Bill C-25

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	Diplomatic Personnel
Diplomatic appointments	131. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the right or authority of Her Majesty to appoint ambassadors, ministers, high commissioners or consuls-general of Canada to another country or to appoint other persons to represent Canada in another country.
	Block Transfers
Transfer of employees	132. (1) Nothing in an order made under the Public Service Rearrangement and Transfer of Duties Act shall be construed as affecting the status of an employee who, immediately before the coming into force of the order, occupied a position in a portion of the core public administration the control or supervision of which has been transferred from one department or other portion of the core public administration to another, or in a department that has been amalgamated and combined, except that the employee shall, on the coming into force of the order, occupy that position in the department or other portion of the core public administration to which the control or supervision has been transferred or in the department as amalgamated and combined.
Transfer of other staff	(2) Where an order is made under the Public Service Rearrangement and Transfer of Duties Act, the Governor in Council may, by order made on the recommendation of the Treasury Board and where the Governor in Council is of the opinion that an employee or class of employees is carrying out powers, duties or functions that are in whole or in part in support of or related to the powers, duties and functions of employees referred to in subsection (1) and that it is in the best interests of the core public administration to do so, declare that the employee or class of employees shall, on the coming into force of the order, occupy their positions in the department or other portion of the core public administration where the employees referred to in subsection (1) are currently occupying their positions.
Core public administration	(3) For the purposes of this section, the core public administration consists of the departments, as defined in subsection 2(1), and the portions of the federal public administration named in Schedule IV to the Financial Administration Act.
	Offence
Fraud	133. Every person who commits fraud in any appointment process is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.
	Oaths and Affirmations
Authority to administer	134. The Commission or a deputy head may administer oaths and receive affidavits, declarations and solemn affirmations in relation to matters within their respective jurisdictions under this Act.
	Access to Facilities and Information
Access by Commission	135. Deputy heads and employees shall provide the Commission with any facilities, assistance, information and access to their respective offices that the Commission may require for the performance of its duties.
	Five-year Review
Review	136. The minister designated by the Governor in Council for the purposes of this section shall cause a review of this Act and its administration and operation to be conducted five years after this section comes into force, and that minister shall cause a report of the review to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first fifteen days on which that House is sitting after the review is completed.
Schedule to the Public Service Employment Act	*13. The schedule to the Public Service Employment Act* enacted by section 12 of this Act is set out in Schedule 2 to this Act.**
	DIVISION 2
R.S., c. P-33	AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYMENT ACT
1992, c. 54, ss. 3 and 31(E)	*14. Sections 3 and 4 of the Public Service Employment Act, being chapter P-33 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, are replaced by the following:*
Commission established	3. (1) A commission is established, to be called the Public Service Commission, consisting of a President and two or more other Commissioners.
Eligibility	(2) In order to be eligible to hold office as a Commissioner, a person must be a Canadian citizen within the meaning of the Citizenship Act or a permanent resident within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Full-time or part-time	(3) The President shall serve on a full-time basis and the other Commissioners on a part-time basis.
Other employment or activities	(4) Commissioners shall not accept or hold any office or employment, or carry on any activity, that is inconsistent with their functions, and the President shall devote the whole of his or her time to the performance of the President's functions.
Appointment of Commissioner s	(5) The President and other Commissioners shall be appointed by the Governor in Council. The appointment of the President shall be made by commission under the Great Seal after approval by resolution of the Senate and House of Commons.
Tenure and term of office	(6) A Commissioner holds office during good behaviour for a term of seven years, but may be removed by the Governor in Council at any time on address of the Senate and House of Commons.
Re-appointme nt	(7) A Commissioner, on the expiration of a first or any subsequent term of office, is eligible to be re-appointed for a further term not exceeding seven years.
Oath or affirmation	(8) Before commencing his or her functions, each Commissioner shall take an oath or make a solemn affirmation in the form set out in Schedule I before the Clerk of the Privy Council or the person designated by the Clerk.
Salaries	3.1 (1) The Commissioners shall be paid the remuneration determined by the Governor in Council.
