The former executive vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), Sharon DeSousa, was elected Thursday morning by the 600 people delegated to the annual convention of this union, which takes place until Friday in Ottawa .
Ms. DeSousa succeeds Chris Aylward, who had held the national presidency since 2018 and who was re-elected in 2022. The latter had recently announced that he would not run again.
I am touched that the members have given me their support and confidence to meet the challenges facing our union
declared the new president of the union in a press release. Solidarity is our strength. More than ever, we must stand together in the fight for justice and for workers’ rights so that every member, in every corner of the country, is treated with dignity and respect.
Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Ms. DeSousa immigrated to Canada with her family at the age of five. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Ontario College of Art and Design.
She became the regional executive vice president of thePSAC Ontario in 2011, making her the first racialized person to hold this position in the union’s history. She was re-elected in 2014 and 2017.
The new president of thePSAC began her career in the public service at Human Resources Development Canada in 1998. Before taking on a full-time union position, she was a benefits agent at Service Canada.
Although she is not bilingual, Ms. DeSousa, who is the first racialized person elected to the presidency of thePSACis committed to continuing to learn French.
Among the important files she will have to take care of, Ms. DeSousa will notably have to manage the mandatory return of federal civil servants to the office three days a week, an issue which has sparked numerous criticisms from federal public service unions.
Alex Silas becomes national executive vice president of thePSAC
Well known in the National Capital Region, Alex Silas was elected national executive vice-president of thePSAC. Mr. Silas was most recently the regional executive vice-president for the National Capital Region.
He was re-elected to this position for the first time in 2021, then re-elected in 2023.
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The new president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Sharon DeSousa (right), with Alex Silas, national executive vice-president of the union.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Estelle Côté-Sroka
Originally from Moncton, Mr. Silas moved to Ottawa in 2003, where he pursued studies in police services techniques at the Cité Collégiale.
He is a member of thePSAC since 2010, when he was hired as a security officer at the Bank of Canada.
PSAC”,”text”:”I’m excited, I’m ready to work for PSAC members”}}”>I’m excited, I’m ready to work for the members of thePSAC
he reacted Thursday. It is with great humility, great honor and much gratitude that I accept this charge and thank the members for the trust they have placed in me.
We will have challenges to overcome, but we are more mobilized than ever before. Workers are tired of accepting bad deals and tired of the lack of respect for the working class in this country. We are ready to fight and we will fight together. Unity is strength!
The new national executive vice-president of thePSAC warns that the union will be particularly active in anticipation of the 2025 federal elections.
[…] but we know it’s a show, a costume he puts on to try to exploit the workers in this country.”,”text”:”I think the workers in this country understand the impact that the elections will have on their personal lives, their life at work, their community, their workplace and their rights. We know that Pierre Poilievre is not a friend of workers. Pierre Poilievre is someone who claims to be a blue-collar worker, who claims to be a friend of workers,[…] but we know it’s a show, a costume he puts on to try to exploit workers in this country.”}}”>I think workers in this country understand the impact that the elections will have on their personal lives, on their work lives, on their community, on their workplace and on their rights. We know that Pierre Poilievre is not a friend of workers. Pierre Poilievre is someone who claims to be a blue-collar worker, who claims to be a friend of workers […]but we know it’s spectacle, a costume he puts on to try to exploit workers in this country.
The alternate national vice-president will be held by Craig Reynolds, the Ontario regional executive vice-president.
Elected for a three-year term ending in 2027, Ms. DeSousa, Mr. Silas and Mr. Reynolds will lead the Alliance’s executive committee, which is responsible for the financial decisions of thePSAC on a daily basis, campaigns, mobilizing the workforce as well as defending the rights of the union and its members at work.
With information from Estelle Côté-Sroka and Joseph Tunney, CBC News
