The Minister responsible for the Public Service Commission is the Manitoba

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...

responsible for the Public Service. The Manitoba Public Service Commission (PSC; ) is the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

and impartial department responsible for leading effective management of human resource and labour relations in the

provincial government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, o ...

and for representing the public interest through the administration of Manitoba's ''Public Service Act'' and regulations.Role of the Civil Service Commission
" ''Government of Manitoba''. Retrieved 2021 January 10. The PSC administers all recruitment policy and employment regulation related to public servants of the Manitoba government, and is the body responsible for the investigation and discipline of government employee misconduct. The PSC is headed by the Public Service Commissioner. The current Minister responsible for the Public Service Commission is

Reg Helwer Reg Helwer is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Brandon West as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba caucus.< ...

, who is also the Minister of Labour, Consumer Protection and Government Services. The Deputy Minister of the Public Service Commission, is also known as the Public Service Commissioner.

Overview

''The Civil Service Act'' is the primary legislative framework for human-resource management in Manitoba's government. Under the Act, "Conditions of Employment Regulation" sets out the terms and conditions of employment for provincial civil servants outside of a

bargaining unit A bargaining unit, in labor relations, is a group of employees with a clear and identifiable community of interests who is (under US law) represented by a single labor union in collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negoti ...

. The ''Manitoba Human Rights Code'' is the principle legislation prohibiting unreasonable discrimination in Manitoba. The Civil Service Board is composed of 6 citizen members appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council, as well as the presiding Deputy Minister of the Civil Service Commission, who is also known as the Civil Service Commissioner. The Board is responsible for delegating authority to employees of the CSC; for providing advice to the Minister responsible for the Civil Service Commission on issues related to human-resource management, programming, and procedures; for ensuring that all programming and policy stipulated in the ''Civil Service Act'' is administered correctly; and for presiding as a

quasi-judicial A quasi-judicial body is non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitration panel or tribunal board, that can be a public administrative agency but also a contract- or private law entity, which has been ...

appeals tribunal over cases related to employee selection, reclassification, and

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

Previous branches

Branches and divisions that have reported directly to the Civil Service Commission include: * Personnel Administration Branch (1969–79) * Personnel Services Division (1979–85) * Human Resource Management Division (1985–2006) * Administrative Services Division (1988–2009) * Personnel Policy and Audit Division (1978–88) * Staff Relations Branch (1969–79) * Labour Relations Division (1979–2000; transferred to the Department of Finance)

History

Department of the Civil Service

The Department of the Civil Service was established in 1885 through the ''Manitoba Civil Service Act'' to administer all recruitment policy- and employment regulation-related to people working for the Manitoba government. The act also established the department as the body responsible for the investigation and discipline of government employee misconduct.Department of the Civil Service
" ''Archives of Manitoba''. Retrieved 2021-01-11. The Department administered authority over all government employees with the exception of deputy ministers, who were appointed by and placed under the control of the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council. From its creation, the Department was structured as 2 divisions: one responsible for administering government employees stationed in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

; and the other responsible for government employees working outside of Winnipeg. Each division was responsible for providing direction, administering policy, and implementing regulation related to the designations, duties, promotions, and salaries of government employees falling under its jurisdiction. The department also set regulations concerning the age limits, educational standards, and the required experience necessary for employment with Manitoba's civil service. The Department of the Civil Service was headed by a Civil Service Board, which was composed of 3 deputy ministers appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council. The Board was responsible for examining all applicable candidates for employment in the civil service. It also acted as a disciplinary council, responsible for investigating all complaints of employee misconduct. In 1918, following accusations of political

partisanship A partisan is a committed member of a political party or army. In multi-party systems, the term is used for persons who strongly support their party's policies and are reluctant to compromise with political opponents. A political partisan is ...

, the Department was restructured as a commission and became known as the Civil Service Commission.

Civil Service Commission

The Civil Service Commission was established in 1918 by the ''Civil Service Commission Act'', assuming all functions and responsibilities held by the former Department of the Civil Service. In 1973, Labour Minister

Russell Paulley Andrew Russell Paulley (November 3, 1909 – May 19, 1984) was a Canadian politician. He served as leader of the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1959 to 1961, and its successor, the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, from ...

was given additional responsibilities as Minister responsible for the Civil Service Act, Minister responsible for the Civil Service Superannuation Act, and Minister responsible for the Public Servants Insurance Act. Since then, the

Executive Council of Manitoba The Executive Council of Manitoba (french: Conseil exécutif du Manitoba), more commonly known as the Cabinet of Manitoba, is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Manitoba. As of 2022, the current cabinet are members of the Progressive Conser ...

has included a minister or ministers responsible for the provincial civil service. This position is not a full cabinet portfolio, and has always been held by ministers with other cabinet responsibilities. In 1976, Paulley was given further responsibilities as Minister responsible for the Pension Benefits Act, while Bill Uruski took over responsibilities for the ''Civil Service Act''. (The Canadian Parliamentary Guide indicates that Paulley retained responsibilities for the ''Administration of the Civil Service Act'' even after Uruski's appointment, but this may be an error.) However, the responsibilities would be re-united under a single minister the next year, and

Ken MacMaster Kenneth MacMaster (born May 12, 1934) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1977 to 1981, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Sterling Lyon. ...

took office under the title 'Minister responsible for the Civil Service Commission' in 1978. In 1981,

Vic Schroeder Victor Harold Schroeder (born February 16, 1944 to a Mennonite family in Altona, Manitoba) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1979 to 1988, and a senior cabinet minister in the New De ...

took office as 'Minister responsible for the Civil Service Commission' and Minister responsible for the Civil Service Superannuation Board. The original four ministerial titles would resume in 1982. Since then, the CSC has maintained programs related to

workplace diversity The business case for diversity stems from the progression of the models of diversity within the workplace since the 1960s. In the United States, the original model for diversity was situated around affirmative action drawing from equal opportunit ...

and inclusion, as well as employee assistance and counselling. In 1983, the position relating to the ''Pension Benefits Act'' were dropped and replaced with the designation, Minister responsible for the Civil Service Special Supplementary Severance Benefit Act. In 1999, the position was simplified as Minister responsible for the Civil Service. In 2010, all human-resource services administered throughout the Government of Manitoba were restructured and centralized under the direct authority and administration of the Civil Service Commission. The current Minister responsible for the Civil Service Commission,

, is also Manitoba's Minister of Minister of Labour, Consumer Protection and Government Services.

List of Ministers responsible for the Manitoba Civil Service

References

{{Manitoba politics Civil Service, Minister responsible for the

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...