Dear members,
After several very busy weeks, we find ourselves once again in a bit of a quieter moment. In this message, I have only a few things on which to report and some plans to flag to you. Let’s get started.
PAFSO’s efforts to compel the Employer to provide members with proper health care coverage
Last fall, in response to the MSH International fiasco, PAFSO applied for a writ of mandamus to compel the Government of Canada to meet its obligation to provide functional health care coverage to our members serving abroad. And as you know, this has been our top priority ever since. And though it is progressing well, it is doing so at a very slow pace.
Since my last update to you on this file back in April, we have crossed a few important milestones. Earlier this month, both parties have filed their factums – the written document outlining the facts and legal arguments which will be presented to the court. On Monday, we submitted our requisition for a hearing. At this point, we are waiting on the court’s response. However, scheduling a hearing can take from a few weeks to a few months – it can be really unpredictable. Everything depends on how quickly a date can be found when all parties are available, including the assigned judge and court staff. Our counsel has advised us that the Federal Court is currently experiencing a backlog, and so she expects that the wait will be longer than usual. We are hopeful that the hearing will take place before October, but it may take longer than that.
In other good news, we’ve learned that the Canadian Human Rights Commission is going ahead with a review of the complaints we launched last July against both MSH and the Employer. This step is a prelude to a possible investigation, however, so we are a long way away from a hearing or any decision. Still, we are pleased to have passed this preliminary hurdle in our effort to find a solution for members who are being harmed by this situation.
As always, I will keep you updated as events unfold, however long that takes. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to share your experiences with our office as we are still monitoring the situation.
Critical path to the 60th Annual General Meeting
Please don’t forget to save the date for our virtual Annual General Meeting, which will take place at 1600 Ottawa time on October 20. Please also keep your eyes open for our call for nominations for the Executive Committee, which will be issued in conjunction with the formal notice of the AGM in the second half of July. Elections, if necessary, will take place in early September.
Soft launch of our public service announcement on the importance of the Foreign Service
As part of our ongoing efforts to highlight the important work you do for Canadians, our advocacy team has prepared PAFSO’s first public service announcement videos. We’ve posted them on our YouTube channel. Check out the 15-second and 30-second clips.
This is a new tactic for PAFSO, and we would welcome both your feedback on the clips and your help in sharing them with your networks. This first incarnation focuses on economic and security issues, and if it is successful, we plan to do others that highlight our contributions in other areas as well.
Screening of “A Shining Light”
PAFSO was proud to sponsor yesterday’s packed premiere screening of Robbie Hart’s latest documentary film “A Shining Light,” co-produced by retired PAFSO member Gary Smith. The extraordinary mother-daughter tale of escape from war-torn Vietnam highlighted the work of our immigration stream colleagues and features three former PAFSO members: Mike Molloy, Margaret Tebbutt, and Si Taylor.
You can hear more about this fascinating story from Anh Vu-Lieberman, whose birth at sea forms a central part of the film, in her interview on CBC’s Ottawa Morning.
Neil Cochrane, author of Beyond Numbers
Last week, I had the pleasure of welcoming former member Neil Cochrane to our PAFSO Virtual Breakfast. Neil shared with us some tales from his recent book, Beyond Numbers: Stories from an Immigration Insider. If you are curious about what it was like to be an immigration officer in the 1980s and 90s, or if you are interested in the history of the Foreign Service in general, you can find his book online via Amazon or Indigo. In Ottawa, you can find it at Pebble Books or Books on Beechwood. In the meantime, if you were unable to join in last week, you can watch a recording of our chat here on our YouTube Channel.
PAFSO Breakfasts on hiatus for the summer
We’re going to take a break for the summer on our regular breakfasts but watch this space for new events in the fall.
That’s all I have for you for this message. I’ll be in touch again in two weeks.
In the meantime, do not hesitate to reach out to us if you are having any concerns at work. Are you having issues with your pay? Do you feel harassed or discriminated against? Do you have a grievance or a staffing complaint? Or do you just want some clarifications on our collective agreement or the FSDs? Whatever the case, PAFSO is here for you. Just send us an email with your name, department and a detailed description of your concerns. For anything and everything else, please send us an email at info@pafso.com and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Tomorrow marks the official start of summer in this hemisphere and it’s also National Indigenous People’s Day. For those of you in the NCR, I hope you have the chance to take part in some of the festivities near you. Until then, take care of yourselves and each other.
All the best,
Pam Isfeld
President
@PafsoPresApase