Foreign service union says Sarkar pay could impact future salary negotiations

OTTAWA -- The union representing more than 1,500 Canadian diplomats says given Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is willing to pay nearly double to appoint a diplomat with ties to the Liberal party, the government better keep in mind the current pay scale of foreign service officers next time they’re at the bargaining table.

Rana Sarkar, a former Liberal candidate, was named consul-general to San Francisco as part of a round of U.S. diplomatic appointments the federal government announced on Aug. 2. According to the Privy Council office, his salary is within the $221,300 to $260,300 range. The official pay scale for the posting is in the range of $119,600 to $140,700. The salary level makes Sarkar one of Canada’s highest paid diplomats. 

The Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) said while it recognizes the government’s right to appoint who they see fit for these positions, it should keep in mind that there are hundreds of professional foreign service officers already doing their jobs on behalf of Canada for often much less pay. 

“We do however hope that the employer will bear in mind this salary scale in its negotiations with the professional foreign service, both FS and EX [foreign service and executive level], who are already performing these functions on behalf of Canada in missions around the world,” PAFSO President Pamela Isfeld said in an emailed statement to CTV News. 

Sarkar, the former president of the Canada-India Business Council and national director for high growth markets at KPMG, has close ties to the Liberal Party of Canada, including running unsuccessfully for the 2015 nomination in the Don Valley North riding, and as a candidate in Scarborough-Rouge River in 2011.

The posting was part of a round of diplomatic shuffles the government said is about boosting Canada’s diplomatic efforts in the United States, ahead of NAFTA renegotiations.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the salary range is in line with other top diplomatic posts, reflective of his qualifications, and considering the location of the appointment -- Silicon Valley.

For example:

• Canada’s High Commissioner to the U.K. Janice Charette is making between $277,600 and $326,500 position while the official salary range for her position is $172,200 to $202,500;

•Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. David MacNaughton is making between $247,900 and $291,600, though the official salary range is between $172,200 and $202,500; and

• Kevin Vickers, Canada’s Ambassador to Ireland, is making between $171,200 and $201,300 though the position salary is between $119,600 and $140,700.

Sarkar’s responsibilities in the new post will include tapping into the tens of billions of annual trade dollars spent in the region to expand Canadian markets, attract investment and boost Canadian business, according to the PMO.

"Mr. Sarkar’s mandate is far greater than what the position has traditionally entailed," Cameron Ahmad, spokesperson for the prime minister, wrote in an email to CTV News earlier this week. 

Brandon Lee, the former consul general in the San Francisco post joined the foreign service in 2004 and has a background in innovation, online banking, telecommunications, and IT. The day Sarkar was appointed, the government shuffled Lee to Seattle. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s top aide Gerald Butts said in a series of tweets that paying one of Canada's newest diplomatic appointees nearly double what the going-rate is “completely in line” with other federal appointments from the private sector. 

However, NDP foreign affairs critic Hélène Laverdière thinks the appointment sends the wrong message to civil servants. 

“It’s pure patronage and feeling of entitlement,” she told reporters outside the House National Defence Committee’s emergency Aug. 22 meeting on ballistic missile defence. 

Laverdière, who was a Canadian diplomat before being elected as an MP in 2011, said she took a 40 per cent pay cut when she joined the foreign service, a process she described as “very selective.” 

“The people who are in foreign affairs are people who are just like me, they went through very stringent selection process, they have expertise, they have experience, and now they’re being told that they’re worth less, half less than friends of advisers in the Prime Minister’s Office. I find that terrible,” said Laverdière.