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OTTAWA — Federal public servants are expected to learn about job cuts in their departments when they return from their holiday break.
Departments such as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Environment and Climate Change and Employment and Social Development have told their staff already that news on job cuts will be shared in the new year.
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Ottawa is looking to cut program spending and administration costs by about $60 billion over the next five years through its “comprehensive expenditure review.”
The latest federal budget said the exercise will involve “restructuring operations and consolidating internal services.”
It said it also will deploy workforce adjustments and attrition to return the size of the public service to “a more sustainable level.”
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Environment and Climate Change Canada said in a message to its employees that the department will implement expenditure review decisions in mid-January. It said employees whose positions may be affected will be notified at that time “in accordance with workforce adjustment and career transition provisions.”
“While there is no perfect timing for these conversations, proceeding with implementation in the new year will allow us to provide clear information to all employees,” the department said.
“You may be hearing news from other departments as they begin implementing their decisions.”
Employment and Social Development Canada
Employment and Social Development Canada said an adjustment in its staffing levels, including for permanent positions, will begin in January.
“We cannot confirm how many positions will be reduced at this time,” department spokesperson Mila Roy told The Canadian Press in early December.
“However, ESDC will continue to leverage attrition and workforce planning, aiming to minimize impacts on employees to the maximum possible extent.”
The government plans to cut the number of public service jobs by about 40,000 from a peak of 368,000 in 2023-24. About 10,000 jobs have been eliminated from the federal public service over the past year.
The plan will see a reduction of 1,000 executive positions over the next two years, and a 20 per cent cut to spending on management and consulting services over three years.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
The immigration department shared a message with employees stating it expects to eliminate around 300 positions over the next three years.
“Additional reductions will likely be required to align with anticipated adjustments to immigration levels-related funding,” the message said.
The department said roughly half of those jobs will be dropped through attrition and the non-renewal of term positions, with the remaining addressed through the government’s upcoming early retirement program and workforce adjustment.
The federal government has sent letters with information on its planned early retirement program to almost 68,000 public servants who may be eligible.
The government says it’s trying to boost the rate of attrition and avoid cutting younger workers by offering a voluntary program allowing workers to retire earlier without incurring a pension penalty.
The recent federal budget said the government intends to implement the one-year early retirement program as soon as January, though legislation is still required to move the plan forward.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in its message that Prime Minister Mark Carney has been clear about the need to reduce the number of executives across government and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is providing each federal organization with a specific target.
It said it anticipates a reduction in executive positions of roughly 10 to 15 per cent. Those cuts will be in addition to the 300 positions, the department said.
Government data shows that 11,148 people were working at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship as of March 31, with 293 of them in executive positions.
The department, which earlier this year announced a plan to cut more than 3,300 jobs over three years, said it plans to inform the affected individuals starting in mid to late January.
“We hope this update provides a bit more clarity with regard to the impacts of (the comprehensive expenditure review) and immigration levels for our department, and that you have a chance to rest and recharge over the holidays,” the message said.
Employees warned about job losses
Hundreds of federal employees have been warned in recent weeks they may lose their jobs as the government moves to shrink the size of the public service.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada said in early December that 219 of its members at Natural Resources Canada received notices this week saying their jobs might be cut.
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada said Friday about 200 of its own members at Natural Resources Canada received those notices.
Another 109 people at the Public Service Commission of Canada, 92 people at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and 74 staffers at the Department of Finance received similar notices, the union said.
Cuts are the ‘tip of the iceberg’
David Macdonald, a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, told The Canadian Press he believes those cuts are the “tip of the iceberg.”
Macdonald said many public servants have been told — or likely will told soon — that their jobs are on the chopping block, though that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be laid off.
“If there are sufficient retirements or people pull the chute and get out of that department, then that means fewer people will face actual layoffs,” he said.
Macdonald said several departments are facing large operational cuts and “it’s not entirely clear” how they’ll accomplish them without layoffs or cuts to services. Those departments, he said, include Environment and Climate Change Canada and Statistics Canada.
Macdonald said more concrete details likely will be shared through organizations’ departmental plans.
Sharon DeSousa, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said earlier this month the government still hasn’t clearly outlined where the sweeping public service cuts will hit the hardest.
“Drawing on past intelligence, we do know that Employment and Social Development Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency have been signalled as top targets,” she said.
DeSousa said fewer public servants will mean longer wait times for services like passports, employment insurance, child care and pension benefits, and tax returns.
“Reckless public service cuts are not how you build a stronger Canada — they weaken it,” she said.
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