A “significant proportion” of federal organizations have not provided the federal budget watchdog with detailed information on impacts related to job cuts.
The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) requested “program-level details on planned savings, staffing reductions, and service implications” from federal departments and agencies, according to
a short analysis
published Wednesday morning.
In the report, the PBO said a lack of detail on how spending cuts will affect individual programs was hampering its ability to provide financial advice to the House of Commons and Senate.
To fill the gap, the PBO sent requests for information to all 83 organizations listed under the government’s “comprehensive expenditure review” in Budget 2025.
According to the responses, the planned workforce reduction amounts to 13,169 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions by 2029-2030, for savings of $12.3 billion.
The total number of planned job cuts is expected to be higher, however, but some departments withheld information.
An FTE designates the work of one full-time worker, and multiple part-time public servants can compose one FTE.
Several of the organizations did not provide a breakdown of their planned savings to PBO “as they have not yet been finalized and approved,” according to the report.
While most organizations disclosed the requested data in full, the PBO said a “significant proportion did not provide detailed information on impacts” related to FTE cuts or service levels.
The majority of organizations told PBO the planned savings would be realized with “minimal or no impact” on services, and only a few provided concrete examples on “the potential impacts to program delivery,” the report said.
Organizations that withheld the information justified doing so by citing an unfinished plan for job cuts, or constraints in the workforce adjustment process.
Workforce adjustment is the system through which the government makes alternative employment opportunities available, where possible, for permanent workers who lose their positions.
After more than 10,000 public servants received workforce adjustment letters last week, unions called for more transparency about which programs and services are on the chopping block.
Earlier this month, PBO published data from five departments and agencies showing the government planned to cut 2,000 FTEs by 2029-2030. PBO did not, however, publish a breakdown by department.
Most departments requested that the data remain confidential, the PBO said.
“The PBO considers this confidentiality acceptable for fulfilling its mandate, though parliamentarians may wish to assess whether their fiduciary needs are being met,” the report said.
Interim PBO Jason Jacques is scheduled to appear at the Commons government operations committee on Wednesday afternoon.
