Civil servant.Jeffrey Reid didn’t bother to show up for work for six months, was fired, then spent three years trying to get his job back, says Blacklock’s Reporter..Now a federal labour board has upheld the firing of the archives clerk..“Astonishing,” wrote a labour adjudicator..“Canadians have a right to an efficient legal process balancing the rights of the parties to a fair and impartial hearing with the considerable costs of providing and maintaining the necessary infrastructure for the administration of justice,” wrote James Knopp, adjudicator with the Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board..“Matters must be pursued with diligence and cannot be permitted to languish indefinitely.”.Reid of Renfrew, Ont., a clerk with Library and Archives Canada, stopped going to work on January 13, 2010. He was fired July 7..“You have failed to communicate with your manager or supervisor,” wrote managers..Records indicate Reid then negotiated and signed a settlement with Archives Canada, changed his mind, and from 2017 sought to overturn the agreement and win his job back..“It is astonishing to note that over three and-a-half years have now elapsed since Mr. Reid insisted upon a timely hearing into his capacity to enter into the settlement agreement,” wrote Knopp..“Taking into account the seven months dormancy due to the global COVID-19 pandemic this amounts to over three years within which Mr. Reid did very little to move his matter forward..“He has demonstrated a lack of diligence and has at times been obstructionist when it came to case management practices designed to move this matter along expeditiously.”.Federal managers have complained they lack authority to quickly fire employees..“The barriers for cause right now are very, very high,” Peter Wallace, secretary of the Treasury Board, testified at 2018 hearings of the Commons public accounts committee..“There may well be opportunities to improve the accountability regime of the Government of Canada on a going-forward basis. Fundamentally, we do need to look at the capacity of the Government of Canada for removals.”
Civil servant.Jeffrey Reid didn’t bother to show up for work for six months, was fired, then spent three years trying to get his job back, says Blacklock’s Reporter..Now a federal labour board has upheld the firing of the archives clerk..“Astonishing,” wrote a labour adjudicator..“Canadians have a right to an efficient legal process balancing the rights of the parties to a fair and impartial hearing with the considerable costs of providing and maintaining the necessary infrastructure for the administration of justice,” wrote James Knopp, adjudicator with the Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board..“Matters must be pursued with diligence and cannot be permitted to languish indefinitely.”.Reid of Renfrew, Ont., a clerk with Library and Archives Canada, stopped going to work on January 13, 2010. He was fired July 7..“You have failed to communicate with your manager or supervisor,” wrote managers..Records indicate Reid then negotiated and signed a settlement with Archives Canada, changed his mind, and from 2017 sought to overturn the agreement and win his job back..“It is astonishing to note that over three and-a-half years have now elapsed since Mr. Reid insisted upon a timely hearing into his capacity to enter into the settlement agreement,” wrote Knopp..“Taking into account the seven months dormancy due to the global COVID-19 pandemic this amounts to over three years within which Mr. Reid did very little to move his matter forward..“He has demonstrated a lack of diligence and has at times been obstructionist when it came to case management practices designed to move this matter along expeditiously.”.Federal managers have complained they lack authority to quickly fire employees..“The barriers for cause right now are very, very high,” Peter Wallace, secretary of the Treasury Board, testified at 2018 hearings of the Commons public accounts committee..“There may well be opportunities to improve the accountability regime of the Government of Canada on a going-forward basis. Fundamentally, we do need to look at the capacity of the Government of Canada for removals.”
