the Pay Equity Commissioner. She informed that the Committee wishes to be proactive and has therefore begun drafting a business case for a one-year extension. Such a consideration is based on the initiative’s pace of development in early 2024, as well as tasks that remain to be completed.

 

The AC, HRB, listed the steps taken to date, and elaborated on the next steps for the Pay Equity Committee and projected timelines.

The President, AFS Group, thanked the AC, HRB, for the update, noting that this work is critical to ensure that the Agency is providing equal pay to women for doing work of equal value. The union will continue to provide its support towards achieving this goal.

 

 

13. Classification reform

 

The President, AFS Group, requested an update regarding classification modernization at the Agency, as outlined in Appendix M of the AFS collective agreement.

 

The President, AFS Group, began by saying that the previous collective agreement provided for a review of CRA’s classification standards with an update to the NUMCC. This report found that CRA’s classification standards are outdated and, except for the MG standard, are not in compliance with the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA).

 

He reminded that the current collective agreement calls for management to examine modernizing current classification standards for classifying jobs represented by the AFS Group. He underlined that this work is separate and distinct from any work being done by the Pay Equity Committee and is intended to address the findings of the NUMCC Classification Working Group report dated October 2019, which includes ensuring classification standards for positions represented by the AFS Group comply with the CHRA.

 

He stressed that management committed to providing updates as work progresses to the union regarding classification modernization through reports presented at future NUMCC meetings, no later than six months following the signing of the collective agreement on December 14, 2023.

 

Addressing the union’s request and concerns, the AC, HRB, recognized that this other Human Resources (HR) element is important for management, and that classification serves as the base for all HR roles described and defined effectively within the organization. As such it is important that it reflects modern values, and effectively measures work in the modern context, in order to support the Agency’s People Strategy.

 

She reminded having met with the union on March 19, 2024, to discuss next steps towards a Memorandum of Understanding, and expressed her satisfaction of the open and honest conversation that took place about various aspects of classification, and the way forward. She shared that the Organizational Design and Classification Division (ODCD) was happy to collaborate with the AFS Group to explore classification issues impacting the occupational groups they represent. She further informed that the ODCD, in consultation with CRA stakeholders, will continue, in the coming months, to weigh different classification modernization possibilities while they continue to be open to suggestions from the union.

 

The AC, HRB, concluded by saying that management looks forward to continuing the collaboration with the union on how to best proceed with targeted classification modernization activities.

 

The President, AFS Group thanked the AC, HRB, for the update, and agreed that the union had a good conversation with HRB about this topic recently, nevertheless, he expressed the union’s concern about what it considers as a lack of progress or commitment from the Agency to meaningfully address concerns related to the classification standards and a lack of compliance with the CHRA. He urged management to start the work on it.

•  
• Closing Remarks

 

In his closing remarks, the Commissioner reflected on the items that were discussed during the meeting and some fairly sensitive issues to follow up on. He emphasized the constructive approach of the discussions. He expressed the hope to make more rapid progress on some topics such as the Classification Reform. He thanked the participants for continuing the dialogue in between meetings and for strengthening the union-management relations, and said he was looking forward to the next NUMCC scheduled for October 22, 2024.

 

The President, AFS Group, concluded by thanking everyone for their participation and looking forward to working with management. He noted that the meeting was a good opportunity to discuss important matters. He said that in-person meetings have never been so important. However, the formal nature of NUMCC does not provide for an opportunity for the relationship building that is critical to work through difficult issues. He reiterated that the AFS Group and Management have to work together to deal with the impacts of RGS and anticipated future budget constraints. As such, in order to build better working relationships, he called for more informal Union-Management Approach workshops prior to the fall AFS-NUMCC meeting. In closing, he expressed concerns regarding the lack of union-management consultations and communication on some issues.

 

Bob Hamilton Commissioner Canada Revenue Agency		Doug Mason President Audit, Financial and Scientific Group Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
Date: 2024-08-23	Date:   29 Aug 2024