'We're very happy with the budget': Feds outline $159.1 million in funding for training, IT at Global Affairs Canada

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Published May 12, 2024 • Last updated 10 minutes ago • 3 minute read

Global Affairs Canada’s chief transformation officer, Antoine Chevrier Photo by JULIE OLIVER /Postmedia

Global Affairs Canada’s chief transformation officer and a senator who recently conducted a study on the country’s foreign service say they’re pleased with the funding outlined for the department in the latest federal budget, set to support recruitment, training, compensation for staff and more.

The federal government’s 2024 budget outlined $159.1 million in funding over five years, beginning in 2024-25 to support a “transformation” at Global Affairs Canada. The document included $5.9 million in remaining amortization.

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Of the total funding, $61.4 million was proposed to “strengthen recruitment and training” for Canada’s foreign service; $47.6 million went to supporting competitive compensation for locally engaged staff at missions abroad; $32.1 million, with $5.9 million in remaining amortization, went to “strengthening” information management and technology systems and $18 million went to increasing Canada’s presence at the United Nations.

“In order to protect and promote Canada’s interests around the world, Canada must have a foreign service that is modern and fit for purpose in a changing world,” the budget stated. “Global Affairs Canada (GAC) is facing an increasingly complex global environment. To meet this moment, GAC has begun a multi-year organizational transformation to make sure it stays fit for purpose and can advance Canadian foreign policy priorities, and serve Canadians abroad.”

The majority of the funding is going toward recruitment and training of staff, which Antoine Chevrier, chief transformation officer at the department, said is key as the department hasn’t hired enough foreign service officers “for many years,” adding that recruitment processes have been launched or are “en route.”

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While he could not provide concrete numbers, Chevrier said the department has had “at least a 10 per cent gap” in its foreign officer pool group.

“We want the healthy pool of foreign service officer to make sure that we have the capacity to deploy them abroad,” he said. “Things happen in life, people go on maternity leave, people go on training.”

Chevrier said the department plans to improve recruitment by holding more regular competitions, including for entry-level and post-secondary applicants. He said the funds from the budget would likely be used to pay staff to hold competitions, to run databases and for salaries for new staff.

“The more we do it regularly, the smaller they can be and the more focused they can be, including in terms of targeting specific expertise. Could be specific linguistic expertise, specific thematic expertise (like climate, data or AI).”

In terms of training, Chevrier put an emphasis on foreign language training, as he said “if we want to hire across the country, not all colleagues who are qualified to join the department have the same level of skills in official languages.”

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Sen. Peter Boehm, who recently conducted an examination of Canada’s foreign service, said he was pleased to see the budget funding, noting that it does square with his committee’s recommendations.

Parallel to many of the findings that Global Affairs outlined in its Future of Diplomacy paper in June, the Senate recommendations outlined in a 80-page document published late last year covered everything from enhancing public outreach to provide Canadians with a better understanding of what the foreign service does to providing staff with more mentorship and training opportunities, building a more diverse workforce, cutting down senior management and empowering mid-level management.

“The challenge for the government and for the department will be to be consistent across the board and try to apply these new funds in a very meaningful operational way,” Boehm said.

Chevrier said the news from the budget builds on the “already-rolling” momentum on transformation efforts, with the department publishing a report on the “future of diplomacy” last June and a transformation implementation plan in September.

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”That just keeps the momentum going and enhances our transformation,” Chevrier said. “So we’re quite enthused about that.”

In terms of the funding for compensation for locally engaged staff, which Chevrier said make up the largest group of GAC employees, it’s not just about salary but also benefits.

“This is a moving target and the needle is always moving country by country,” he said, noting that there have been several instances where staff have decided to work in other missions due to more competitive compensation.

Chevrier said it’s important the department work to improve its IT systems, noting the recent cyber attacks that have taken place at Global Affairs Canada.

He noted that funding will also be beneficial to increase Canada’s presence at the United Nations, noting that there are “non-partners” who have “upped their game.”

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