Newsletter

Becoming a Facilitator – New Video and Upcoming Orientation Sessions

The Joint Learning Program (JLP) invites Union members of the Core Public Administration and their employer counterparts to join its team of workshop facilitators. As a JLP facilitator, you will be part of a volunteer cadre of Public Service employees who are contributing to improved labor-management relations and healthier federal government workplaces.

When you become a JLP facilitator, you will join a community of more than 1,500 union and employer facilitators across Canada who have participated in the JLP since 2002. JLP facilitators work in many different kinds of jobs and represent almost all federal government departments. Some of them hold union positions, some of them are managers and executives, and all of them are connected by a common interest in working collaboratively to inspire positive change in their workplace. See the new JLP video on facilitation to get a sense of what it is to be a facilitator with the Program.

Through their involvement with the JLP, many facilitators told that they experienced personal growth and a renewed commitment to their public service careers. They developed new skills and form new friendships. And they got great satisfaction from successfully co-facilitating learning events that create a space for dialogue among their peers.

If you are selected as a potential JLP facilitator, you will attend a five-day facilitation training session that provides you with a strong foundation of facilitation skills. You will work jointly with union and employer representatives and you will experience an overview of the JLP program and learning materials. With the exception of salary and overtime (if applicable), which are paid by your department, all costs for this training (including travel and accommodation, if required) will be paid by the JLP.

The upcoming Orientation Sessions are as follow: 

  •          October 20-24, Ontario and Nunavut Region, Toronto
  •          November 3-7, Quebec Region, Montreal
  •          December 8-12, National Capital Region, Ottawa
  •          January 12-16, Prairies and Northwest Territories, Winnipeg
  •          February 2-6, British Columbia and Yukon Region, Vancouver

For more information or to submit an application, please contact the Regional Field Coordinators in your region.

Atlantic Region Welcomes New Facilitators to the Joint Learning Program

From September 22 to 26, in Halifax, the Atlantic Region hosted an orientation session on facilitation, given by Rachel Besharah and Marcia Vergara, Joint Learning Program (JLP) Program Officers. Wanda Thomas and Angela Léger, Field Regional Coordinators for the Atlantic Region, welcomed 18 new facilitators: Sarah Boulter, Jo Ann Colepaugh, Marc Diotte, Marc Doucet, Ronald Drake, Carl Gannon, RubyJean Hamel-Hussell, Alyson MacDonald, Margaret MacDonald, Rand MacKay, Arthur MacKinnon, Angus McKinnon, Pamela Nicholas, Ellen Pickett, Mike Scott, Monique Smalley, Craig Smith, and Christine Theriault.

Atlantic Region Welcomes New Facilitators to the Joint Learning Program

The participants 

Joint Learning Program Journey at the Public Service Alliance of Canada Conventions

The Joint Learning Program (JLP) had kiosks at several Public Service Alliance of Canada Component Conventions to greet facilitators and organizers and to promote its initiatives mainly the new Mental Health in the Workplace workshop through the Unions. The Conventions were as follow:

  •          Union of National Employees, August 10 to 15 - British Columbia and Yukon Region
  •          Union of Environment Workers Convention (UEWC), August 26 to 28 – Atlantic Region

Some UEWC delegates, observers and organizers

Some UEWC delegates, observers and organizers were greeted at the JLP kiosk by the Atlantic Regional Field Coordinators, Angela Léger, second from left, and Wanda Thomas, fourth from left.

  •          Canada Employment and Immigration Union Convention (CEIUC), September 12 to 16 – National Capital Region
  •          Government Services Union, September 23 to 25 – National Capital Region
  •          Customs and Immigration Union Convention, October 3 to 5 – National Capital Region
  •          Union of Veterans’ Affairs Employees Convention, October 4 to 6 - National Capital Region

The Joint Learning Program at the National Joint Council Symposium

The Joint Learning Program (JLP) participated in the National Joint Council (NJC) symposium which was held in Gatineau,September 17 and 18.

On the morning of the 17th, the new JLP branding was unveiled during the opening meeting. At the same time, a workshop on the new JLP Mental Health in the Workplace material was offered to the symposium participants.

National Capital Regional Field Coordinators, Linda Iezzi and Alex Roussakis greeted the participants who came by the JLP kiosk and distributed them publications and promotion articles identified with the new branding.

Joint Learning Program Co-Chair Ross McLeod Retiring

After a career spanning the course of 33.5 years, Ross MacLeod, Assistant Deputy Minister, Governance, Planning & Policy Sector, the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, will be retiring effective October 30, 2014. 

Mr. MacLeod has been the Co-Chair of the Joint Learning Program (JLP) since 2009. He was instrumental to the success of the JLP outreach in the Government of Canada. The JLP community is grateful to Mr. MacLeod for his leadership and vision.

Ross MacLeod (second from right) is pictured with his colleagues form the JLP Steering Committee. First row, from left to right, Jean-Pierre Fortin, Debi Daviau, Ross MacLeod, and Susan Nutbrow. Second row, from left to right, Jacynthe Séguin, Robyn Benson, Andrea Dean, Margaret Van Amelsvoort-Thoms, and Larry Rousseau. Absents : Sarah Bélanger, Claude Poirier and Noel Eichel