Phoenix pay backlog hovers at 200,000 transactions | CBC News

After several years of progress tackling the backlog of payroll transactions, the federal government still finds itself struggling to undo the mistakes of its troubled Phoenix pay system.

Government records showed there were 209,000 unresolved transactions at the end of April 2023, which far exceeds the government pay centre’s normal workload.

Included in that amount is a file belonging to public servant Manon Bertrand, who says the government owes her $82,000 due to errors with her pay and a severance package.

Speaking to Radio-Canada in French, Bertrand described how phoning the government’s pay centre in Miramichi, N.B., feels fruitless because she’s not actually able to connect directly with a pay and benefits specialist.

“You call and call and call, but there’s never any change and all the person answering can do is enter information in the system,” said Bertrand. “My file isn’t complex … I’d just need five minutes to tell them, ‘check this and check that’ and the problem would be fixed.”

Bertrand has been on long-term disability since 2016 after suffering her second stroke. She wants to clear up her pay issue so she can officially retire and begin collecting her pension, as well as qualify for the health benefits attached to her pension.

“It’s discouraging because there’s no light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.

‘That’s very much on us’, MP says

The Phoenix payroll system has plagued Canada’s public service since it was launched in 2016. Many federal employees went unpaid for long periods of time, were paid less than expected or have been overpaid since the system was set up.

Back in March 2021, the government’s backlog of payroll transactions stemming from Phoenix dropped to 94,000 from an initial high of 384,000 in January 2018. But in the past two years the backlog has crept back up and has been hovering around the 200,000 mark since August 2022.

“We have a covenant with public servants that they should be paid fully, on time and accurately,” said Liberal MP Greg Fergus. “When that doesn’t happen, that’s very much on us.” 

Fergus, who serves as the Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is Bertrand’s MP in the riding of Hull-Aylmer.

He expressed regret for the situation facing her and thousands of other public servants, and confirmed Bertrand has contacted his office for assistance three times regarding her payroll woes. His office has been unable to provide her with any updates.

“We’re not always able to get things as quickly as they would want it done or resolved to their satisfaction,” Fergus said. “We also have a limitation in terms of what we can do, but we do try our best to try to make sure that people get paid accurately and on time.”

In its 2023 budget, the Liberal government allocated $1 billion over the next two years so Public Services and Procurement Canada can keep existing staff at the Miramichi payment centre to process pay transactions for public servants, and deal with the ongoing backlog.