assignment policy government of canada

Language selection

• Français fr

Guidance on the use of Interchange Canada assignments

Date: February 29, 2024

To: Heads of human resources

This communication is for heads of human resources of the core public administration and shared with others for reference.

This information notice clarifies the use and proper administration of Interchange Canada assignments.

Interchange allows for easy mobilization of talent in and out of the core public administration (CPA) through temporary, at-level assignments that do not result in employer–employee relationships.

Reporting and recordkeeping

Under sections 4.1.5 and 4.2.5 of the Directive on Interchange Canada , organizations must record all Interchange assignment information or changes in the Interchange Canada Reporting Portal . This should be done when the agreement is signed and within 30 days for any subsequent changes.

CPA organizations should follow Library and Archives Canada’s Standard record keeping requirements for common administrative records (for example, finance and the management of human resources). For audit purposes, assignment documentation for participants from personal corporations must be retained for 6 years after the end of the assignment (section 4.2.29 of the directive).

To ensure policy compliance and the intent of the Standard on the Administration of Interchange Canada Assignments in Appendix A.2.2 of the directive, any modifications to the official template agreements provided by the Chief Human Resources Officers (OCHRO) must be verified by the department’s legal services and Values and Ethics office. Please refer to the Toolkit for Departmental Liaison Officers (accessible only on the Government of Canada network) for instructions and templates.

Costs of hosting Interchange participants

Section 4.2.10 of the directive allows host organizations to pay for all business expenses, including costs associated with candidate interviews, business travel, formal training and relocation (section 4.2.31) while the participant is on assignment. When paying for these business expenses, CPA organizations must follow appropriate financial and procurement regulations, policies and procedures governing payments to ensure good stewardship of public funds. All business expenses are to be managed separately from the Interchange agreement and should not be included in the Interchange Letter of Agreement.

Refunds to be made to the sponsoring organization are only for costs identified in section 4.2.22 of the directive, namely, the total compensation of the participant: full salary (and any adjustments) during the assignment and employer-paid benefits, and if applicable, overtime, performance pay and bilingualism bonus. These must be specified in the Interchange Letter of Agreement according to section A.2.2.2.4, and proof may be kept in the Interchange file.

Any related questions should be directed to your departmental/agency designated Interchange liaison officers ( EX  / all other levels ). Ensure that the departmental liaison officer’s contact information is kept up to date by notifying OCHRO of any changes.

If you have any questions about this guidance, contact the Interchange Canada Interpretation Team .

Original signed by

Mélanie Laflèche A/Associate Assistant Deputy Minister People and Culture Sector Office of the Human Resources Officer

Page details

Assignment opportunities

Organizations may post an assignment opportunity on the Interchange Canada website for prospective participants to view. For further information on an assignment opportunity, communicate directly with the contact person identified in the posting.

Posting an assignment

If you would like to post an assignment opportunity, please complete the Assignment opportunity form . You will receive an email within 72 hours confirming your assignment opportunity request.

• Skip to main content
• Skip to "About this site"
• Search and menus
• Directive on Term Employment

More information

• People Management, Policy on
• People management

1. Effective date

• 1.1 This directive takes effect on April 1 2020.
• 1.2 This directive replaces the Treasury Board’s Term Employment Policy dated November 15, 2011.

2. Authorities

• 2.1 This directive is issued pursuant to the same authorities indicated in section 2 of the Policy on People Management . 

3. Objectives and expected results

• 3.1 The objectives indicated in section 3 of the Policy on People Management apply to this directive.
• 3.2 In addition to the expected results indicated in section 3 of the Policy on People Management , the expected results of this directive are to ensure that term employment is used to fill only temporary requirements.

