Payroll savings evaporate

Photo: The Canadian Press

The cost of fixing problems with the federal government's new payroll system continues to soar.

Marie Lemay, deputy minister of Public Works and Government Services, says measures adopted to deal with a backlog of nearly 77,000 pay issue claims have already cost $25 million.

But while Lemay says that amount is certain to climb, it will be weeks before her department knows just how much higher.

The previous Conservative government had estimated that adoption of the so-called Phoenix system would save the federal treasury $70 million annually.

Lemay can't say whether any of those savings will be achieved as a result of the system's failures.

Officials say another 69 civil servants came forward in the last week, reporting they weren't being paid at all.