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The warning signs were there all along, but perhaps none was as clear as this.

On Jan. 13, 2016 — barely two months into the new Liberal government of Justin Trudeau — Treasury Board officials prepared a concise memo for their boss and comptroller general, Bill Matthews.

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The note, obtained under access-to-information laws, was headlined “readiness assessment of Phoenix” in reference to a pay system that was scheduled to launch in a matter of weeks.

It had been a massive undertaking.Nearly 300,000 federal government employees from 101 federal departments and agencies were about to exchange a clunky, labour-intensive pay apparatus with an automated system that promised quick and accurate results.About 190,000 of these employees were to be served by newly hired pay administrators based out of Miramichi, N.B.

The Treasury Board had summarized the major worries conveyed to Matthews in an earlier meeting with top human resources officials from across government. Taken together, their concerns offer a disturbing glimpse of a project that appeared nowhere near ready for prime time despite years of development.