On September 3rd, Regional Vice President Jeff Sandelli met with Liberal Member of Parliament, Ben Carr, at his constituency office located in Winnipeg South Centre.
MP Carr is the son of the late, Honourable Jim Carr, who had developed a relationship with USJE during his tenure as the Chair of the Public Safety Committee having attended tours at Stony Mountain Institution and the Osborne Community Correctional Centre (CCC) in 2022.
This was the first formal meeting between MP Ben Carr and RVP Sandelli, although they have had previous discussions at community events, which resulted in the MP having an awareness of USJE and its members.
MP Carr was provided with an overview of USJE, in that it represents nearly 20,000 federal Public Safety Personnel (PSP) across 18 federal departments. It was impressed upon him that USJE members work from coast to coast to coast, providing both front-line and support services that help keep Canadian safe. It was further explained that most USJE members work in public safety roles that aren’t traditionally recognized or understood by the public, such as police, fire and paramedics. As a result, USJE members don’t often receive the accolades or supports that they deserve.
The conversation led to an opportunity to talk about a cross-section of roles and duties that are undertaken by USJE members. MP Carr asked several questions to help enhance his understanding of the delineation between federal and provincial jurisdiction, and who has responsibility for what.
Further, he identified that “community safety” was one of the primary areas of concern that he hears about from his constituents and, as a result, he articulated an understanding of the necessity of investments in the area.
It was on this note that dialogue around the Liberal “Comprehensive Expenditure Review” took place. MP Carr identified that he felt that there were areas in the federal government were reviews and optimization need to take place to realign spending. The experience and impact of the Deficit Reduction Action Plan, led by the Harper era Conservatives was discussed as it related to “cuts” and impacts on Canadians.
It was pointed out that some of the current cuts were already being realized by citizens, such as the recent example of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and telephone wait times. RVP Sandelli offered caution and consideration on the implications of making even minor cuts in the Public Safety portfolio given the potential consequences, some of which could be grave.
MP Carr offered that when it comes to making decisions that create change, it is very important that they are well thought out and consulted has been undertaken prior to the decision, in order to avoid unintended consequences. No doubt, there have been times when decisions are taken to advance necessary outcomes which only cause frustration and problems in other areas. He reflected that while he does not currently hold a position directly related to Federal public safety, he was prepared to have conversations with Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, to share the viewpoints brought forward by RVP Sandelli.
RVP Sandelli then introduced discussions related to the federal Government Employees Compensation Act (GECA) and how, in its current form, it often results in USJE members being treated differently when they report a workplace injury. In essence, GECA is a mechanism by which the federal government contracts provincial/territorial Workers’ Compensation boards to both assess and administer (under their own guidelines) the provision of Workers’ Compensation. Owing to the fact that different provincial and territorial governments have different criteria in place for coverage, particularly when it comes to presumptive entitlements, it ultimately creates the conditions for highly variable outcomes and treatment options for federal public safety personnel, depending on where they reside.
USJE Presumptive Injury Campaign seeks to amend GECA to ensure that it provides better presumptive coverage for federal public safety personnel. If this was established, USJE members, regardless of where they reside, would be quickly approved for coverage for a work-related psychological injury, and could receive the treatment they need and deserve, given their important roles and contributions.
MP Carr expressed interest in USJE’s campaign and, as a result, was provided with additional information as well as an invite to the USJE World Mental Health Day events that will be held in Ottawa this October. MP Carr made a request of his staff to add the date/time to his calendar, commenting that he would do his best to attend.
At the conclusion of the meeting, MP Carr encouraged RVP Sandelli to continue reaching out to members of the Liberal party to educate and share information.
If you are interested in contacting your MP to talk about USJE and any of its ongoing campaigns, please reach out to your Regional Vice President and/or USJEcommunicationSESJ@psac-afpc.com for information on available tools and support.