Phoenixed: Inside Canada’s payroll disaster Global Payroll Association

After the Canadian government launched a new payroll system in 2016, many public servants were underpaid, some for months at a time. Civil servants who “got phoenixed” have lost job opportunities and lost houses. The Phoenix pay project started with good intentions — so how did it all go so wrong? Phoenixed: Inside Canada’s payroll disaster, produced by the Global Payroll Association and Storythings, takes you inside the story in a six-part investigative series.
 
Episode One - timestamps
(00.00) Intro
(03:28) Place du Portage
(05:15) Graham Jenkins
(06:56) Payroll complexity
(11:37) Why Phoenix failed
(16:52) Parliamentary hearing
(19:06) Union rep Chris Aylward
(21:45) Still to come on Phoenixed
 
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Amid the Canadian government’s payroll transformation, a new federal pay centre was established in the quaint community of Miramichi, New Brunswick. Why was this sleepy city chosen as the base for hundreds of government payroll workers? Learn how political decisions after a tragedy in Montreal influenced the choice to place payroll jobs in Miramichi.
Phoenixed: Inside Canada’s Payroll Disaster is produced by the Global Payroll Association and Storythings.
To find out more, visit our website: click here

As the Canadian government embarked on its payroll transformation project, IBM was tasked with customizing software for a complex public service pay system. Pressure to stay on budget led the government to defer or eliminate important functions and cancel a planned pilot test. In the months before the launch in 2016, there were many warnings that the Phoenix pay system wasn’t ready—but the government pressed on anyway.
Phoenixed: Inside Canada’s Payroll Disaster is produced by the Global Payroll Association and Storythings.
To find out more, visit our website: click here
Time stamps
(00.00) Intro
(03:28) IBM/PeopleSoft
(06:24) The sole bidder
(07:37) Senate hearing
(09:14) Justin Trudeau
(13:56) Failure rates
(18:34) Phoenix goes live
(20:36) Complaints pour in

The Canadian government's botched payroll transformation has not only cost workers their pay, but also job opportunities, marriages and houses. The Phoenix pay system’s issues even played a role in a death. Three former federal workers share their stories of being underpaid or overpaid thousands of dollars, recounting the frustration and financial uncertainty that ensued.
Phoenixed: Inside Canada’s Payroll Disaster is produced by the Global Payroll Association and Storythings.
To find out more, visit our website: click here
Time Stamps
(00.00) Jennifer Carr
(05:58) The credit card game
(08:54) Blair Winger
(12:27) Colin Cameron
(16:04) Deciphering a Phoenix paystub
(19:00) The death of Linda Deschâtelets
(20:08) Canada Revenue Agency statement
(22:00) Phoenix boils over…

A new investigative podcast that dives deep into the Canadian government’s botched payroll transformation project — a $3 billion problem that still hasn’t been resolved.
Phoenixed: Inside Canada’s payroll disaster is produced by the Global Payroll Association and Storythings.