Expenses	(2) The Commissioners are entitled to be paid reasonable travel and other expenses incurred by them in the course of their duties while absent from their ordinary place of residence or, in the case of the President, while absent from his or her ordinary place of work.
Application of Public Service Superannuati on Act	(3) The President is deemed to be employed in the public service for the purposes of the Public Service Superannuation Act.
Application of other Acts	(4) The Commissioners are deemed to be employed in the federal public administration for the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and regulations made under section 9 of the Aeronautics Act.
President	4. (1) The President is the chief executive officer of the Commission.
Residence	(2) The President shall reside in the National Capital Region as described in the schedule to the National Capital Act or within the distance of it specified by the Governor in Council.
Acting President	(3) If the President is absent or unable to act or if the office of President is vacant, the minister designated under subsection 47(1) may authorize a Commissioner or other qualified person to act as President for a period not exceeding sixty days, and the Governor in Council may authorize a Commissioner or other qualified person to act as President for any longer period.
Quorum	4.1 (1) A majority of the Commissioners constitutes a quorum of the Commission.
Vacancy	(2) A vacancy in the membership of the Commission does not impair the right of the remaining Commissioners to act.
Head office	4.2 The head office of the Commission shall be in the National Capital Region described in the schedule to the National Capital Act.
Human resources	4.3 The Commission may appoint the persons necessary for the proper conduct of its work in the manner authorized by this Act.
Experts and advisers	4.4 (1) The Commission may retain on a temporary basis the services of experts or other persons having technical or special knowledge to assist it in an advisory capacity and, subject to the approval of the Treasury Board, fix their remuneration.
Application of Public Service Superannuati on Act	(2) Persons whose services are retained under subsection (1) are not employed in the public service for the purposes of the Public Service Superannuation Act.
1992, c. 54, s. 6(1)	15. Subsection 6(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Delegation to deputy head	6. (1) The Commission may authorize a deputy head to exercise and perform, in such manner and subject to such terms and conditions as the Commission directs, any of the powers, functions and duties of the Commission under this Act, other than the powers, functions and duties of the Commission under sections 7.1, 21, 32 to 34, 34.4 and 34.5.
1992, c. 54, s. 8	16. Section 7.4 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Powers of boards	7.4 Subject to such restrictions or limitations as the Commission may specify, a board established under subsection 6(3) or 21(1) or 21(1.1) has, in relation to the matter before it, the powers referred to in section 7.2.
1993, c. 28, s. 78 (Sch III, ss. 123 and 124 (E))	17. The heading before section 32 and sections 32 to 34 of the Act are replaced by the following:
	Political Activities
Definitions	32. (1) The following definitions apply in this section and sections 32.1 to 34.
``election'' « élection »	``election'' means a federal, provincial, territorial or municipal election.
``federal election'' « élection fédérale »	``federal election'' means an election to the House of Commons.
``municipal election'' « élection municipale »	``municipal election'' means an election as the mayor or a member of the council of a municipality.
``municipality '' « municipalité »	``municipality'' means
	(a) an incorporated or unincorporated regional municipality, city, town, village, rural municipality, township, county, district or other municipality, however designated; or
	(b) any other local or regional authority that is determined by the Governor in Council to be a municipality for the purposes of this section and sections 32.1 to 34.
``political activity'' « activité politique »	``political activity'' means
	(a) carrying on any activity in support of, within or in opposition to a political party;
	(b) carrying on any activity in support of or in opposition to a candidate before or during an election period; or
	(c) seeking nomination as or being a candidate in an election before or during the election period.
``provincial election'' « élection provinciale »	``provincial election'' means an election to the legislature of a province.
``territorial election'' « élection territoriale »	``territorial election'' means an election to the Council of the Yukon or the Northwest Territories or the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut.
Meaning of ``deputy head''	(2) For the purposes of this section and sections 32.1 to 34, ``deputy head'' includes a Commissioner appointed under subsection 3(5) and the Chairperson of the Tribunal designated under subsection 49(4).
