CFIA ratification vote information for members in BC
The Canada Food Inspection Agency bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement with the Agency, and PSAC members will now have the opportunity to vote on their new collective agreement. PSAC has organized ratification votes between October 5 to November 4 to allow CFIA members to cast your ballot. See below to sign up for the ratification vote webinar that is most convenient for you.
In order to be eligible to vote you must:
- have received your personal identification number by e-mail or mail (your PIN is required to vote, but is not required to register and attend a webinar)
- ensure you are a member in good standing (MIGS)
- attend a 15-minute webinar session
Step 1: Receive your Personal Identification Number (PIN)
For those PSAC members for whom we have no personal email, we will send a letter in the mail containing your PIN to your home address two weeks before the beginning of the voting period. If we have a non-employer, personal e-mail address on file, we will instead send you an email with your PIN the day before voting begins (please check your junk mail folder). If you still haven't received your PIN, please contact your PSAC Regional Office.
Please take a moment to update your contact information and provide us with your personal, non-work email address. You can update your contact information online by logging into the PSAC member portal or create an account if you don’t already have one.
If you still have not received your PIN after the voting period begins, please check your junk e-mail folder and if it is not found there contact your PSAC Regional Office.
Step 2: Ensure you are a member in good standing (MIGS)
In some situations, PSAC members cease being members in good standing (MIGS) and lose the right to participate in ratification votes. To confirm your status, please contact your PSAC component.
If you are on extended leave
If you are on extended leave (e.g., long term disability, maternity or parental leave) and therefore not a member in good standing (MIGS), you can make a request to remain in good standing to the National President via this online form. This will allow you to participate in the ratification vote.
If you have not signed a union card or are unsure that it has been processed
If you have never signed a union card, you will not be able to participate in the ratification process. You can fill out and sign a union card online.
If you are unsure that you have previously signed a card or are unsure that it has been processed, simply fill out a new card online.
Even if you are already a member in good standing, please take a moment to give us your personal, non-work email address. You can update your contact information online right now.
If you have difficulty updating your information, contact your PSAC Regional Office.
Step 3: Register for a webinar
In order to ensure that members are fully informed prior to casting their ballot, the PSAC constitution requires all members to attend an information session before they vote. These sessions will be held by webinar in each region and will allow members to ask questions regarding the content of the tentative agreement. Attendance will be tracked and only those who registered and attended the full presentation will have their member profile updated on the e-voting system, enabling them to vote.
Find your PSAC region below to register for the webinar. Your PSAC ID is required to register for the webinar. It is listed in the top right corner of your voter package for easy reference or you can contact your PSAC Regional Office to obtain it. You must attend a session specific to your bargaining unit in order for your attendance to be counted. Please note that registrations will close 90 minutes (180 minutes in the Quebec region) before a webinar starts. Make sure to register early in order to secure your spot.
It is strongly recommended that you join the webinar online and only call into the webinar if you have no other option. This will allow you to pose questions in the question box, follow along with the videos and presentation, and easily have your attendance tracked. Those who join by phone will have to go through an additional verification process.
*You do not need to have received your PIN in order to register for and participate in a webinar*
CFIA ratification vote webinar schedule for members in the BC Region
Note: GoToWebinar is not supported on Internet Explorer. Please use a different browser to register for the webinars (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge).
- CFIA VOTE - Session #1 - Wednesday October 14, 2020 - 7:00 PM
- CFIA VOTE - Session #2 - Thursday October 22, 2020 - 12:00 PM
Online webinar participation is preferred
We strongly recommend joining via browser or the GoToWebinar app (iPhone, Android) as this allows us to automatically track your attendance. If you wish to join by phone, you can have your participation counted by briefly joining the webinar via browser or the app and retrieving an audio PIN using the control panel. You can then log off the online webinar to continue listening by calling in by phone and have your participation counted.
If you will be joining by phone and are unable to retrieve an audio PIN through the app or browser, please note that your attendance will not be automatically registered. Therefore, you must inform your PSAC Regional Office of your presence on the webinar. Instructions on how to do so will be provided during the webinar. If we do not have a record of your attendance, your vote will not be counted.
Requests for accommodation
If you require any accommodation to be able to participate fully in the webinars (such as ASL interpretation), please contact your PSAC Regional Office as soon as possible.
Technical notes
Please join the webinar a few minutes early to make sure you are able to log-in and address any technical problems in advance.
The webinar may not work on all tablets.
Step 4: How to Vote
As a PSAC member working for CFIA, you will have the opportunity to vote on the tentative agreement with your employer from October 5 to November 4.
You can vote on the tentative agreement by telephone or online. As stated above, you must attend an information session before voting.
- Using the PIN that was sent to you by e-mail or mail, you can vote any time from 8:00 a.m. (EDT) the day voting begins until 12 p.m. (EDT) the final day of voting after you have attended a webinar outlined in Step 3.
- The phone number and website for voting will be provided to you during the webinar.
- Please be aware that if you should be interrupted while voting, you may re-access the voting system to complete your voting.
- This vote is by secret ballot. How you vote is entirely confidential.