Almost half of Parks Canada staff in the NWT could be affected by coming job cuts, the federal government told Cabin Radio on Friday. The Public Service Alliance of Canada said the job losses were “reckless.”
Earlier this week, Cabin Radio reported employees of the federal agency in the territory had been summoned to meetings about possible redundancies.
Some have also received what are known as “affected letters,” meaning their jobs may be either moved or changed. Receiving such a letter does not mean a person’s job is definitely being lost, but means it’s a possibility.
Overall, Parks Canada said earlier this week, just under 3,000 staff nationwide are receiving those letters and the equivalent of about 500 full-time positions are expected to be lost.
On Friday, a Parks Canada spokesperson provided updated figures for the NWT. They said the agency has 147 staff in a variety of indeterminate, term, casual and student position in the territory, of which 67 have been “identified as affected.”
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Those staff were due to receive letters between Wednesday and Friday this week. Parks Canada said that meant those roles will be subject to “further assessment.”
The agency said final decisions would arrive “in the coming weeks.”
The job losses are part of broader federal plans to cut back on the public service, which Ottawa says means “returning the federal public service population to a more sustainable level.”
PSAC North, which represents Parks Canada workers in the territory, said “even the smallest cuts are felt deeply” in the NWT, where some federal staff work in small communities.
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“This is part of the federal government’s reckless, ongoing plan to slash critical public services and cut tens of thousands of public service jobs – people who care for our parks and serve Canadians every day,” Josée-Anne Spirito, regional executive vice-president for PSAC North, said in a statement.
“Most of the jobs at risk are on-site, at parks, national historic sites and waterways. Losing experienced workers can mean losing institutional knowledge, specialized expertise, and the capacity to deliver services effectively for years to come.
“The Carney government talks about building a strong Canada and investing in the North, but you can’t do that by cutting the jobs of people who make this a great place to live and visit.”
