The company that set up the trouble-prone Phoenix payroll system is not being disqualified from securing the contract to create a new payroll system for federal employees.

Treasury Board President Jane Philpott was asked directly on Monday if IBM's involvement with the troubled pay system would prevent the company from working on the replacement.

"At this point I'm not going to say who's going to be in and who's going to be out. We're going to make sure that we pick the very best company," Philpott said.

In 2011, IBM was hired to implement, operate and maintain Phoenix, the federal public service pay system. Phoenix was launched in 2016 and has been plagued with glitches ever since, causing thousands of public servants to be improperly paid.

The 2018 federal budget included $16 million over two years to fund the search for a payroll system to replace Phoenix.

Government officials have been talking to companies interested in landing the contract to design a new payroll and human resources system for federal employees since the process was launched in August of last year.

Canada's Chief Information Officer Alex Benay says the federal government is aiming to finalize recommendations this spring to replace the Phoenix pay system. (Antoine Trépanier/Radio-Canada)

Canada's Chief Information Officer Alex Benay, who is leading the search for a replacement system, would not hint today at which companies are still in the running, citing government procurement rules.

"We feel pretty comfortable with who's there," he said. "But the key is not who's there as the vendors. It's how we will chose to interact with those vendors to ensure we don't repeat some of our mistakes."

Like Philpott, Benay did not rule out the possibility that IBM could be chosen for the contract.

Each competitor for the contract must satisfy multiple government criteria in order to be considered for the contract, Benay said. IBM's past association with Phoenix does not disqualify it from the process, he added.

"Whoever is left in it will be treated the same way, because at this point what matters more is that we pay people."

In an email, a company spokesperson for IBM did not say if the company had bid on the new pay system contract.

Benay said his team is aiming to have final recommendations for the government by this spring.

User feedback

As part of the second phase of the search for a replacement system, Benay and his team have been reaching out to public servants over the past month to hear what they would like to see in a new pay system.

Among the suggestions Benay said he's heard is for a replacement system that allows federal government employees to have mobile access to their payroll files.

"Possibilities that exist with some of today's solutions were not available in 2008," when the search to replace Phoenix's predecessor began, he said.

The Treasury Board has been holding 'user expos' throughout January and February to get public servants' feedback on a potential new pay system. (Antoine Trépanier/Radio-Canada)

This week marks the end of the second of three phases of the federal process to find a Phoenix replacement.

Philpott was on hand at a "user expo" in Gatineau, Que. on Monday, where some possible replacement systems were displayed for public servants.

"We're taking all of that feedback, looking at a whole range of pay systems out there to make sure we pick the very best one," she said.

The Treasury Board is hosting three more user expos in the capital region this week, before the second phase closes. The third phase will whittle down the final recommendations, although Benay said the process could be extended if necessary.