# Government Re-org and trimming



## mad dog 2020 (23 Jan 2012)

He says more than 60,000 federal jobs could disappear across the country by 2014. 

About 5,400 would be in the four Atlantic provinces.

"We could see 1,000 positions lost in Atlantic Canada from DND alone," MacDonald said.

MacDonald also said between 11,000 and 22,000 jobs will be lost in Ottawa.

From CBC Mobile site.


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## Jed (23 Jan 2012)

Ok, how does this connect? It there a link or an article that missed getting posted?


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## GAP (23 Jan 2012)

Mad dog 2020 needs to post a link to his source....


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## mariomike (23 Jan 2012)

Jed said:
			
		

> Ok, how does this connect? It there a link or an article that missed getting posted?



CTV
"Up to 68,000 public service jobs to be cut: report":
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120123/public-service-job-cuts-120123/


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## mad dog 2020 (24 Jan 2012)

Sorry, I thought the CBC reference would direct you.  But should have used link.  It was from 
Federal cuts could hit Atlantic region hard
CBC News
Last Updated: Jan 23, 2012 10:58 AM ET
Off iPad app Nova Scotia regional


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## Monsoon (24 Jan 2012)

The "report" cited is published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a "think tank" that is in fact a shill for the NDP.

Mind you, the government has been spreading word of cuts to come for a year now, but take all of the details and numbers with a grain of salt.


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## Remius (24 Jan 2012)

Yes and the numbers they use also include provincial, municipal and private industry that rely on federal programs. So 60,000 jobs are not all PS jobs.  And likely this think tank did the Tories a favour.  Let's say the Conservatives come out and say actually it's only 30 000.  Well then that's not as bad (only half as bad) as what this think tank "boy who cries wolf " came up with.

Not sure what they are trying to achieve.


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## OldSolduer (24 Jan 2012)

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and other orgs have one objective:

Make Harper and the "Neo Cons" look bad...no matter how many fibs you tell or how much you stretch the truth.

Don't get me wrong - the "right" has its shills as well.


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## Haletown (24 Jan 2012)

Only 68,000?

Well I guess it is a good start.

But then again it is the CCPA so we can expect an exceptional level of anti Harper fear mongering to be the important point of the press release.


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## Colin Parkinson (24 Jan 2012)

I know people in EC, DFO and CCG who have gotten their letters. It's not surprising, both departments had a habit of funding positions with nonsalaried dollars, now the chickens are coming home to roost.


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## Remius (24 Jan 2012)

Language school gave out 162 notices and Public Works handed out about 250.  Class Bs are being slashed and those that haven't been have been told to watch and shoot.


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## GAP (24 Jan 2012)

Based on those type of numbers, they're going to have to work harder to reach 68,000


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## Remius (24 Jan 2012)

Don't kid yourself, this is only the beginning.  The budget isn't even out yet.  But I doubt it will be 68,000.


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## ttlbmg (24 Jan 2012)

It is interesting to see how vague the article is, in terms of the who and where. It seems like complete speculation, designed to frighten the country into protest. However, I am interested to see how the cuts in terms of civilian employment through DND might affect recruitment numbers. If there are fewer public service employees through DND, will there be more work shifted onto current serving CF members? Or will there be a complete shift in the recruitment to limit the recruitment of some trades, and expand the recruitment of trades that would be required to compensate for loss of civilian jobs. (my thoughts would be in terms of conctruction-based jobs, educational consultant jobs, etc.)


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## dapaterson (24 Jan 2012)

The 68K is a "worst case" number that assumes that only personnel will be cut to meet the targets - that all related program spending would continue.  I assume that the actual reductions will be different, with some programs reduced or eliminated, thus saving money that is other than payroll.

The first wave of DND/CF reductions were announced in the last budget; there's a reduction of over $500M for FY 12/13, and a baseline reduction of $1B per year in FY 13/14.  Those pre-date the Deficit Reduction Action Plan (DRAP); the DRAP reductions will be above and beyond those.


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## Edward Campbell (24 Jan 2012)

A couple of points:

1.Prime Minister Harper learned from Bian Mulroney's mistakes. Canadians didn't like Mulroney's almost gleeful expression of "pink slips and running shoes" for civil servants; Harper and his ministers are saying little; and

2. My suspicion is that DND, like other departments will have to learn to do without. Good managers are going to stop doing the work for which there are no longer any PYs; better managers are going to reorder priorities and reshuffle work; the best managers are going to make their organizations stop doing unnecessary, counterproductive tasks and work smarter on the ones that matter.

