Op Ed: CTF says strike proves privileged PSAC is out of touch

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the federal government to reject the unaffordable and unsustainable demands from the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

“Canadians don’t feel sorry for the privileged bureaucrats on strike who took pay raises during the pandemic and never worry about losing their job,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of the CTF. “These bureaucrats are living a privileged life and now they want to take billions more from taxpayers who are worried about making their mortgage payments and struggling to afford gas and groceries.”

PSAC demanded up to 47 per cent compensation increases over three years, according to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. That would cost taxpayers $9.3 billion.

A total of 312,825 federal employees received at least one pay raise during the pandemic. That means more than 90 per cent of federal employees received a raise during the pandemic. The federal government also paid out $559 million in bonuses since 2020.

Compensation for each full-time federal employee is $125,300 on average when pay, pension and other benefits are added up, according the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

“[Federal] personnel spending over the past two years increased by 30.9 per cent,” according to the PBO. “The public service expanded by 31,227 full-time equivalents.”

“Taxpayers paid for hundreds of thousands of pay raises, hundreds of millions in bonuses and tens of thousands of new employees over the last few years and now bureaucrats are demanding billions more,” Terrazzano said. “Enough is enough. The government must reject PSAC’s unaffordable, unsustainable and out of touch demands.”

The non-wage benefits PSAC has demanded include:

- A special shift premium whenever members work past 4 p.m.;

- Taxpayer-funded contributions to the PSAC’s

Social Justice Fund, which engages in “advocacy for progressive public policy,” according to the union’s website;

- An education fund for laid-off members of up to $17,000;

- Increased paid leave for family related responsibilities from 37.5 hours to 75 hours annually; and,

- Accrual of four weeks of automatic vacation leave after four years of service, rather than after seven years of service.

PSAC President Chris Aylward speaks to the crowd during the federal workers strike. Twi

Age: 17

Grade: 12

School: Osgoode Township

High

Grade: 12

Parents: Heather and Dennis Wyche

Focus On Youth

by Phill Potter

Parents: Heather and Dennis Wyche

These past weeks our community has once again been challenged with ongoing power outages, property damage, disruption to cell and internet service, loss of use of water and sump pumps. This fractured impact of the April 5 ice storm left some residents expressing concerns as to what MVCA’s role is at the time of a community emergency.

In the event of a disaster or major emergency, the City of Ottawa has an Emergency Management Plan outlining the roles and responsibilities of all involved - the Mayor, City Councillors, and City departments, community agenciesto ensure essential services are provided during an emergency and identify locations of Emergency Reception Centres. To review this plan go to https:// app06.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/cpsc/2011/0324/03%20-%20Document%20

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Plan-%20Schedule%20B.htm

In 2019 the MVCA Board worked on a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan specifically for Manotick and our community residents. The Emergency Preparedness Guidelines include what to do during an emergency, making an emergency plan and kit, contact numbers for services and resources – everything you need to know that is expected of residents in an emergency. Go to https://www.manotickvca. org/emergency-preparadnessplan

Your association not only serves you but lives in your community and is equally impacted by community emergencies. Each resident should become familiar with these guidelines in preparation for the next occurrence. Emergency help and rescue can take days in some situations. If you have questions about emergency preparedness in our community, please contact us at info@ manotickvca.org.

Pedestrian Safety

For years, the MVCA has been advocating on the importance of safety on our roads. In 2018 we conducted a Walkability Audit outlining recommendations, many of which the City has implemented. The remaining items were submit-

VILLAGE VOICE

by Irene Staron, President,