4. Requirements

• 4.1.1 Ensuring that term employment is used in compliance with organizational human resources and business plans to support the achievement of business objectives;
• 4.1.2 Informing the appropriate bargaining agent(s) and the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer in writing of all programs, projects or activities that receive sunset funding for which term employees have been hired; and
• 4.1.3 Informing the appropriate bargaining agent(s) and the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer in writing of the deputy head’s decision about whether to exclude periods of specified term employment from the calculation of the cumulative working period for the purpose of converting an employee to indeterminate status.
• 4.2.1 Converting term employees to indeterminate status after a cumulative working period of three years in the same organization without a break in service longer than 60 consecutive calendar days, in accordance with the appendix of this directive;
• 4.2.2 When applicable, informing individuals in the letter of offer that a period of term employment in a program that receives sunset funding will not count in the calculation of the cumulative working period of three years;
• 4.2.3 When applicable, informing term employees in writing that, after reviewing the department’s financial situation over the two‑ to three‑year planning horizon, the deputy head has determined that including further cumulative work periods towards the conversion of term employees to indeterminate status would result in workforce adjustment;
• 4.2.4 Informing term employees in writing at least annually whether the conditions described in subsections 4.2.2 or 4.2.3 continue to apply and further cumulative work periods will not count towards the conversion from term to indeterminate status;
• 4.2.5 Approving in writing an employee’s written request not to convert their tenure from term to indeterminate status when the employee has met the requirements of subsection 4.2.1;
• 4.2.6 Providing term employees with one month’s written notice of the renewal or non‑renewal of their term employment unless an exception has been approved in accordance with section C1.6 of the Policy on People Management ;
• 4.2.7 Providing term employees with one month’s written notice if the period of employment will end before the originally specified end‑date;
• 4.2.8 Ensuring that the employee and the appropriate bargaining agent(s) are informed in writing when a term employee is assigned, seconded, deployed or appointed to a position in the organization that is outside a program that receives sunset funding; and
• 4.2.9 Ensuring that the period(s) of employment outside a program that receives sunset funding will be included in the calculation of the cumulative working period of three years.

5. Roles of other government organizations

• 5.1 Not applicable.

6. Application

• 6.1 This directive applies to the organizations listed in section 6 of the Policy on People Management .

7. References

• Canadian Human Rights Act
• Financial Administration Act
• Public Service Employment Act
• Public Service Employment Regulations
• Federal Public Service Labour Relations Act

8. Enquiries

• 8.1 For interpretation of any aspect of this directive, contact Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Public Enquiries .

Appendix: Standard on Term Employment

A.1 effective date.

• A.1.1 This standard takes effect on April 1, 2020.
• A.1.2 This standard replaces the Treasury Board Term Employment Policy (2003, modified on November 15, 2011).

A.2 Standards

• A.2.1 This standard provides details on the requirements set out in subsections 4.1 and 4.2 of the Directive on Term Employment .

Department or agency

• A.2.2.1 The cumulative working period must be in the same organization.
• A.2.2.2 An employee is considered to be working in the same organization in situations where powers, duties or functions were transferred between organizations in the core public administration by an act of Parliament or an order‑in‑council.
• A.2.2.3 A period worked by the employee in a host organization while on secondment counts toward employment with the employee’s home organization.
• A.2.2.4 A period of term employment that occurs immediately before or immediately after a period of term employment in a program that receives sunset funding counts in the calculation of the cumulative working period, as long as there is no break in service longer than 60 consecutive calendar days.

Leave without pay

• A.2.2.5.1 The employee was on such leave on or after June 20, 2008; and
• A.2.2.5.2 Not including the period of leave without pay would result in discrimination on a prohibited ground described in the Canadian Human Rights Act .

Part‑time employment

• A.2.2.6 A period of part‑time employment for term employees hired under the Public Service Employment Act corresponds to an equivalent period of full‑time employment and is not pro‑rated.
• A.2.2.7 If a part‑time term employee’s status is converted to indeterminate status, it is converted to part‑time indeterminate status.