There will be some political interference, there always is, to save popular but unproductive, even counterproductive work.


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## GAP (24 Jan 2012)

And then there are going to be those with an agenda that will make the most noisesome, painfull cuts that the public will cry about.  The more noise, the more ammunition to thwart further cuts or reestablish former positions. 

example : see: Service Canada and EI cuts vs service downgrade.


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## Colin Parkinson (24 Jan 2012)

The Liberals would cut funding toa program, but never actaully kill it, because that generated bad PR, cutting staff without cutting regs is a really bad idea and to be fair to the CPC, they are trying to cut regs first.


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## Jed (24 Jan 2012)

Colin P said:
			
		

> The Liberals would cut funding To a program, but never actually kill it, because that generated bad PR, cutting staff without cutting regs is a really bad idea and to be fair to the CPC, they are trying to cut regs first.



So true. I know both Federally and Provincially, we are left with the dregs of regulations from programs past, that keep coming back to haunt us. All the legacy safety and environmental and health administration requirements that we now have will be impossible to field with staff reductions. 

I am in total agreement that we must live within our means and become as efficient as possible, but it sure puts the pressure on those left to carry on with the job at hand.


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## Colin Parkinson (25 Jan 2012)

When you cut regs, it means some people are going to lose their sacred cows and Canadians love to complain about laws and regs, but are the first to insist that someone else needs to be regulated.


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## a_majoor (28 Jan 2012)

Full comment by Lorne Gunter:

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/01/23/lorne-gunter-big-cuts-needed-in-ottawas-bloated-public-service/



> *Lorne Gunter: Big cuts needed in Ottawa’s bloated public service*
> Lorne Gunter  Jan 23, 2012 – 2:26 PM ET
> 
> The very left-leaning Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) – it’s never met a tax increase, a social program or a government expansion it didn’t like – warns that over the next four years the federal Tories intend to cut 50,000 to 60,000 public-sector jobs or “private-sector jobs funded by the government.”
> ...


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## Edward Campbell (28 Jan 2012)

An interesting take on the upcoming cuts, reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the _Globe and Mail_:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/stephen-gordon/small-spending-cut-wields-big-axe-on-government-jobs/article2317248/


> Small spending cut wields big axe on government jobs
> 
> STEPHEN GORDON
> 
> ...




I'm pretty sure the public sector unions do not have many friends in the government - not in either the political or policy areas of government.


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## Edward Campbell (30 Jan 2012)

And yet more on the subject, this time on the political realities, in this article which is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the _Globe and Mail_:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/john-ibbitson/conservatives-agenda-bold-and-fraught-with-political-risk/article2319035/


> Conservatives’ agenda bold – and fraught with political risk
> 
> JOHN IBBITSON
> 
> ...




The Chrétien-Martin "slaying" of the deficit (primarily by shifting spending from Ottawa's books to those of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario) also paid political dividends - which Martin frittered away by being honest, a mistake Jean Chrétien would never have made.


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## GAP (30 Jan 2012)

> + major reforms to the immigration system, with a big push to bring in skilled workers who speak English or French, at the expense of reuniting families;



While this makes economic sense, rather than the "bring me your poor and destitute" mantra the Liberals followed, I suspect it has more to do with China. 

China has invested in the tar sands in a big way, but they have been lobbying to bring over Chinese workers. The economics of this over paying Canadian labour rates and production standards will vastly increase the profitability of their acquisitions.


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## Rifleman62 (30 Jan 2012)

“Increasing the age for OAS right now is the wrong thing to do at the wrong time,” she said Sunday on Global TV’s The West Block. “*They* can find the money elsewhere.

It is not "right now" if you would only listen and try to understand. 

"*They*" is us/we/you the taxpayer. 

The elected government decides how to spend tax dollars based on what they feel the the majority of taxpayers will not object to.


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## larry Strong (30 Jan 2012)

I am one of those who will retire in the next 7 years or so.......looks like I will get caught in the middle of the OAS changes - whatever they will end up being.
However my words to the Government will be "Go for it" and I am the average Joe and Mary 6 pack...warts and all, not much in the way of pension plans, though I do have a good pile of hard assets squirrelled away.


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## Rifleman62 (30 Jan 2012)

OAS


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