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Over 600 public servants were notified this week that their jobs are on the line, with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) feeling the brunt of the potential cuts.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) said in a news release that 219 workers at NRCan received warning that their position could be cut.
In addition, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) told Radio-Canada that 200 of its members at NRCan were also given notices of a potential layoff.
“The federal government’s decision to cut critical research programs and scientific positions at Natural Resources Canada poses serious and avoidable risks to safety and security across the country,” PIPSC president Sean O’Reilly said in a statement.
NRCan is implementing cost-cutting measures outlined in the federal budget, a spokesperson said in a statement.
Employees were notified this week, the statement said.
“Receiving a letter signals the beginning of a process that takes several months for employees to consider various options available,” it said.
Affected employees can consider moving to another public service job, early retirement or private sector employment, the statement said.
“In the end, Natural Resources Canada would anticipate that only a small number of those who receive letters would leave involuntarily,” it said.
‘Gutting the programs that protect us’
NRCan also said 5,400 employees will continue to work on improving the country’s sustainability.
“There are no immediate layoffs nor are there any increased security or safety risks to the environment or Canadians because of these actions,” NRCan said.
But PSAC president Sharon DeSousa said the impending job losses mean that “environmental protections will pay the price.”
“You don’t build a stronger Canada by gutting the programs that protect us,” DeSousa said.
Additional notices were given to 109 workers at the Public Service Commission of Canada, 92 at Crown-Indigenous relations and 74 members at the Department of Finance, according to PSAC.
The notices are part of the government’s plan to cut 30,000 jobs from the federal public service. Earlier this week, the federal government announced it will send early retirement notices to roughly 68,000 workers.
Over 10,000 public servants have already been laid off this year, PSAC said.
‘Very worried’
Public service professionals ensure Canadians aren’t being “put in harm’s way,” according to O’Reilly.
“Almost entire teams responsible for keeping Canadians safe are being eliminated — the vast majority not through attrition, not voluntarily, but via layoffs,” O’Reilly said.
“Eliminating them makes Canadians less safe.”
Jean Bérubé, a forest pathologist at NRCan who is also a union rep for 3,000 federal research scientists, said he was informed his position is being eliminated.
The federal government’s cuts to the public service feel similar to those occurring south of the border under the second administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, he said.
“It’s as if Canada is aligning themselves with what’s happening in the United States — cutting programs related to energy efficiency, greenhouse gases, climate change,” Bérubé said.
Bérubé said when he started his career, there were 15 forest pathologists working east of the Rockies, and by the time he leaves, it will have been reduced to one.
Jean Bérubé is a forest pathologist at NRCan whose position there is being eliminated. (Estelle Côté-Sroka/Radio-Canada)
“I’m very worried for the Canadian forest because eliminating forest protection positions clearly will find us in a bad position when new diseases and insects are being introduced,” Bérubé said.
Forest protection programs are key to detecting and eliminating invasive species, especially in urban areas with major trading ports because it often introduces new diseases and insects, he said.
Bérubé pointed to the emergence of the invasive Emerald ash borer that has killed millions of ash trees in Canada’s urban areas.
Ash trees reduce the average temperature and pollution in urban areas. But with the invasive species unchecked, the scientist says all of those trees “will eventually disappear.”
He added that with the elimination of so many forest pathologist positions, it’s likely the introduction of invasive species would go undetected.
“When we finally realize that there’s a new invader around, it will be way too late to try any eradication program,” Bérubé said.