In 2023, the Legislative Assembly appointed a Special Committee to undertake a Review of the Public Service Act in relation to the just cause dismissal process. George Chow, MLA and Chair, invited the BCEEA to provide input because of the association and its employees’ interest in the dismissal process. On October 6, 2023, BCEEA President Frances Sasvari and Executive Director Elizabeth Gilliland, along with board member Alistair Cochrane and advisor Selina Lew presented to the committee highlighting recommendations specific to the experience of our excluded members. In the end, the Special Committee appreciated the insights from the BCEEA and accepted and included all of our recommendations.
Further, the BCEEA recommended that the Merit Commissioner continue to review all eligible dismissals to ensure that ample information be provided to the Commissioner in conducting their reviews. In addition, the Special Committee acknowledged that they did not hear from any individuals who had been subject to a just cause dismissal as part of the public consultation. Therefore, the Committee recognized that the BCEEA represented voices and brought insights that would otherwise not have been heard during their process – those of excluded employees.
The BCEEA would like to thank the following members who donated their time and expertise to develop our submission: Alistair Cochrane, Selena Lew, Sean Steele, and Brenda Lennox. We would also like to acknowledge the input of our members whose stories and experiences throughout the dismissal process helped shape our recommendations.
To read more see our PDF version of this Communique to Members.