One of the programs being wound down at Transport Canada is the Lac-Mégantic Rail Bypass project.Stephane Blais/The Canadian Press
The federal government released spending plans for 90 departments and agencies Friday that include details on efforts to find billions in internal savings.
The individual reports outline a range of specific decisions, including winding down a construction project at Transport Canada, a reduced need for housing asylum support at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and scaling back legal support for veterans looking to appeal rulings about their benefits.
The Nov. 4 federal budget had announced more than $140-billion in new spending over five years, with a heavy focus on increases for defence. But it also pledged to offset some of that through a Comprehensive Expenditure Review that will cut planned spending by about $60-billion over that same timeline.
The budget provided some examples of cuts, such as broad percentage reduction targets for departments and a goal of eliminating 30,000 positions over three years, but said further details would come in the new year.
Since then, some departments have started to announce targets for job reductions. Most of the reports released Friday outline specific job-reduction targets tied to the spending review.
In the report from the Privy Council Office, Prime Minister Mark Carney thanked public servants “for their continued service as we work together to build a more secure, prosperous, and resilient country.”
While some departments list specific programs that will be “sunset,” meaning they won’t be renewed, other examples of savings often list vague references to improving efficiency, reducing duplication and embracing technology and automation.
Transport Canada said its spending reductions will decrease the size of its work force by 607 positions. All of the reports present job reductions in terms of full-time equivalents – that measures the extent to which an employee represents a full-time budget expense. For instance, two part-time workers could account for one FTE position.
Listed examples of programs that are being wound down at Transport Canada include the Lac-Mégantic Rail Bypass project and the Oceans Protection Plan.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it is decommissioning some vehicle-washing stations, digitizing paper-based pet export certificates and “reducing non-core research activities.”
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Employment and Social Development Canada, one of the largest federal departments, said it will reduce employment by about 1,500 jobs. Its report offered few specifics, promising to leverage artificial intelligence “to automate internal processes and streamline operations.”
The House of Commons committee on government operations is holding hearings on the spending review.
This week, union leaders warned MPs about the negative impact of spending cuts related to veterans.
Friday’s reports shows the Veterans Affairs Review and Appeals Board budget will decline over the next three years, partly because of the “gradual conclusion of temporary funding” provided in the 2023 budget.
Veterans Affairs also shows a shrinking budget.
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In statements to The Globe and Mail, the department and the board both said the winding down of temporary 2023 budget funds means less funding for the Bureau of Pensions Advocates. The bureau is funded by Veterans Affairs to provide free legal advice and assistance to veterans appearing before the board.
The department did not quantify the cut, but Gregory Harlow, president of the Association of Justice Counsel, which represents federal government lawyers, told MPs on the committee Thursday that the bureau will lose 22 of its 61 lawyers working on term contracts.
He said that cuts to the pension advocates program will mean significantly longer wait times for veterans to appeal decisions.
“Some elderly clients could become incapacitated or even die while waiting for a hearing date,” he told MPs, adding later: “It’s not just a cut. It’s a decimation.”
Conservative MP Blake Richards described the changes related to veterans as “shocking and disgraceful.”
Liberal MP Tom Osborne, the parliamentary secretary to Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali, defended the overall spending review during Thursday’s hearing.
“I know the opposition complain frequently in the house about the size of the deficit, but when the government tries to deal with the size of the deficit through the comprehensive expenditure review, opposition members from all parties complain about that,” he said.
“We have seen a 40-per-cent increase in the size of the federal public service over the last decade,” Mr. Osborne said, adding that the government’s plan will bring that back “to a sustainable level.”
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The Immigration Department said it will cut about 318 positions. It will also find savings because of a drop in the cost of housing asylum-seekers, whose numbers have been falling, through the Interim Housing Assistance Program. The federal government previously leased hotels to house asylum-seekers to help provinces accommodate them.
The Immigration Department is also making asylum claimants share some of the cost of prescription pharmaceuticals and supplemental medical services such as dental care, eye care and counselling.
In its report, Agriculture and Agri-Food said it is looking to eliminate 665 positions over three years, including by winding down programs outside of its core mandate, such as the Agricultural Climate Solutions Living Labs program.
Health Canada said it anticipates cutting 942 jobs by 2028-29. The department said it will achieve these reductions in part by modernizing its regulatory and research functions to focus on the highest-risk areas and better align with international best practices.