Minister for Federal Public Sector Labour Acts

Summary#

This is an Order (registration SI/2024-1) that names who the law calls “the Minister” for two federal labour-relations laws. It designates the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness as that minister under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board Act and the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act. The Order (P.C. 2023-1142) was made on November 23, 2023 and published in the Canada Gazette on January 3, 2024. It also repeals two earlier Orders from November 20, 2019.

What it does#

• Repeals Orders P.C. 2019-1352 and P.C. 2019-1353 (both dated November 20, 2019).
• Designates the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to be the minister referred to in the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board Act (the Board Act).
• Designates the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to be the “Minister” for the purposes of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (the labour-relations Act).
• The Order notes that this Minister is not a member of the Treasury Board and is a member of the King’s Privy Council for Canada.

Who's affected#

• The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board and other officials who work under those two Acts.
• Federal public service employees and their bargaining agents (unions) who interact with the Board or rely on ministerial references under those laws.
• Departments and agencies involved in federal collective bargaining and labour relations.
• It is not always clear, from the Order alone, whether any day-to-day processes will change; the Order mainly says which minister is formally named in the statutes.

Why it matters#

• The Order decides which federal minister is formally responsible under these two Acts. That affects who receives certain notices, who may be addressed in official communications, and who has specified ministerial roles under the laws.
• This is mainly an administrative switch. The Order does not itself change workers’ rights or the text of the labour laws.
• Unions, the Board, and federal employers may want to note the change so they contact the correct ministerial office for formal matters under these statutes.