Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has increased staffing for the military and security at the same time it is cutting public servants who provide services to average Canadians, NDP Treasury Board critic Alexandre Boulerice charged Thursday.
“The security and military obsession of that government is in the process of undermining the public services that are the closest to people in their daily life — whether it is old age pension services, whether it is guaranteed income supplement services or employment insurance. It is worrying.”
Boulerice’s comments came after iPolitics revealed Thursday that a senior privy council official told a group of 1,200 top public service executives that the sharp increase in Canada’s public service over the past five years has largely been the result of the Conservative government’s priorities such as defence and the border.
“The Canadian forces has grown, DND has grown,” William Pentney, deputy secretary to the cabinet, plans and consultation, told a seminar designed to help public service executives prepare to implement the government’s strategic and operating review (SOR). “DND is running a bigger budget than anyone ever in the history of DND or the military has ever run — ever, ever, ever,” said Pentney, a former associate deputy minister for defence. “(There’s) the border services agency. So a number of areas of growth are related simply to investments in government priorities.”
Pentney warned the executives that there will have to be public service layoffs and described the situation that will unfold as the government’s deficit reduction action plan is implemented as “grim.”
Boulerice, however, said the government’s priorities are out of step with the priorities of Canadians.
“We don’t think it is the priority of Canadians to have hired more people for everything to do with defence, security, borders, prisons. We think those are bad choices. On the contrary, we think we should preserve the jobs we have in the things that count for Canadians. During that time we had 1,000 people cut at Service Canada, 750 people who were cut at Environment Canada and we’re in the process of closing the centre that monitors the ozone layer.”
Boulerice said he is concerned by the fact that the government is setting a figure of $4 billion then evaluating programs for savings rather than the other way around.
“There minds are made up in advance.”
He is also troubled by the fact that the government is promising bonuses to top executives who meet the government’s cost reduction targets of 5 and 10 per cent.
“We’re going to reward the person who shows someone the door.”
Liberal Treasury Board critic John McCallum, a former defence minister, said he supports National Defence but it has grown sharply since the Conservatives took office.
“The headquarters was bloated when I was there and it is even more bloated now.”
McCallum said DND should do its part to reduce spending
While the Conservative government has been quick to blame its Liberal predecessors for problems, McCallum said the Conservatives didn’t inherit the current size of the public service from the Liberals.
“I think they increased spending like drunken sailors before the recession and along with that goes more civil servants,” said McCallum pointing out that there were increases in areas such as prison guards — not just DND.
McCallum said strategic and operating review shouldn’t be carried out “on the backs” of the regions and the government should avoid cutting employment insurance staff in small communities.
Both McCallum and Boulerice said the government should be working with public service unions to implement the cuts rather than picking fights with them.
In a letter this week to John Gordon, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Treasury Board President Tony Clement was sharply critical for the union for not helping the government come up with ways to save money.
Origin
Source: iPolitico
“The security and military obsession of that government is in the process of undermining the public services that are the closest to people in their daily life — whether it is old age pension services, whether it is guaranteed income supplement services or employment insurance. It is worrying.”
Boulerice’s comments came after iPolitics revealed Thursday that a senior privy council official told a group of 1,200 top public service executives that the sharp increase in Canada’s public service over the past five years has largely been the result of the Conservative government’s priorities such as defence and the border.
“The Canadian forces has grown, DND has grown,” William Pentney, deputy secretary to the cabinet, plans and consultation, told a seminar designed to help public service executives prepare to implement the government’s strategic and operating review (SOR). “DND is running a bigger budget than anyone ever in the history of DND or the military has ever run — ever, ever, ever,” said Pentney, a former associate deputy minister for defence. “(There’s) the border services agency. So a number of areas of growth are related simply to investments in government priorities.”
Pentney warned the executives that there will have to be public service layoffs and described the situation that will unfold as the government’s deficit reduction action plan is implemented as “grim.”
Boulerice, however, said the government’s priorities are out of step with the priorities of Canadians.
“We don’t think it is the priority of Canadians to have hired more people for everything to do with defence, security, borders, prisons. We think those are bad choices. On the contrary, we think we should preserve the jobs we have in the things that count for Canadians. During that time we had 1,000 people cut at Service Canada, 750 people who were cut at Environment Canada and we’re in the process of closing the centre that monitors the ozone layer.”
Boulerice said he is concerned by the fact that the government is setting a figure of $4 billion then evaluating programs for savings rather than the other way around.
“There minds are made up in advance.”
He is also troubled by the fact that the government is promising bonuses to top executives who meet the government’s cost reduction targets of 5 and 10 per cent.
“We’re going to reward the person who shows someone the door.”
Liberal Treasury Board critic John McCallum, a former defence minister, said he supports National Defence but it has grown sharply since the Conservatives took office.
“The headquarters was bloated when I was there and it is even more bloated now.”
McCallum said DND should do its part to reduce spending
While the Conservative government has been quick to blame its Liberal predecessors for problems, McCallum said the Conservatives didn’t inherit the current size of the public service from the Liberals.
“I think they increased spending like drunken sailors before the recession and along with that goes more civil servants,” said McCallum pointing out that there were increases in areas such as prison guards — not just DND.
McCallum said strategic and operating review shouldn’t be carried out “on the backs” of the regions and the government should avoid cutting employment insurance staff in small communities.
Both McCallum and Boulerice said the government should be working with public service unions to implement the cuts rather than picking fights with them.
In a letter this week to John Gordon, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Treasury Board President Tony Clement was sharply critical for the union for not helping the government come up with ways to save money.
Origin
Source: iPolitico
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