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Liberals Need to Fix the Phoenix Fiasco

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Official Opposition Critic for Public Services and Procurement, MP Alupa Clarke, and Deputy Critic, MP Kelly McCauley, today released the following statement calling on the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, the Hon. Judy Foote, to commit to a concrete plan to address the tax issues facing tens of thousands of Canadians, along with a strategy to recover the $70 million in missing overpayment funds:

 

“It is completely unacceptable that the Liberal Phoenix pay fiasco is still unresolved. New cases emerge every day and the Minister of Public Services and Procurement still has no plan to address them. Canadians affected by this fiasco understandably don’t believe that they will not be further impacted this tax season. While the Minister’s advice to “call the pay centre” or the CRA helpline seems simple enough, it’s hardly a solution when these employees can’t get through to a representative, a concern that’s been raised repeatedly but not yet resolved.

 

“Now we’re being told that over $70 million has been doled out in overpayments, and that the Minister’s department has no way of tracing where it went. The Liberals’ only action plan to find tens of millions of dollars is the honour system. This latest example demonstrates once again that this fiasco has been the result of severe mismanagement by the Minister and her department.

 

“We need accountability, not empty platitudes that fill a sound-bite. The Minister of Public Services and Procurement needs to confirm that there will be no negative impacts on employees’ tax returns, no clawbacks of the benefits they need to live, that no executives who were involved will get pay bonuses, and she must deliver a plan and date to fix the backlog and fix Phoenix.”