Periods of employment excluded from calculation of the cumulative working period of three years

• A.2.2.8.1 Periods of employment as a part‑time worker who works less than one third of the normal workweek;
• A.2.2.8.2 Periods of casual employment as defined in the Public Service Employment Act ;
• A.2.2.8.3 Periods of employment under one of the student employment programs established by the Treasury Board;
• A.2.2.8.4 Periods of term employment in a program that receives sunset funding, although these periods do not constitute a break in service; and
• A.2.2.8.5 Periods of term employment after which the department has notified employees in writing that conversion from term status to indeterminate status would result in a workforce adjustment situation.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the President of the Treasury Board, 2020, ISBN:

• Visit Parliament Visit
• Français FR

Research publications

1 introduction, 2 cabinet stage, 3.1 house of commons, 4 royal assent stage, 5 coming-into-force stage.

How does government policy become law in Canada?

The law-making process can be understood in terms of four distinct stages:

• the Cabinet stage;
• the parliamentary stage;
• the Royal Assent stage; and
• the coming-into-force stage.

It should be noted that the legislative process for private members’ bills and private bills differs from that for government bills. 1 This paper discusses the legislative process for government bills only.

Figure 1 – Cabinet Stage

Source: Figure prepared by Library of Parliament.

The primary purpose of the Cabinet stage is to review and decide which measures the government wants to implement through legislation. Government policy – often announced in the Throne Speech, the budget, international or federal/provincial agreements, ministerial proposals and other sources – is the point of origin for most federal government legislation.

The appropriate federal departments review these sources to determine whether legislation is needed to implement a policy. If so, the relevant minister may, if he or she wishes, allow departmental officials to proceed with policy consultations. These consultations allow stakeholders, other departments, provincial governments and others to provide input into the legislation before it is drafted.

In light of these consultations, and contingent upon a decision being made to proceed with legislation to achieve the policy objectives, the sponsoring department prepares a Memorandum to Cabinet. 2 The Memorandum to Cabinet seeks policy approval and authorization for the Department of Justice to begin drafting the legislation. Also included in the memorandum are drafting instructions that describe the contents of the bill in a clear manner for legislative drafters at the Department of Justice.

Before completing the Memorandum to Cabinet, the sponsoring department hosts an interdepartmental consultation. After the affected departments and agencies are adequately consulted, the draft memorandum is revised, taking into account comments from other departments. Once finalized, it is submitted for approval to the appropriate Cabinet policy committee, which reviews the memorandum and prepares a report. For the policy to proceed, Cabinet as a whole must ratify the report of the policy committee.

Once Cabinet approves the Memorandum to Cabinet and the drafting instructions, the legislative drafters prepare a bill in both official languages. This is done in consultation with the sponsoring department and its legal services. The draft bill is reviewed and approved by the sponsoring minister and the government House leader, who ensure that it is consistent with past Cabinet decisions, as well as by the Minister of Justice, who ensures that the bill is consistent with the Canadian Bill of Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedo ms. 3

The government House leader will then seek delegated authority from Cabinet to approve the bill for introduction in Parliament. The chamber in which the bill will be introduced and the timing of the introduction are determined by Cabinet on the advice of the government House leader and in consultation with the sponsoring minister. Typically, government bills are introduced in the House of Commons rather than in the Senate. Legislation that involves spending or taxation measures must be introduced in the House of Commons. 4

At this point, the bill is almost ready to be introduced in Parliament. 5 Bills that involve expenditure of public money require a royal recommendation 6 before they can be passed by the House of Commons. A royal recommendation is obtained from the Governor General or a deputy of the Governor General (a Supreme Court judge). In current practice, the royal recommendation for government bills is communicated to the House of Commons before the bill is introduced and is included on the Order Paper . After first reading, the recommendation is printed in the Journals and included in the first reading copy of the bill.

If the bill is to be introduced in the House of Commons, the government House leader must give the Clerk of the House of Commons advance notice; typically, the notice period is 48 hours. 7 The bill appears first on the Notice Paper 8 and is subsequently moved to the Order Paper 9 until its introduction by the appropriate minister.

If the bill is to be introduced in the Senate, no notice is required. 10

3 Parliamentary Stage 11

Figure 2 – Parliamentary Stage

Source: Source: Figure prepared by Library of Parliament.

The bill must pass through both houses of Parliament, beginning in the one in which it was introduced.

