According to new data slowly released by the federal government, nearly 2,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions will be cut across five departments and agencies by 2029-2030.
When Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government released its budget in November, it showed that around 30,000 jobs would be cut from the federal public service, but did not contain details on how many employees would be reduced at each department or agency.
In the wake of the budget, which is still making its way through Parliament, Canada’s parliamentary budget officer (PBO) has been requesting more information about where those cuts will be realized.
At committee hearings, parliamentarians have also requested more information from Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali, who said it would be unfair to make such numbers public before affected employees were told.
On Dec. 16, however, the federal government released the information, which revealed that cuts across the five organizations will amount to around $1.5 billion in planned savings over four years, with a reduction of around 1,927 FTEs by 2029-2030.
A full-time equivalent designates the work of one full-time worker and multiple part-time public servants could compose one FTE.
In a new analysis, the PBO said “information on service-level impacts was limited and varies across organizations, but all indicated that the planned reductions are expected to have a ‘low’ or ‘limited’ impact on existing service levels.”
The five organizations the PBO requested information from included the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Canada Economic Development for the Quebec Regions, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Correctional Service of Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Caroline Nicol, an advisor-analyst at the PBO and co-author of the analysis, said in an emailed statement that these five organizations were selected because it would “not have been operationally feasible” to request and analyze all departments and agencies facing cuts ahead of the budget vote.
“As such, for this first wave, five were selected among organizations subjected to the up-to-15 per cent target and where potential service-level impacts could be noticeable for Canadians,” Nicol said.
In total, around 28 programs were impacted across the five organizations, according to the PBO.
The PBO also called out the federal government for “disregarding its legislative obligations” after the budget watchdog received the information in a round about way.
The Commons committee on government operations had to request the information on behalf of the PBO after the initial request and deadline was rejected by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS).
The PBO finally received the data on a deadline set by the committee.
In a letter published by the PBO, the TBS denied the budget watchdog’s request citing “parliamentary approval,” the risk of jeopardizing the “management-union relationship” and the fear of causing employee “anxiety and uncertainty.”
Ali’s office did not immediately provide comment.
Nicol added that the PBO is “currently in the process of submitting information requests” to all remaining departments and agencies affected by the government’s spending review.
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