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“Especially in the early days of Phoenix, it was a well-known fact that if your pay is tampered with at all, then you’re going to be affected by this,” Aylward said. “Employees were very, very nervous because early on there was no confidence and there is still no confidence in this system.”

The union is sympathetic to those concerns, but urged its members to find other ways to give, he said.

Photo by JULIE OLIVER / OTTAWA CITIZEN

“We recognize that the United Way is a very important and vital part of our communities and we encourage our members to contribute through other means, whether it be post-dated cheques, online contributions or credit cards.”

Payroll charitable deductions for the 2015 Public Service campaign began in January 2016, a month before the Phoenix system became operational. Payroll deductions for the 2016 campaign began Jan. 1, 2017. The 2016 figures go up to the end of the fiscal year ending March 31.

Nationally, public servants donated $29.8 million to charity through its workplace campaign, down 11.39 per cent from the $33.6 million donated in 2015.

Marie Lemay, the deputy minister in charge of Phoenix — and coincidentally the co-chair of the 2016 public service campaign, which kicked off last September with a stated goal of $19 million — was not available for an interview. Instead, the GCWCC referred the Citizen’s questions to United Way Ottawa, which is contracted to administer the program for the government.

Did Phoenix hurt the campaign?