John Gordon, Public Service Alliance of Canada
Photograph by: Julie Oliver, The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — Canada's largest federal public sector union is mobilizing for a nationwide summer offensive against the Harper government's plans to cut public service jobs.
"We're going to have our members across the country meet their MPs and tell them about the work they perform on behalf of the government and the services they provide in their communities," Public Service Alliance of Canada president John Gordon told the Ottawa Citizen Friday.
"We want MPs to meet us face to face. We want them to recognize that they aren't just talking to a union member or public sector worker but a constituent. I'm hopeful that by the end of summer our members will have reached every politician sitting in the House of Commons."
PSAC has 183,000 members in 415 sectors across Canada.
The Harper government has signalled it intends to balance its budget by 2014 and the unions fear they face massive layoffs as a result. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said recently he expects about 6,000 public service jobs will disappear, a figure that would not be enough to balance the books.
And a mistrustful union leadership believes the Conservatives will cut programs not aligned with their ideology.
Treasury Board President Tony Clement, in an emailed response to the Citizen, said a cross-government spending review is now underway.
"A review of this magnitude has not been done at the federal level in 15 years, whereas the private sector does it every year," he said.
"I reject the notion that this is about 'slashing and burning.' This is about identifying inefficiencies within government and making them more efficient, while saving the taxpayers' hard-earned dollars.
"Furthermore, given that departments have not even begun to make their presentations on their cost-saving proposals, it is premature to comment as it's merely speculation."
For the unions, the ultimate target is next spring's federal budget in which the government is expected to detail its public sector cuts.
Gordon says he had a cordial meeting with Clement on Monday during which he asked the minister why he promised cuts by attrition before the election but had adopted more aggressive language after the Conservatives gained their majority.
"I told him 'you have sent shivers throughout the public service and they want some clarity as to the way things are going to go,' " said Gordon. "I pressed him for details about what the government is really planning but they really don't seem to have any detail."
Gordon said he left the meeting telling Clement his union would not "just sit back and take it."
Clement says that "on average 11,000 public servants retire each year. The government feels it can accomplish some changes to labour levels through this regular process. . . . We want to give departments the latitude — and freedom — to think outside the box, to be creative, and to re-imagine their business models."
The government has asked all departments to prepare strategic plans ahead of the budget that include provisions for five and 10 per cent cuts, but Gordon suspects that senior ministers already have a plan in mind.
"Clement says they are going to look at everything and have no set plans right now," said Gordon. "I believe they do have a plan in place but they're just not telling anybody."
The minister, a regular tweeter, might also find his Twitter account busy.
"It's a good way for our members to talk directly to him," said Gordon.
The government has signalled its intentions, said PSAC national vice-president Patty Ducharme.
"They are chipping away at services they consider have no value," she said. "Arts, culture, heritage, language, environment and, shockingly enough, the coast guard.
"They have spoken about the big strategic review and five and 10 per cent proposals, but these are departments that have already gone through strategic reviews in the five years that the Conservatives have been in government. Most of the departments and agencies are pretty lean and cutting down as far as they can."
The government is also spending more than a billion dollars on temporary workers and consultants who are inefficient, she said.
"Pump that money back into the public service, pay people a decent wage and you have people making a solid contribution to their communities," she said.
Clement told the Citizen that speculation about what will come from the review is premature.
"The first responsibility of any government is to protect the health and safety of their citizens. This is something our government does not take lightly. It should go without saying that the health and safety of Canadians will always be protected by this government."
He pointed out that the government has committed $100 million over five years to improve food inspection capacity.
He added that "expenditures for temporary workers represent a very small portion of total payroll expenditures" and that these workers perform important duties for the government.
"That said, if we can find efficiencies we will."
University of Ottawa economist Gilles Paquet, a specialist in government spending, says the Harper government is targeting "issues" across government rather than specific programs and is taking a more sensible approach to public service cuts than the Liberals in the early 1990s when then finance minister Paul Martin slashed 40,000 jobs across the board.
"It was disastrous," he said.
"Cuts to transfers to the provinces were devastating and we are still living with the effects on education and health care. This government is being more strategic, more careful. The unions were sufficiently aligned with the Liberals so they didn't complain too much but they hate the Harper government so much that they will complain about every little trivial detail."
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