Purpose	32.1 The purpose of sections 32.2 to 34 is to recognize the right of employees to engage in political activities while maintaining the principle of political impartiality in the public service.
Permitted activities	32.2 (1) An employee may engage in any political activity so long as it does not impair, or is not perceived as impairing, the employee's ability to perform his or her duties in a politically impartial manner.
Regulations	(2) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Commission, make regulations specifying the political activities that are deemed to impair the ability of an employee, or any class of employees, to perform their duties in a politically impartial manner.
Factors	(3) In making a regulation, the Governor in Council may take into consideration factors such as the nature of the political activity and the nature of the duties of an employee or class of employees and the level and visibility of their positions.
Seeking candidacy	32.3 (1) An employee may seek nomination as a candidate in a federal, provincial or territorial election before or during the election period only if the employee has requested and obtained permission from the Commission to do so.
Being a candidate before election period	(2) An employee may, before the election period, be a candidate in a federal, provincial or territorial election only if the employee has requested and obtained permission from the Commission to do so.
Being a candidate during election period	(3) An employee may, during the election period, be a candidate in a federal, provincial or territorial election only if the employee has requested and obtained a leave of absence without pay from the Commission.
Granting of permission	(4) The Commission may grant permission for the purpose of subsection (1) or (2) only if it is satisfied that the employee's ability to perform his or her duties in a politically impartial manner will not be impaired or perceived to be impaired.
Granting of leave	(5) The Commission may grant leave for the purpose of subsection (3) only if it is satisfied that being a candidate during the election period will not impair or be perceived as impairing the employee's ability to perform his or her duties in a politically impartial manner.
Factors	(6) In deciding whether seeking nomination as, or being, a candidate will impair or be perceived as impairing the employee's ability to perform his or her duties in a politically impartial manner, the Commission may take into consideration factors such as the nature of the election, the nature of the employee's duties and the level and visibility of the employee's position.
Conditions	(7) The Commission may make permission under subsection (4) conditional on the employee taking a leave of absence without pay for the period or any part of the period in which he or she seeks nomination as a candidate, or for the period or any part of the period in which he or she is a candidate before the election period, as the case may be.
Effect of election	(8) An employee ceases to be an employee on the day he or she is declared elected in a federal, provincial or territorial election.
Candidacy in municipal elections	33. (1) An employee may seek nomination as, or be, a candidate in a municipal election before or during the election period, only if the employee has requested and obtained permission from the Commission to do so.
Granting of permission	(2) The Commission may grant permission only if it is satisfied that seeking nomination as, or being, a candidate in the election will not impair or be perceived as impairing the employee's ability to perform his or her duties in a politically impartial manner.
Factors	(3) In deciding whether seeking nomination as, or being, a candidate will impair or be perceived as impairing the employee's ability to perform his or her duties in a politically impartial manner, the Commission may take into consideration factors such as the nature of the election, the nature of the employee's duties and the level and visibility of the employee's position.
Conditions	(4) The Commission may make permission under this section conditional on
	(a) the employee taking a leave of absence without pay
	(i) for the period or any part of the period in which he or she seeks nomination as a candidate, or for the period or any part of the period in which he or she is a candidate before the election period, as the case may be, or
	(ii) for the period in which he or she is a candidate during the election period; and
	(b) the employee taking a leave of absence without pay or ceasing to be an employee if he or she is declared elected.
Notice	33.1 On granting an employee permission under subsection 32.3(4), leave under subsection 32.3(5) or permission under subsection 33(2), the Commission shall cause notice that it has done so, together with the name of that employee, to be published in the Canada Gazette.
Political activities	33.2 A deputy head shall not engage in any political activity other than voting in an election.
Investigation and corrective action - employees	33.3 The Commission may investigate any allegation, made to it by a person who is or has been a candidate in an election, that an employee has failed to comply with any of subsections 32.2(1), 32.3(1) to (3) and 33(1) and, if it concludes that the allegation is substantiated, the Commission may dismiss the employee or may take any corrective action that it considers appropriate.