Canada’s head of the public service, Michael Sabia, has warned that sweeping spending reductions outlined in Tuesday’s federal budget will result in significant cuts to government programs and thousands of public service jobs.
The budget, tabled earlier this week, sets out a plan to trim about $60 billion in program and administrative spending over the next five years — a target Sabia described as a “big number” in a message sent to federal employees following the announcement.
Sabia acknowledged that the savings plan would inevitably lead to the scaling back or outright cancellation of some government programs, and that a smaller public service workforce would follow.
According to the budget, the government aims to reduce the federal workforce by roughly 10 per cent over the next four years. That translates to about 40,000 jobs being cut from the peak of 368,000 positions recorded two years ago.
While officials maintain that most of the reductions will occur through attrition, the budget makes clear that not all departures will be voluntary. Some roles will be eliminated as the government pushes to meet its ambitious cost-cutting goals.