Follow-up information - NFFN Appearance on May 8, 2024 Question 1: Senator Smith: What are some of the reasons why you’ve been unable to bring the number down to the target? Could you provide a breakdown of these transactions? I’d like to get a sense of how old some of these issues are versus how many are more recent, as well as the type of issue. RESPONSE Since January 2018, Public Services and Procurement Canada’s Pay Centre has made significant progress in reducing the overall queue and the backlog of pay transactions.

The number of transactions processed each month varies based on a number of factors, such as the complexity of cases, for example. Intake also shows seasonal trends, with peaks at the end of the calendar year, the end of the fiscal year, and the end of summer, which mark the completion of many casual and student work terms. As illustrated in the graph below, despite productivity improvements, high intake levels since 2021 have outpaced pay processing capacity, leading to increases in the queue as well as in the backlog of cases that are a year old or more.

The queue can be broken down into three categories based on service standard and age. Many cases are processed within predefined service standards, some outside of service standards, and the oldest cases are those that the Pay Centre was not able to process within a year (the 1 Year+ Backlog). Currently, a significant portion of the latter is composed of acting cases (~48,000) and cases classified as Other (~89,000).

The top transaction subtypes in the “Other” category for the 1 Year+ Backlog are Overpayment cases (~19,000), Leave Without Pay Greater than 5 days (~13,000), Follow-up information - NFFN Appearance on May 8, 2024 Pension cases (~11,000), and Maternity/Paternity Review cases (~6,000). It is important to note that any funds owed to employees as part of these cases may have been paid when the transactions were entered in the system. The remaining work required for many backlog cases is typically administrative such as a change in union, confirmation or reconciliation of payments, etc.

When examining the 1 Year+ Backlog over time, the largest proportions of cases entering the backlog continue to come from the Acting and Other categories as noted above. It is also important to note that as they age, cases generally become more complex to resolve as an employee’s pay file evolves with new HR activity.

Queue Divisions Transaction Types 1: Inside Service Standard 2: Outside Service Standard 3: 1 Year+ Backlog Grand Total Other 63,433 56,654 89,178 209,265 Acting 15,335 17,265 48,291 80,891 Terminations 10,191 11,274 31,371 52,836 Return from leave 4,183 8,015 18,850 31,048 General Enquiries – Pension Related 91 1,882 11,946 13,919 Employee Transfer 4,228 3,920 5,156 13,304 Hires 11,267 904 852 13,023 Promotions 1,674 934 1,916 4,524 Collective Agreement Implementation Revisions (2018) 3,717 53 21 3,791 Collective Agreement Implementation Overpayments 42 122 3,452 3,616 General Enquiries - Other 284 915 1,742 2,941 Disability 2,260 120 84 2,464 Parental leave 1,261 36 57 1,354 Collective Agreement Implementation Revisions (2022) 847 37 0 884 Collective Agreement Implementation Revisions 0 0 6 6 Grand Total 118,813 102,131 212,922 433,866 Extract Date: May 8, 2024 Data Source: Case Management Tool (CMT) Action Measures Onboarding new compensation advisors (CAs) was identified as the best method to counteract increased workload in the short-term.

Since September 2022, approximately 1,100 new compensation employees were onboarded to support Pay Operations, while also expanding the skillsets of its existing workforce. PSPC also continues to improve Commented [CL((l/sh1]: What does this stand for? Follow-up information - NFFN Appearance on May 8, 2024 automation and bulk processing to minimize manual workload, and is exploring how to best leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in pay processing.

In addition, various enterprise measures are being developed and implemented to facilitate intake management in the long term: simplifying HR and Pay processes and strengthening HR behaviors to reduce workload and improve performance, and standardizing HR management to streamline the HR and Pay IT ecosystem. Question 2: The Chair: Do you have a table with the various surplus lands or buildings, in square feet or meters, in the locations where they can be found? I would be satisfied with an Excel file. It changes the entire perspective of having geolocation. RESPONSE Please see Annex B for the table.

For more information on the Portfolio optimization: Disposal list, please refer to this link: https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/biens-property/liste-alienation-disposal-list-eng.html Question 3: Senator Smith brought up concerns around the Federal Procurement Practices and the creation of the Office of Supplier Integrity and Compliance and how it plays a role in PSPC’s portfolio. Senator Smith asked how this new office will help PSPC make the procurement process more transparent. RESPONSE Mr.

Zielonka explained that there have been a number of changes in procurement rules that will tighten elements of making federal procurement more robust and that rules are being followed. We would like to add that the Government of Canada is committed to conducting procurements in an open, fair, and transparent manner. This starts by ensuring sound management and integrity of its procurement processes.

For more information on the Procurement Improvement Action Plan please refer to this link: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-services- procurement/news/2024/03/procurement-improvement-action-plan.html In addition, the new Office of Supplier Integrity and Compliance will enhance and replace the existing Integrity Regime. Once the new program is launched, additional information will be available on Standards and oversight services at Public Services and Procurement Canada. Follow-up information - NFFN Appearance on May 8, 2024 A revised Ineligibility and Suspension Policy is now available for your information.

It will come into effect on May 31, 2024. Until that time, the existing Ineligibility and Suspension Policy remains in effect. For more information please refer to this link: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-services- procurement/services/standards-oversight/supplier-integrity-compliance.html Question 4: Senator MacAdam: I wonder if you can explain the nature of the $20.8 million budgeted in these Main Estimates for the Real Property Services Revolving Fund. What’s the nature of that fund?

RESPONSE We would like to apologize for misinterpreting the question from Senator MacAdam, as the response that was provided was incorrect. Mr. Zielonka believed the question referred to the year-over-year Main Estimates $20.7 million increase in non- discretionary expenses associated with Crown-owned buildings and leased spaces, when in fact Senator MacAdam was referring to the 2024-25 Main Estimates authorities for the Real Property Services Revolving Fund (RPSRF) of $20.8 million.

The correct answer should have been: The Real Property Services Revolving Fund (RPSRF) is the funding mechanism for the Real Property Services (RPS) program of PSPC. The RPS program provides real property services (e.g., project delivery and property management) to other government programs that have custody of real property assets. Client programs are situated in other government departments, as well as within PSPC.

The $20.8 million of authorities requested in the Main Estimates 2024-25 will be used mainly as follows: • $12.1 million to fund ratified collective agreements • $3.4 million to modernize office space • $2.9 million to modernize service delivery tools • $1.5 million for termination benefits owed and paid to employees as they retire • $0.9 million for vacation pay and compensatory leave for employees