Service levels at federal departments were already falling short before Ottawa moved to slash thousands of public service jobs, a Liberal MP told a Commons committee, undercutting claims that looming cuts are the sole threat to front-line performance.Appearing before the government operations committee, Mississauga–Erin Mills MP Iqra Khalid said constituents are increasingly being redirected to MPs’ offices because federal employees are failing to deliver basic services. Blacklock's Reporter said she pointed to departments such as Immigration and the Canada Revenue Agency, saying staffing levels have not translated into acceptable results.“The levels of staff right now in these front line service providers are already not doing that great,” Khalid told the committee. “I have anecdotal evidence where people are actually sending our constituents to MPs’ offices to get service instead of doing their jobs at the front line.”.Her comments came after testimony from Public Service Alliance of Canada president Sharon DeSousa, who warned that planned reductions to the federal workforce would further erode service. Cabinet has signalled its intention to shrink the public service by 10%, a move expected to eliminate tens of thousands of positions.DeSousa acknowledged there is room for improvement but said job cuts would only worsen delays. “Is there improvement that is needed? Yes, without a doubt,” she said. “But you need to look at the service and streamline and figure out where and what needs to be done.”Khalid pushed back, saying DeSousa misunderstood her point, while DeSousa responded that service levels ultimately rest with the employer, not unionized workers. When pressed by Khalid on union dues, DeSousa said members typically pay a minimum of about $40 a month, depending on classification..DeSousa told MPs nearly 10,000 federal employees have received workforce adjustment notices in recent months, warning they could lose their jobs. She said Canadians have been left in the dark about how service cuts will affect them.Conservative MP Harb Gill, a former police officer and longtime public servant, asked what happens when positions disappear. DeSousa replied the workload remains while staff numbers shrink, creating backlogs that hit the public directly.“They wait and they suffer,” she said, pointing to long passport lineups as an example.The Prime Minister said last November cabinet was reducing the size of the public service by 10%. Treasury Board documents estimate the cuts at roughly 40,000 positions, though the government has yet to present a detailed plan to Parliament.
