Ottawa’s planned federal payroll cuts are turning out to be far smaller than the headline-grabbing 10% reduction promised by Prime Minister Mark Carney, according to new figures obtained by the Parliamentary Budget Office.Blacklock's Reporter says documents released Thursday show that five randomly selected departments and agencies are planning workforce reductions of just 4.7% by 2030, roughly half the level publicly cited by the Prime Minister and close to normal attrition rates across the public service.“There is a lack of detail regarding the impact on individual programs within each organization, including the reduction in personnel and potential service level impacts,” the Budget Office said in a follow-up report on its information requests. Without that detail, it warned, it is difficult to assess the fiscal and operational risks of the government’s savings plan.Carney said on Nov. 14 that his government would cut 10% of the federal payroll as part of what he described as “tough, responsible choices” to save taxpayers $60 billion. Months later, the Budget Office says it is still struggling to get basic data from departments..The watchdog asked five agencies — the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Canada Economic Development for Québec Regions, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Correctional Service Canada and the Department of Fisheries — to outline their planned reductions. Together, the organizations employ 41,003 people and proposed cutting 1,927 positions, amounting to 4.7%.Those reductions would deliver $1.5 billion in savings over four years, Budget Office analysts said, a figure that appears modest compared with the Prime Minister’s original pledge.The Budget Office said it will now seek similar information from all remaining federal departments and agencies. In November, it formally complained to the Speaker of the House of Commons, accusing federal managers of withholding information in violation of the Parliament of Canada Act..Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali defended the lack of transparency in testimony to MPs on Nov. 27, saying detailed discussions of job cuts were delayed out of concern for employees and their families. He said releasing information prematurely would have been unfair to public servants whose livelihoods are at stake.Opposition MPs were unconvinced. Conservative MP Pat Kelly questioned how Parliament could be asked to approve spending estimates without knowing the scale of planned cuts, while Bloc Québécois MP Marie-Hélène Gaudreau voiced frustration with the government’s silence.“Taxpayers want answers,” she said.
