Government of Canada 101
This is the head of government in Canada
Who is the Prime Minister?
This federal agency is responsible for promoting health and preventing disease in Canada.
What is the Public Health Agency of Canada?
The phrase “work-life balance” often includes this flexible work option.
What is hybrid work / remote work?
I’m the nation’s capital, home to Parliament Hill, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Rideau Canal.
What is Ottawa?
This beverage magically appears at 9 a.m., disappears by 9:07, and is considered more important than lunch.
What is coffee?
This public body is responsible for administering federal elections
What is Elections Canada?
PHAC was created in 2004 in response to this major public health crisis.
What is the SARS outbreak?
Every public servant knows the joy of this mandatory training platform
What is Canada School of Public Service?
Located across the river from Ottawa, I host many federal employees and the Canadian Museum of History.
What is Gatineau?
This type of meeting could have easily been an email but somehow takes your entire afternoon.
What is a status update meeting?
The Clerk of this institution is the highest-ranking public servant in Canada
What is the Privy Council?
This federal official serves as the lead spokesperson on public health and is often seen during health emergencies.
Who is the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada? (CPHO)
The time you take when you’ve “earned it” and just need a break.
What is vacation leave?
I’m home to the RCMP Training Academy, a big Agriculture Canada presence, and I really love my Roughriders.
What is Regina?
This is the brave moment you risk speaking up, only to realize your mic is still off.
What is “talking while muted”?
This department manages the federal government’s workforce, pensions, and pay
What is the Treasury Board Secretariat?
PHAC is part of which other larger federal department?
What is Health Canada?
This is the tool used to clock hours, track leave, and occasionally confuse you.
What is PeopleSoft?
I’m a coastal city with regional offices for Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada — and yes, it rains a lot.
What is Vancouver?
You know you're in the public service when your day starts with emails and ends with this glorious document no one wants to write.
What is a briefing note?
This is the number of federal government departments and agencies in Canada (within 10)
What is approximately 120?
PHAC monitors and manages outbreaks through this national early warning system
What is the Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN)?
According to the Directive on Performance Management, this is the minimum number of formal performance conversations a manager must have with each employee per year.
What is three?
(One at the beginning of the cycle, one mid-year review, and one year-end assessment.)
I’m the prairie city where you’ll find the Public Health Agency of Canada’s high-security National Microbiology Laboratory — and yes, we do science in the snow.
What is Winnipeg?
This is what public servants call it when they work from home but forget where they put their pants.
What is “business casual from the waist up”?