The Union of Safety and Justice Employees staged a demonstration in downtown Yellowknife on Wednesday morning against cuts to the federal public service.
USJE says it is concerned about the effect on northern branches of agencies like the Public Prosecution Service of Canada as the federal government reduces its workforce nationwide.
Ottawa has embarked on a three-year plan to reach annual savings of $13 billion. The federal government says the public service will go from a peak of 368,000 jobs in 2023-24 to “a more sustainable level of 330,000.”
The extent to which federal cuts will affect northern positions is not clear. While many departments are being asked to find savings of up to 15 percent, some departments with a significant northern presence, such as Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, have been asked to hit a much smaller two-percent target.
Even so, David Neufeld – USJE’s national president – said he has concerns about the impact on agencies like the PPSC.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“We’ve been hearing for the last number of years there are some major issues around workload, not having enough staff to do the work that needs to be done,” Neufeld said.
“We felt that it was important to come out here to show support for the members who work here in Yellowknife at PPSC.”
Neufeld appeared in Yellowknife on Wednesday for a protest that took place in a wind chill of -50. The city’s start to March has been extremely cold even by NWT standards.
USJE says it expects further job losses to be announced.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“Our hope is that these departments are going to come through transparently, let us know exactly what the cuts are going to be looking like, and what they’re going to be looking like for people here in the North,” Neufeld said.
The federal government maintains a webpage listing the number of roles affected by department and the number of people who have so far received letters informing them they are either affected or their job is at risk.
That page does not, however, specify the impact by geographical area.
Ottawa has said it is “committed to minimizing hardship for federal employees” and is rolling out initiatives like an early retirement incentive program, though the Public Service Alliance of Canada opposes the way in which that program is being implemented.