For government bills introduced in the House of Commons, the steps in each house are as described below. (The process is similar for government bills introduced in the Senate, but in this case, the process begins in the Senate.)

• First reading: The bill is introduced and is given first reading. 12
• Second reading: The principle of the bill is debated at second reading, and a vote is taken as to whether the bill will be referred to a committee for more detailed study. (In the House of Commons, it is possible to refer a bill to committee before second reading. 13 )
• Committee stage: After carrying out a detailed study of the bill and a clause by clause deliberation, the committee reports the bill back to the House of Commons with or without amendments.
• Report stage: The bill, as passed by the committee, is debated at report stage, during which any further amendments proposed by the government or individual members can be adopted or rejected.
• Third reading: The bill, including any amendments to its text or to the motion for third reading, is debated and voted on.
• First reading: The bill is introduced and is given first reading. 14
• Second reading: The principle of the bill is debated at second reading. After debate, a vote is taken as to whether the bill will be referred to a committee for more detailed study. (In the Senate, it is possible for a committee to study, before second reading, or even before introduction in the Senate, the subject matter of a bill introduced in the House of Commons. 15 )
• Committee stage: After carrying out a detailed study of the bill and a clause by clause deliberation, the committee reports the bill back to the Senate with or without amendments.
• When the committee reports the bill back to the Senate with amendments, the bill is debated at report stage and the committee’s report is either concurred with or amended.
• When the committee reports the bill back to the Senate without amendments, the report is adopted without a motion.
• Third reading: The bill, including any amendments to its text, or to the motion for third reading, are debated and voted on. 16

Figure 3 – Royal Assent and Coming-into-Force Stages

When both the Senate and the House of Commons have passed a bill in the same form, the bill awaits Royal Assent. Royal Assent is the point at which a bill becomes an Act.

Traditionally, Royal Assent was granted only during a special ceremony in the Senate chamber involving the Governor General or a deputy of the Governor General (a Supreme Court judge), the Senate and the House of Commons.

In 2002, legislation was passed that permits Royal Assent to be signified by a written declaration, which can take place away from the Senate and House of Commons. The Royal Assent Act requires, however, that the traditional ceremony also be maintained. It is to be used at least twice in each calendar year, including for the first appropriation bill in each session. The Act also requires that the Speakers of both the House of Commons and the Senate be notified of the written declaration before a bill is deemed to have received Royal Assent.

Although a bill becomes an Act when it receives Royal Assent, the legislation is not automatically in effect. Acts come into force in various ways, and each Act must be examined to determine which commencement mechanism applies.

If an Act does not contain a provision specifying the date that it enters into force, the Interpretation Act states that the Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

If the Act has sections providing for the coming into force of the Act, these provisions can take many forms, such as the following:

• The date on which the Act comes into force may be fixed. For example, there could be a section stating that the Act comes into force on a specified date.
• The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
• The Act comes into force if an order is issued by the Governor in Council. 17 This and other statutory instruments can be found in Part II of the Canada Gazette . These orders of the Governor in Council state that all or part of the Act comes into force on a certain date or dates. 18

It is also possible for an Act to take a very long time to be proclaimed in force. In 2008, in response to the fact that some Acts that had been granted Royal Assent decades earlier had yet to be proclaimed in force by the Governor in Council, a Senate public bill was passed providing for the repeal, on 31 December of each year, of any legislation that has not come into force within 10 years of receiving Royal Assent. This Act, known as the Statutes Repeal Act , came into force in 2010.

When an Act comes into force, the transition from policy to enforceable law is complete.

