The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canadian Border Service Agency and the Department of National Defence will go through a different exercise during the forthcoming expenditure review, the Public Service Alliance of Canada president says.
Sharon DeSousa took part in a July 8 briefing with Treasury Board Secretariat and a representative from the Department of Finance. After the meeting, DeSousa told the Ottawa Citizen that CBSA, RCMP and DND would receive different treatment during the
forthcoming spending review that will seek to cut 15 per cent from each department over three years
.
“I don’t have any information when it comes to the specific departments,” DeSousa said. “My understanding is RCMP, CBSA and DND is not going through an exercise like this. It’ll be different, but I don’t have details.”
The Ottawa Citizen asked Treasury Board Secretariat for confirmation, but did not receive an immediately response.
The RCMP and CBSA have both received additional funding over the past year to tighten borders amid an ongoing trade war with the United States. Late in 2024, the federal government announced an additional $1.3 billion to bolster border security, including $667.5 million for the RCMP and $355.4 million for the CBSA.
In June, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would meet the previous NATO target of two per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence spending this year, amounting to more than $9 billion in defence investments.
DeSousa also said that department officials would not be obligated to consult with union counterparts during the spending review, which she called “very disappointing.”
The spending review arrives as
public service unions prepare for or are in the beginning of, contract negotiations
. DeSousa said the spending review didn’t impact negotiations per se, but could affect “the climate of bargaining.”
For now, PSAC will wait to see what department and agencies will recommend in terms of cost-saving plans, she said.
DeSousa confirmed that Treasury Board said job cuts were on the table. This would include looking at the operating budget, “which means salaries and benefits as well.
“My concern right now is that we’re doing the same approach we’ve done in the past, and cutting jobs is just a lazy way of doing this,” she added. “Austerity doesn’t work.”
The PSAC president said savings could be found by looking at service delivery, the return-to-office mandate and consultant fees.
DeSousa also said the public service should not be treated like a “piggy bank” that could be dipped into to fund new priorities like defence spending and income tax cuts. Instead, it should be bolstered as Canada’s “first line of defence” during global uncertainty, she added.
“The prime minster promised caps and not cuts, and so I am hoping that he makes good on his promise,” DeSousa said.
If not, services will be impacted, she said.
“Without a doubt, I can say when you cut jobs it means cutting services,” DeSousa said. “I think its reckless. Everyone will feel the impact eventually.”
