[7] Following Canadian Confederation, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald's government sought to improve the quality and rigor of appointments with the passage of the Canada Civil Service Act in 1868.

[7] Prime Minister Robert Borden's government made eliminating patronage and reforming the civil service as key priorities for his government, culminating in the Civil Service Act, 1918, which in addition to granting the CSC with greater authority to set the organization of departments, position classifications, and recommend pay scales to Cabinet, the legislation set clear restrictions on outside political activity by public servants, including prohibitions on participating on campaigning or handling party funds.

As the CSC solidified its role as a body responsible for curtailing patronage, and protecting the integrity of the merit-based appointment process, it sought to improve the rigour of its entrance examinations.

During this period, Prime Minister R. B. Bennett's government, through Orders-in-Council, permanently transferred staffing authority from the CSC to the Treasury Board for civil service positions.

Given the Treasury Board's ability to enforce fiscal discipline, and its composition by members of Cabinet, it could more easily resist efforts to increase the size of the civil service, particularly during periods of economic hardship.

[7] The government was initially resistant to these efforts, asserting that the merit-based appointment system of the civil service eliminated the need for collective bargaining, and that the CSC was already well positioned to look out for the welfare of federal employees.

The St. Laurent government initially established a committee of senior officials to determine the viability of introducing collective bargaining rights, which was resistant to the idea.

In 1963, Prime Minister Lester Pearson's government appointed a Preparatory Committee for Collective Bargaining (PCCB), to facilitate negotiations between labour unions and the Treasury Board over employment contracts.

Furthermore, it expanded coverage of appeal mechanisms from civil servants from decisions relating to promotions, to other issues, such as transfers, demotions, suspensions, and dismissals.

In 1962, the government adopted several of the commission's recommendations, among them, the transferring responsibility over promotions and appointment policy over to the Treasury Board, and allowing individual departments to handle day-to-day personnel management.

The new PSEA notably introduced a new definition of 'merit', pivoting away from a rules-based determination of 'best qualified', and enabling managers to hire employees on the basis of 'best fit' within their organization.

In 2011, it eventually awarded a contract to IBM to develop the Phoenix Pay System, which would become the locus of controversy in later years due to errors in disbursing paychecks to federal employees.

[12] Beginning in 2014, the Privy Council Office, Treasury Board, and other departments launched a new renewal initiative, Destination 2020, which focused on a five-pronged plan to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the public service by 2020, focusing on the adoption of innovative practices, process renewal, the deployment of new technology, and promoting the values of the public service.

[13] In January 2016, the Phoenix pay system began to be rolled out across the federal government, and ran into significant performance issues, leading to thousands of public servants being overpaid, underpaid, or not paid at all over the course of several months.

[15] The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat to ask departments to close offices to curtail community spread of COVID-19, and switch to remote work where possible.

[20] In December 2022, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat directed departments and agencies to have employees attend work onsite at least 2 to 3 days per week, with a phased introduction beginning in January 2023 and with full implementation by the end of March 2023.

[21] Return-to-office, alongside wage increases to keep pace with rising inflation, became significant issues in labour negotiations between Public Service Alliance of Canada and TBS.

[2] Although Crown corporations and other federal interests such as the Canadian Armed Forces are often mistaken as being part of the public service, they are generally considered to be separate entities owing to their greater freedom from direct political control.

The Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada (TBS) is considered the 'employer' of the core public administration, and oversees the management of human, financial, and information resources within the federal government.

[33] While the PCO does not exercise any managerial authority over departments, their proximity to Cabinet decision-making means that federal organizations must consider their advice and guidance carefully when making decisions.

Changes to the Public Service Employment Act in 2003 redefined 'merit' within recruitment processes to focus less on a rules-based concept of best-qualified, and more on a values-based approach.

This enables managers to hire qualified and competent individuals whose experience, skills and knowledge are the best fit for a position's current and future needs.

After candidates submit their initial application, they are screened by human resource personnel to ascertain their qualifications and determine if they qualify for inclusion within a pool, from which managers can draw from.

[58] In addition, managers can select candidates through a non-advertised appointment of former participants in Government of Canada student employment programs to an entry-level position.

Approximately 80 per cent of federal public service employees are represented by a bargaining agent, who negotiate contracts directly with the Treasury Board.

Employment equity represents a number of positive actions taken within the federal public service to provide opportunities to disadvantaged groups within Canadian society.

[67] The legal and regulatory framework of employment equity within the federal public service relies on representation targets, set jointly by PSC, TBS, and other relevant bodies on a periodic basis, as opposed to specified quotas for these groups.

[68] The rejection of quotas was intended to preserve the merit-based nature of the selection process in the public service, while providing underrepresented groups with equal footing in applying for positions.

[68] Similar efforts were made with the establishment of the Office of Native Employment in 1973, which sought to encourage more participation of Indigenous peoples in the public service.

[69] Recent efforts to advance employment equity have foregrounded increasing the representation of equity-seeking groups among executives within the public service, where significant gaps continue to persist.