Category: Parks Canada

PSAC is getting ready for the next round of bargaining for over 4,000 members working at Parks Canada. As the first step in this process, we need to hear from you.

What would you like to see in your next collective agreement? This is your opportunity to share your ideas with us. Your participation is crucial to our strength as a union.

What makes a good bargaining proposal?

You can send us your proposals by filling out the online form. We are accepting input until March 21, 2025.  

The proposals will be reviewed and brought to the next bargaining conference to be held May 7-9, 2025, where delegates from locals across the country will prioritize them for negotiations. Talks for the next contract are expected to begin soon afterwards.

The current collective agreement expires August 4, 2025.

Please keep your contact information up to date to receive more updates as we prepare to negotiate your next contract.

PSAC Parks members work in architecture, commerce, engineering, finance, forestry, general labour and trades, historical research and program administration. From seasonal workers to office staff, from park wardens to canal workers, members working for Parks Canada help preserve our rich natural heritage.

As part of the collective agreement that PSAC negotiated during this round of bargaining for Parks Canada members,  the $2,500 pensionable lump-sum payment will be issued to all eligible members on January 31, 2024. 

• See our FAQ for full details about eligibility for the lump sum payment. 

The employer has 180 days from the date of signing to action retroactive pay, the $2,500 pensionable lump-sum payment and implement wage increases, wage adjustments and allowances. All non-monetary terms of the collective agreement took effect immediately upon signing on September 26, 2023. 
 
Unfair labour practice fight ongoing  

PSAC filed an unfair labour practice against Parks Canada, arguing that members who completed their contracts between the date of ratification on August 4 and September 26, 2023, should also receive the $2,500 pensionable lump-sum payment that was negotiated in good faith at the table.  

Instead, Parks Canada delayed signing the agreement by almost two months after it was ratified by a majority of members. As a direct result of this delay, vulnerable term employees did not receive a benefit that they had just voted to accept. We will update members as soon as we have a decision on this complaint.  
 
Take action!  

Send a letter to the Minister of the Environment Stephen Guilbeault and President of the Treasury Board Anita Anand to push the employer to honour the collective agreement.  

Stay informed  

Make sure your contact information is up to date, sign up to receive bargaining updates, and contact your regional office for more information.  

PSAC has filed an unfair labour practice against Parks Canada Agency for refusing to provide seasonal and term workers the pensionable lump sum payment negotiated as part of the collective agreement signed September 26. 

• The Parks Canada agreement is now available

Parks Canada blamed wildfires for the nearly eight-week delay in signing the collective agreement, causing many of the very PSAC members who were on the frontlines fighting these fires to lose out on receiving the $2,500 lump sum payment. For members to receive the lump sum payment, they must be in the bargaining unit when the collective agreement is signed.  Take Action

The delay means approximately 300 Parks Canada members who are term and seasonal workers will not receive the payment, including firefighters who battled wildfires, members in seasonal term positions at Canada’s historical sites, in the midst of a national housing crisis. Contracts for these workers typically end between late August and early September. 

The Parks Canada bargaining team has made it clear throughout this round of bargaining that this employer’s over-reliance on and abuse of term and seasonal workers is unnacceptable. Now, these same precarious workers will be burned again. 

PSAC will be arguing that members who have completed their contracts since the ratification on August 4 should receive the $2,500 pensionable lump-sum payment that was negotiated in good faith at the table. 

Stay informed  

Keep your contact information updated to date to receive the latest news.

Send a letter to the Minister of the Environment Stephen Guilbeault and President of the Treasury Board Anita Anand to push the employer to honour a collective agreement bargained in good faith.

UNE Local Representatives have been dealing with a high volume of inquiries about the latest on the Parks Canada Retroactive Payment.  

The employer has 180 days from the signing of the contract to implement wage increases, wage adjustments and allowances. If the Parks Canada Agency is unable to meet this deadline, there is a lump sum of $200 payable if the outstanding amount is more than $500 owed. 

The agreement was signed September 29, 2023.  Therefore, the employer has until March 27, 2024 to make the payments. 

More information on the collective agreement is available at https://www.unesen.ca/press/?p=10800

PSAC and the Parks Canada Agency have signed the new collective agreement eight weeks after it was ratified by members. However, the employer has backtracked on discussions to ensure that members in precarious positions—including firefighters—receive the one-time pensionable lump sum. 

Using wildfires as an excuse nothing less than shameful 

As the employer delayed signing, using fires in Canada’s North as an excuse, PSAC pushed for an agreement that would not leave our members, many of whom fought those same fires before their contracts ended, as victims of employer delays. 

“We pushed the employer to get this deal signed so that seasonal term workers would benefit,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC national president. “But now it’s clear. The Parks Canada Agency used wildfires as an excuse to delay, while it’s firefighters who they are shortchanging.” 

Based on information from the employer, there are roughly three hundred members who will not receive the lump sum payment due to the delay. This includes firefighters who have been on the frontlines of wildfires that have ravaged communities, members in seasonal term positions at Canada’s historical sites, and students in the midst of a national housing crisis. We negotiated a collective agreement to support term and seasonal workers, not leave them further behind. 
 
Take action 

PSAC and the Parks Canada Agency have signed the new collective agreement eight weeks after it was ratified by members. However, the employer has backtracked on discussions to ensure that members in precarious positions—including firefighters—receive the one-time pensionable lump sum. Tell the Ministers to make this right.