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MIRAMICHI, N.B. — The federal government is trying to hit the reset button on its two-year-old bid to repair and replace the problem-plagued Phoenix pay system.

Federal cabinet minister Carla Qualtrough was dispatched Friday to northeastern New Brunswick, where she officially opened the centralized Public Service Pay Centre, which processes paycheques for 300,000 federal employees in 46 departments.

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“We have reason to celebrate the hard work of the people working here in Miramichi,” the public services minister said after a ribbon-cutting ceremony outside the new building, which actually opened for business in January.

“They work every day to resolve these problems. We have seen progress, even if it’s not as fast as we would like.”

The feel-good photo-op comes more than two years after the government implemented the IBM-built Phoenix system. The previous Conservative government said Phoenix would save taxpayers more than $70 million annually.