From: barrylw11@hotmail.com To: cheryl.gallant.a1@parl.gc.

ca Subject: Update JPSU Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2012 13:24:55 -0500 Cheryl I passed the recording minutes amongst the staff and they were very impressed that you brought this point forward - thank you. Major Chubbs has resigned from the Canadian Forces and will be having his depart with dignity ceremony on 25 January 13 at the Normandy Officers Mess. He is a good man and Officer and it is a shame to see him leave in such a manner. If you would like to present a certificate - perhaps from the PM - pls let me know and I will co-ord. Many staff members have received their termination letters and many, if not all, have resumes out. The combination of no exceptions, pension reform, conversion to Regular Force, poorly forecasted transition plan are taking their toll. Find below a suggestion I put forward (not actioned) and then a monthly report from a civilian (sent to you in confidence): Ref: Subj. 1. I may be right out-to-lunch on this, but from my Snr NCO perspective here on the ground, I believe the way this plan is being communicated could be improved upon. I fully understand that I may be missing some "big-picture" perspective on this, but I'd thought I'd throw a couple ideas your way in any case, as foll: a. Transition Plan. I believe a clear plan for all positions well in advance of the letters being handed out would be extremely beneficial. There is a great deal of angst being created by the present method that is not helpful to the JPSU Mission. Recommendation: I recommend that the CO issue a precise transition plan to the staff indicating the goals and benchmarks for complete transition and the affected positions including exceptions (if indeed any exist). b. Reg Force Transition. The transition to Reg Force and the current morale issues could both be resolved if those persons who occupy affected positions were offered a component transfer back into the Reg F and allowed to maintain their positions. Recommendation: I recommend that HHQ canvas the persons in affected positions to ascertain if they would be interested in maintaining their position in the Reg F. If so, I suggest liaison between HHQ and their Career Manager's be initiated to keep them there for a three-four year posting to allow for efficient handover, stability and exploitation of corporate knowledge. c. Classic PRes. We have "classic" reservists (non-annuitants) in our unit who are doing remarkable work and I would hate to see them depart our ranks for another unit. Recommendation: I recommend that special consideration be given to our classic reservists to allow them to remain in-place. 2. For your consideration.

And from one of our civilian staff:

Staffing challenges are reaching epic proportions at the IPSC. On Services side 4 out of 5 Services Coordinators are vacant. One of the vacancies is covered by a casual leaving the rest of the work to the one permanent Services Coordinator and the Services Manager both of whom are putting in significant amount of overtime. Other support is being provided by VRPSM and RTWs which although helpful can be sporadic and unreliable at times. Currently we are unable to provide Transition Services, clients are being wait listed to receive services in January unless urgent. Effective 7 December 12 we will lose the VRPSM candidate who is currently doing Cas Tracking so that function will no longer be performed until a casual is hired. The problems related to the staffing are not so much as current regulations as there appears to be abundant interested and keen individuals in the Ottawa area with good experience and skills, however, the HR administration process seems to be creating the biggest challenges for filling positions. Even the most basic staffing processes such as casual hires which should be very straightforward and efficient, are extremely slow and mired in bureaucracy and delays for no logical reason. The AS 04, 1 casual and AS 05 are currently working full out to try to keep up with demands. The situation is untenable. The impact on staff will lead to increased stress and burnout and the impact on clients is that they lose out on services, because there are simply not enough staff to meet the demands. On the platoon side, 3 out of 5 Section Commander positions are vacant leaving 2 section commanders to try to care for 150 Platoon members. This too, is an unmanageable situation. Despite the above, Morale in our Region has been listed as "Good" and "Very Good" in the official report - interesting. Regards... Barry