Federal departments and agencies spend $76,000 a month on office art rentals

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From the cost of office art rentals to the voting details of a recent national union election, here are four federal public service updates you need to know.

1. Federal departments and agencies spend $76,000 a month on office art rentals
2. Only 13 per cent of members voted in the PIPSC national election
3. Government of Canada announces the re-appointment of two commissioners
4. Union report finds that Black public servants feel “disproportionately penalized” at work

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1. Federal departments and agencies spend $76,000 a month on office art rentals

Federal organizations spend more per month on renting art for government offices than the average Canadian makes in a year, according to access-to-information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

The data, detailing all art rentals made by federal departments and agencies from the Canada Council for the Arts’ Art Bank between January 2016 and July 2024 found that, during that time, federal departments and agencies spent $7,808,827 on art rentals, equating to $76,557 a month.

“Every month, federal bureaucrats spend more money renting art than what the average Canadian earns in an entire year,” said Franco Terrazzano, the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Statistics Canada data indicates that in 2023 the average employee in Canada made $33.55 an hour. For someone working 37.5 hours a week, that would amount to a salary of $64,550.

“It’s amazing that we need to say this, but maybe these bureaucrats could ease up at the taxpayer-funded Art Bank when record numbers of Canadians are lined up at food banks,” Terrazzano said.

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The records, which show that 1,445 rentals were made from the art bank, don’t specify which federal departments or agencies incurred the expenses. However, the highest expense for a rental was $120,240 in April 2020.

2. Only 13 per cent of members vote in PIPSC national election

One of Canada’s largest federal unions has a new president after months of disarray, with its former president being the subject of multiple investigations and launching a lawsuit against more than a dozen board members.

Earlier this month, members of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) elected Sean O’Reilly as the union’s new president, with Stéphanie Fréchette and Katie Francis elected as full-time vice-presidents. David Sutherland and Eva Henshaw were elected as part-time vice-presidents.

Data from the election showed that only 13 per cent of members voted: 10,178 ballots cast out of 77,948 eligible voters.

In a news release, the union said it extended its “heartfelt gratitude” to all candidates for their “courage, dedication, and commitment” in participating in the election.

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3. Government of Canada announces the re-appointment of two commissioners

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he welcomed the reappointment of two long-time public servants as commissioners.

Nancy Bélanger, the commissioner of lobbying, has been reappointed effective Dec. 30. First appointed to the position in 2017, Bélanger has been a public servant for more than three decades. She is responsible for regulating federal lobbying activities and administering the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct.

“Ms. Bélanger has dedicated her career to public service, including as Commissioner of Lobbying for the past seven years,” Trudeau said in a news release. “I am confident that she will continue to serve Canadians well through her renewed mandate.”

Information commissioner Caroline Maynard has also been reappointed, effective March 1. Maynard was first appointed to the role in 2018 and has been a public servant for almost 30 years. She’s responsible for overseeing the federal government’s access to information practices, investigating complaints and giving advice to parliamentarians.

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“For the past seven years, Ms. Maynard has brought her extensive legal background and leadership experience to the role of Information Commissioner,” Trudeau said. “I am confident that she will continue to serve Canadians well through her renewed mandate.”

4. Union report finds that Black public servants feel “disproportionately penalized” at work

A report by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, the largest Canadian union representing government scientists and professionals, found that Black public service workers “continue to feel disproportionately penalized in the workplace due to their Blackness.”

Last fall, the union hired Paige Galette to facilitate two virtual consultations with more than 200 members about a class-action lawsuit launched by the Black Class Action Secretariat, also discussing topics like recruitment, retention and advancement within the federal public service.

“Many of the participants believed that Black workers are faced with discrimination and anti-Black racism before they have an entryway to the workplace by way of the recruitment process,” said the report, which was shared on the union’s website on Nov. 14.

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The report said some participants highlighted that managers didn’t believe in systemic discrimination and that they felt a lack of support from their employers. Participants also shared their struggles with advancement within the public service.

“Anti-Black racism in the workplace has a mental toll on Black workers,” the report said, noting that some workers had to request sick leave, while others inflicted self-harm or had suicidal thoughts.

The report made several recommendations, including reviewing PIPSC policies that could perpetuate anti-Black racism and collecting more data to better understand the experiences of Black public servants.

“Employers must understand the profound impacts of workplace discrimination on our members’ family lives,” Jennie Esnard, co-chair of the PIPSC Black caucus, said in a news release. “It was heartbreaking to hear that members had to take sick leave to deal with the unbearable stress that they faced due to discrimination.”

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