OTTAWA – The federal government’s plan to cut 40,000 public service jobs in the next three years will directly hamper its ability to deliver on its promises, says the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE).
A day after the budget was released, CAPE alongside the Canadian Labour Congress, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada and the Association of Justice Counsel held a joint press conference to react to the budget cuts.
“The government is refusing to get specific about what they’re taking away from Canadians” he said. “These ideological cuts scapegoat public servants for a deficit caused by refusing to tax the rich. Doing more with less is no solution – it just means worse services for ordinary Canadians, or a gravy train for far less efficient consultants when the work still needs to be done.”
Beyond job cuts, the budget’s impact on workers’ rights stands out as another major area of concern. The budget proposes a mass deployment of artificial intelligence across government operations, without the safeguards to make sure it doesn’t end up costing more than it saves or undermining critical services. Also included are references to changes to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act that could negatively impact federal unions’ collective bargaining rights.
These are proposals that have implications for all Canadian workers. The federal government is Canada’s biggest employer. Changes that undermine basic workers’ rights or gambles on unproven technologies in the federal public service can create a precedent that other employers may be tempted to adopt. Attacks on federal workplaces will have ripples across the labour market.
Not included in the budget were the straightforward, easy to implement cost savings that unions have been proposing for years, such as granting widespread remote work rights to employees who can easily work from home, which would allow the government to divest its massive real estate portfolio and allow office buildings to be converted into much-needed housing – while also increasing public sector productivity.
As debate begins on Budget 2025, CAPE is urging all parties to come together to propose real and creative solutions to retain an already trained workforce and ensure the federal government can attract the best and brightest to address an historic national crisis. Canadians need a strong federal public sector to face down the threats our country is up against.
For more on Budget 2025:
See full news coverage of CAPE on Budget 2025
Watch the full press conference here
Read CAPE President Nathan Prier’s opening remarks
About CAPE
With more than 25,000 members, the Canadian Association of Professional Employees is one of the largest federal public sector unions in Canada, dedicated to advocating on behalf of federal employees in the Economics and Social Science Services (EC) and Translation (TR) groups, as well as employees of the Library of Parliament (LoP), the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (OPBO) and civilian members of the RCMP (ESS and TRL). Read more.
Media Contact
media@acep-cape.ca, 613-261-6526
