Budget to cut public service jobs

In keeping with the ideology of the Conservative government the Treasury Board president Tony Clement said that the coming budget will represent a culture shift from "spending enablers" to "cost containers," .

Clement has the task of cutting from 4 to 8 billion from the budget. This is all part of the plan to reduce the deficit and balance the budget. Clement was speaking a Conservative gathering in Ottawa.

Clement said that the government plans will face opposition from public sector union bosses along with the New Democratic Party opposition. Of the NDP he said their only solution is to hire more, tax more, and spend more.

The NDP responded that the Conservatives were out to cut services and reduce the capacity of government to help people. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty maintained that the budget would not contain any draconian measures. This is probably true in that the Conservatives do not want create too much of a voter backlash through their cuts.

In fact some critics complain that the Conservatives are actually buying off the civil servants whose jobs are being cut by providing generous severance provisions. The Canadian Tax Federation a right wing group that used to be headed by the prime minister complains that the severance provisions are far too costly and generous and may almost balance out the savings. See this article.

A report to the government reads:"We are conscious that the Public Service is on the verge of significant changes, driven in part by the immediate requirements of deficit reduction, but also by a more fundamental need to renew public institutions for the future," . As is happening in many countries government services are to be cut and jobs lost. The report notes specifically:"One of the major tasks that senior leaders will face is the deliberate downsizing of the Public Service," For much more see the entire CBC article..