Question Period Note: AUDIT ON THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION DATA ISSUE

• The Public Service Commission (PSC) published audit results examining the impact of a technical issue related to the data transfer process that occurred between 13 November 2020, and 19 January 2024. The issue led to some Veterans not being properly identified for preference in the Public Service Resourcing System.
• The PSC has contacted Veterans who may have been implicated to confirm their interest in public service employment. The PSC is working directly with departments and agencies to explore potential placements of qualified veterans to help them secure public service employment.
• The PSC has already taken steps, in collaboration with the Department of National Defence, to review and confirm the proper functioning of the data transfer process, and have put in place a series of controls and new processes to detect and help prevent reoccurrence of the outage.
• Canada’s Veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members are a rich source of talent with valuable knowledge, skills and experience, and a demonstrated commitment to Canada. We value their contribution to our country and will continue to support their employment in the public service.

An issue was discovered with the data transfer process between the Department of National Defence and the Public Service Commission of Canada from November 13, 2020, to January 19, 2024, which resulted in a number of Veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members not being properly identified for preference and mobility entitlements. The data transfer process has been re-established as of January 19, 2024.
Under the Public Service Employment Act, eligible Veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members are provided entitlements to support them in finding federal public employment: priority, preference and mobility. To enable preference and mobility entitlements, the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) receives a list from the Department of National Defence of eligible Veterans and serving Canadian Armed Forces members through a secure web service.
The PSC discovered a technical issue with this data transfer process from November 13, 2020, to January 19, 2024. This issue may have led to a number of Veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members not being properly identified for preference and mobility entitlements. The data transfer process has since been re-established.
The PSC determined that this technical issue had no impact on the priority entitlements of medically released Veterans, as these entitlements are captured in a different system. An examination of mobility entitlements is being conducted separately and its results will be shared at a later date.
All Veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members who may have been affected were notified of this issue in writing. The Public Service Commission offered information sessions to provide them with more details and next steps.
The PSC announced an audit in March 2024 to determine the impact of the technical issue related to the data transfer process, specifically if Veterans may not have been properly identified for preference in the Public Service Resourcing System. The audit gathered information through a questionnaire sent to 63 departments and agencies and is now complete.
The results of the audit were released November 18, 2024 and the Public Service Commission sent letters to all Veterans impacted by the technical issue informing them of the specific impact and advising them to contact the Public Service Commission by January 10, 2025 to discuss next steps.
The audit concluded that for order of preference for 2893 Veterans:
• the order of preference was applied for 94 veterans
• the order of preference was not applied for 87 veterans (3% of the population included in the scope of the audit); these veterans may have been negatively affected by the data transfer issue
• the order of preference was not applicable for 1 549 veterans, due to a variety of reasons
• therefore, 1643 (57%) Veterans were not affected by the data transfer (94 + 1549)
The audit also determined that additional information would be required to determine the impact on whether the order of preference was properly applied for the remaining 1 163 veterans.
Based on the audit findings, 4 recommendations have been made, specifically that:
• the PSC take specific measures to address the 87 cases where the order of preference was not respected;
• for the 2017 cases where there was insufficient information to reach a conclusion, the PSC consider follow-up actions if necessary;
• the PSC provide additional guidance to departments on the order of preference to ensure it is well understood and applied by sub-delegated managers and human resources advisors; and,
• the Department of Defence and the Public Service Commission should review their data transfer and data management practices as it relates to veteran status to ensure that information is accurate and up to date.
The Public Service Commission is exploring what can be done to address the situations where the order of preference may not have been properly applied for eligible Veterans by hiring departments. Veterans will be asked to confirm their interest in public service employment for those that continue to seek employment.
For instances where the audit was unable to conclude on particular cases, the Public Service Commission will be encouraging departments and agencies to complete the assessment of the candidates to ensure that the preference will be applied appropriately for further appointments for qualified candidates.
“The Public Service Commission will also be enhancing their support and guidance to departments and agencies on the order of preference, beyond and including support for veteran hiring, to strengthen understanding and proper application by sub-delegated managers and human resources advisors.”
The Public Service Commission in collaboration with the Department of National Defence have reviewed and confirmed the proper functioning of the data transfer process. They have put in a series of controls and new processes to detect and help prevent such occurrences from happening again.

