The Power of Partnership – 25 years of the JLP
The story of the Joint Learning Program (JLP) is that of a small organization, doing big things through the power of a successful partnership. In 2026, the JLP will mark its 25th anniversary. Throughout the year, join us for a retrospective of key moments in the Program’s history.
We will start at the very beginning and set the stage for the birth of this unique Program.
In June of 2001, the Government of Canada released the Fryer Report, which highlighted the need for a fundamental change in the relationship between the unions and the government. The Report stressed the importance of co-development and co-consultation, the necessity of fostering better understanding between employer and unions in order to improve workplace relationships across the public service.
This report came out at a time when negotiation for a new collective agreement had been particularly strained. Another difficult round of bargaining led to strike action in August and September of that year. After a weekend of brainstorming, the PSAC proposed a joint training initiative, one that would offer training that filled some gaps in the employer training offerings.
At that time, Nycole Turmel was President of the PSAC and Lucienne Robillard was President of the Treasury Board. The two leaders met to discuss what a joint pilot project might look like. Together, they began to shape a plan in which both sides would support an 18-month pilot project to develop and deliver learning in a joint manner.
Then suddenly, the world changed.
On September 11, 2001, the PSAC immediately suspended all strike activity. On September 12, they made the decision to put the new Treasury Board offer to a vote. The offer included a 250 words MOA for a joint training program and granted seven million dollars to this unique project.
Over the next 18 months, tireless advocates on both sides – people like Terri-Lee Rayvals, the JLP’s first Administrator, and Tracey Sametz, the TBS Liaison Officer, worked at a breakneck speed to bring the Joint Learning Program to life. They built a learning coordination platform, designed in-person workshop content, established the framework for requesting learning opportunities, engaged and trained facilitators, who, in turn, delivered the training to public-service employees.
By the end of the pilot, a cadre of facilitators recruited from the ranks of the public service were delivering joint learning. Three different workshop topics had been offered more than 600 times, and there were countless rave reviews from over 10,000 participants who expressed their delight with the quality and impact of the learning.
Despite its undeniable success, the Program faced a significant challenge. The memorandum of understanding for the JLP expired in the summer of 2003 and there was no way forward given that the collective agreement had reached its term with no further funding available.
With heavy hearts, the Program was officially shut on March 31, 2004. Learning was no longer offered, facilitators were no longer solicited, staff was dispersed, files and learning materials were boxed up for storage, and the lights went off at the Joint Learning Program.
The future of the JLP looked bleak. How could they breathe new life into the Program? And how could they ensure that this wouldn’t happen again?
Tune in next month for the next chapter of the JLP Story!