*  XXX [ Return to text ]

†  Papers in the Library of Parliament’s In Brief series are short briefings on current issues. At times, they may serve as overviews, referring readers to more substantive sources published on the same topic. They are prepared by the Parliamentary Information and Research Service, which carries out research for and provides information and analysis to parliamentarians and Senate and House of Commons committees and parliamentary associations in an objective, impartial manner. [ Return to text ]

*  A previous version of this paper was prepared by Megan Furi, formerly of the Library of Parliament, and by Peter Niemczak of the Library of Parliament. [ Return to text ]

• For a discussion of the use and contents of memoranda to Cabinet, see Privy Council Office, “ 4.1 Memorandum to Cabinet (MC), ” A Drafter’s Guide to Cabinet Documents .   [ Return to text ]
• Department of Justice Act , R.S.C. 1985, c. J-2, s. 4.1(1).   [ Return to text ]
• Constitution Act, 1867 , 30 & 31 Victoria, c. 3 (U.K.), s. 53.   [ Return to text ]
• Parliament is the legislative branch of government and is composed of the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General), the Senate and the House of Commons.   [ Return to text ]
• A royal recommendation is a message from the Governor General; it is required for any vote, resolution, address or bill for the appropriation of public revenue. Only the government (as opposed to an opposition party) can obtain such a recommendation.   [ Return to text ]
• The requirements for notice are set out in House of Commons, Annotated Standing Orders of the House of Commons , 2 nd ed., 2005, Standing Order 54 .   [ Return to text ]
• Both the Senate and the House of Commons publish a Notice Paper for each sitting day; Notice Papers present all notices of bills, motions and questions that senators, ministers or private members may wish to bring before their respective chambers.   [ Return to text ]
• The Order Paper is the official agenda of the Senate and the House of Commons. Both chambers publish this document for each sitting day. It lists all items that may be brought forward in their respective chamber on that particular day.   [ Return to text ]
• See Senate, Rules of the Senate , November 2017, Rule 5-7(j) .   [ Return to text ]
• Please note that this stage has been significantly summarized. For a complete and detailed description of this stage of the legislative process, see Bosc and Gagnon (2017), “ Chapter 16: The Legislative Process ”; and Senate (2015), “Chapter 7: Public Bills.”   [ Return to text ]
• When government bills are introduced in the House of Commons, they are numbered C-2 to C-200. Private members’ bills are numbered C-201 to C-1000, and private members’ private bills are numbered C-1001 and up.   [ Return to text ]
• See House of Commons (2005), Standing Order 73(1) .   [ Return to text ]
• Bills introduced in the Senate are numbered S-2 and up, with no distinction between government, private senators’ public bills and private senators’ private bills.   [ Return to text ]
• See Senate (2017), Rule 10-11(1).   [ Return to text ]
• For a detailed discussion of the process that occurs when amendments are made after third reading between chambers, see Bosc and Gagnon (2017), “ Chapter 16: The Legislative Process – Consideration and Passage by the Senate ”; and Senate (2015), “Chapter 7: Public Bills – 4. Messages Between the Chambers.”   [ Return to text ]
• The Governor in Council is the Governor General acting by and with the advice and consent of those members of the Privy Council who make up the Cabinet. The Privy Council is a formal advisory body to the Crown appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the prime minister. All Cabinet members must be sworn to the Privy Council, to which they are named for life.   [ Return to text ]
• For example, the statutory instrument for the Act to Amend the National Defence Act, the Criminal Code, the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and the Criminal Records Act (SI/2008-93) states that “the Governor General in Council … hereby fixes September 12, 2008 as the day on which the Act comes into force, other than sections 51 and 52.”   [ Return to text ]

© Library of Parliament

• 44 th Parliament, 1 st Session
• 43 rd Parliament, 2 nd Session
• 43 rd Parliament, 1 st Session
• 42 nd Parliament, 1 st Session
• 41 st Parliament, 2 nd Session
• 41 st Parliament, 1 st Session
• 40 th Parliament, 3 rd Session
• 40 th Parliament, 2 nd Session
• 40 th Parliament, 1 st Session
• 39 th Parliament, 2 nd Session
• 39 th Parliament, 1 st Session
• 38 th Parliament, 1 st Session
• 37 th Parliament, 3 rd Session
• 37 th Parliament, 2 nd Session
• 37 th Parliament, 1 st Session

Related content

• Legislative summaries
• Trade and investment series
• See complete list of research publications
• Publications about Parliament
• Library Catalogue