Q1 – What work is VAC doing with the PSC to rectify the issue?
VAC is working in partnership with the PSC to ensure we are marketing Veterans impacted by the audit who have applied for positions at VAC and are still interested in job opportunities with the organization.
Q2 – Why was the audit conducted?
The audit was launched to determine whether the order of preference was applied for Veterans who were eligible for preference at the time of appointment but were not included in the Public Service Resourcing System (PSRS) due to the data transfer outage.
Q3 – What exactly happened in the data outage?
A technical issue between the Department of National Defence and the PSC resulted in a data transfer outage period between November 13, 2020, and January 19, 2024. This may have led to a number of Canadian Armed Forces members and veterans not being properly identified for preference and mobility entitlements in the Public Service Resourcing System.
On January 19, 2024, the data transfer process was re-established. The PSC determined that the outage had no impact on the priority entitlements of medically released veterans, as these entitlements are captured in a separate system. In March 2024, the PSC notified veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members who may have been affected by this issue.
The PSC also announced in March 2024 that it would be launching an audit with departments and agencies to determine who may have been affected and advised that it would communicate the results of the audit to those individuals.
Condensed timeline:
• A technical issue resulted in a data transfer outage period between November 13, 2020, and January 19, 2024.
• On January 19, 2024, the data transfer process was re-established.
• In March 2024, the PSC notified veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members who may have been affected by this issue.
• The PSC announced in March 2024 that it would be launching an audit
If asked about monitoring and process controls:
The PSC has taken steps, in collaboration with the Department of National Defence, to review and confirm the proper functioning of the data transfer process. They have also put in place a series of controls and new processes to detect and help prevent reoccurrence of the outage.

Q4 – How do you know the issue is fixed and won’t happen again?
IT teams at PSC and DND have worked together towards a resolution. The data transfer process was re-established and validated in PSRS on January 19, 2024. This means everyone with a mobility provision is now able to see positions open to public servants.
On February 29, 2024, the PSC also asked departments and agencies to refresh the status of applicants on all processes from which appointments can be made. This was required to ensure identification of Veterans and CAF members eligible for preference and mobility entitlements is updated.
The PSC and DND have conducted a thorough review of the situation to understand why it occurred, and identified measures to ensure risk of reoccurrence is minimized, and that the required controls are in place to detect and address any potential future issues in a timely manner. The PSC will also conduct cyclical reviews of controls and procedures in collaboration with DND.
Q5 – What were the key findings of the audit performed by the PSC?
The audit examined information gathered on 7 821 job applications submitted by 2 893 eligible veterans in advertised external appointment processes from 63 departments and agencies.
The audit reaches conclusions for both applications and veterans, as some veterans submitted more than one application.
The audit found that the order of preference was applied for 94 veterans, while it was not applied for 87 veterans. The order of preference was not applicable for a further 1 549 veterans. For 1 163 veterans, there was insufficient information to conclude on order of preference. In this group are 964 veterans (83%) who were partially assessed or unassessed for at least one of their job applications.
Q6 – What are the next steps?
The Public Service Commission of Canada is taking steps to explore what could be done to address situations where the order of preference may not have been properly applied for eligible veterans. They will work directly with departments and agencies to explore potential placements of qualified veterans to help them secure public service employment.
The PSC has also recently consulted with stakeholders, including veterans, on a proposal to increase employment opportunities for individuals whose preference entitlement may not have been properly applied and who have not yet found public service employment. They will continue to assess this and other options to address cases where preference may not have been properly applied.
The PSC is currently enhancing their support and guidance to departments and agencies on the order of preference, beyond and including support for veteran hiring, to strengthen understanding and proper application by sub-delegated managers and human resources advisors. Specifically, they are improving existing guidance on hiring veterans and developing precise guidance on the application of the order of preference in appointments.
The PSC has already taken steps, in collaboration with the Department of National Defence, to review and confirm the proper functioning of the data transfer process. Finally, they have put in place a series of controls and new processes to detect and help prevent reoccurrence of the outage.
Q7 – Will placement of veterans be a challenge given recent announcements on government spending?
Veterans often have unique skill sets and are located across the country. The PSC will continue to assess options to increase employment opportunities for individuals whose preference entitlement may not have been properly applied and who have not yet found public service employment.
Q8 – How is the PSC reaching out to Veterans?
The PSC has been communicating audit results to veterans through email and will offer the opportunity to discuss specific results if requested.