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From coast to coast to coast, PSAC members make a difference every day — because public services are only as strong as the people behind them.
Mackenzie Hulzebosch helps keep Canada safe
As a parole officer in Hamilton, Mackenzie Hulzebosch has a lot on her plate when she gets up and goes to work. Mackenzie visits offenders at their houses, jobsites, and her office to help them safely reintegrate back into public life.
“We are the frontline workers,” Hulzebosch said.We’re the people keeping you safe. Making sure that the public service is supported ensures that we can continue to help Canada in the best and most efficient way.”Hulzebosch says parole officers work with high-risk offenders balancing a heavy, complex caseload. She says her top concerns at work are staffing levels and training.
But she feels a sense of pride whenever she helps her clients transition to the next stage of their life after parole.
“When they leave with a job, with a house, with better connections to their family and being a positive member of society, I am so proud of that because I see the work that they put into it,” said Hulzebosch.
Helping unemployed Canadians get the benefits they deserve
For Charito Humphreys, it’s crucial to support unemployed workers in Canada. Humphreys helps provide them with insurance benefits, through her work at an employment insurance call center.
“Most people will use employment insurance at one point or another,” said Humphreys. “These are services that Canadians rely on in almost any aspect of their life.”
Humphreys’ call center, based in Regina, Saskatchewan, offers insurance benefits for illness, maternity, compassionate care and more. Though she does not directly provide this support, she educates the officers that will, as a business expertise advisor.
“For me, the best part about my job is when I have officers who come back to me and say: ‘thank you for all that you’ve done to support me in my job,’” said Humphreys. “What you’ve taught me has helped me become a better officer. It’s helped me provide a better level of service. To me, that means I’ve done my job well in supporting these officers in being the best that they can be in order to serve Canadians.”
An ally advocating for First Nations teachers
Caila Pischke loves her job as a schoolteacher. The school where she teaches hosts 110 students, all of which are members of the Denesuline First Nations.
“We are one of the only western schools in Canada that is on a federal reserve,” said Pischke. “I work at Cold Lake First Nations, in Alberta.”
Though Pischke herself does not identify as a member of the First Nations, much of the teaching at her school is done in the Denesuline language. However, Pischke and her fellow teachers had not been receiving an indigenous language allowance. As president of her local teachers’ union, Pischke helped bargain for it.
“We ended up getting the indigenous languages allowance for the teachers at our school,” said Pischke.
“It was really important to be able to recognize the indigenous languages and be able to see them as national languages in Canada, and not just English and French.”
Peter Butler safeguards Canada’s waterways
As a fishery officer that calls the winding rivers of central Newfoundland home, Peter Butler is proud to protect Canada’s waterways. Butler patrols and regulates surrounding fisheries and educates local communities on how they can conserve Canada’s aquatic resources.
“I work to safeguard and protect Canada’s freshwater and marine ecosystems,” said Butler.
“Our waters are very vital to our local economy; they’re a source of income for a lot of people living here and important to the well-being of folks living in the community and beyond.”
This work is an important driver of the economy in the province: the marine sector accounted for approximately 33 per cent of Newfoundland and Labrador’s GDP in 2022. He also helps support other agencies with search and rescue operations and other emergencies such as wildfires and floods.
Butler wants to ensure that the important work he does in the public service is protected.
“We’re there to serve Canadians,” said Butler. “Our job is to keep these waters protected for the environment and our children and for the generations to come.”
