Liberal MP John McCallum (Markham-Unionville, Ont.) asked the government in November for a detailed account of where each ministry was cut, how much was cut, and how many jobs were lost in 2011-2012 as the effect of years of strategic reviews.
The results were tabled Jan. 30. Twenty-two departments responded, and the results ranged from no cuts at all, in the case of Aboriginal Affairs, Canadian Heritage and the Finance Department, to as much as $172.7-million in cuts and more than 720 jobs at Human Resources Skills Development Canada.
Also among the financially hardest-hit departments in 2011-2012 are Fisheries and Oceans, which found $56.7-million in savings, and Health Canada, which cut $52.3-million.
The departments that cut the most jobs include Foreign Affairs, which as already eliminated the equivalent of 344 full-time jobs and is looking for another 56 to cut. Environment Canada didn’t provide any job figures in their response but it did acknowledge last year that 300 positions would be cut.
One department, National Defence, said it was still making decisions on where to cut and did not provide any information.
In total, the government saved $509.7-million and cut the equivalent of 2,192.1 full-time jobs from its ranks.
Mr. McCallum recently told The Hill Times that his party was still reviewing the responses and that the information was being parceled off to the relevant critics.
While cuts to the Coast Guard at Fisheries and Oceans, and the loss of funding for six research and monitoring programs at Environment Canada, including $3.2-million for the Clean Air Community Partnerships, have been the subject of scrutiny, an almost $60-million cut to Citizenship and Immigration this year has flown largely under the radar.
Citizenship and Immigration cut $59.3-million and the equivalent of 13 full-time positions last year, from seven different departmental activities in 2011-2012. The department’s budget is $1.5-billion, and it employs the equivalent of 4,759 people full-time.
The department made a number of changes to improving program efficiencies and moving its public resources online, including forms and information kits. Switching to e-forms made for savings in both the permanent and temporary economic residents programs as well as the citizenship program, adding up to $3.8-million.
“Every time we can find streamlining, we can find efficiencies, there is a direct benefit to the folks that are either in the backlog, or waiting for a response,” said Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Immigration, Rick Dykstra (St. Catharines, Ont.).
NDP Citizenship and Immigration critic Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway, B.C.) noted that there is a backlog of more than one million applications waiting for processing by CIC, and the wait is measured in years for most people. He said it was about time that the department moved towards modernizing its systems.
“The New Democrats have been pushing the government, as has the auditor general, for years to move aggressively towards an electronic filing system and to computerize this, as Australia has done,” he said.
The majority of CIC’s savings, $52-million come from its settlement and integration of newcomers work. The program supports organizations that provide skills and language training, as well as job-market access, to permanent residents. School boards, provincial and municipal governments and other NGOs, carry out the work.
According to the department, the cut will have no impact on the quality of services provided.
The department is also sunsetting funding for two policy groups. Funding for the Metropolis Secretariat will end in 2012, saving the department $1.4-million this year, and cutting the equivalent of 11 full-time jobs.
The Metropolis Secretariat is connected to universities across Canada that have Centres of Excellence on Immigration. CIC isn’t the only government organization that provides funding to the program, with money coming from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canadian Heritage and a dozen other bodies.
CIC stated that it wants to see the secretariat establish itself as an independent think tank going forward.
The Migration Policy Institute, an international think tank based in Washington, D.C., is also getting its CIC funding phased out. The institute will get $2.5-million in 2011-2012, half a million dollars less than last year.
Mr. Dykstra said that funding to the think tanks “wasn’t as effective as we had hoped it would be.”
Citizenship and Immigration, like all other government departments, will have its operating funds cut in the next budget. Departments have presented scenarios to Cabinet outlining either five or 10 per cent cuts. Recent statements from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty (Whitby-Oshawa, Ont.) and Treasury Board President Tony Clement (Parry Sound-Muskoka, Ont.) have indicated that the cuts could be closer to the 10 per cent mark.
Mr. Davies said that he thinks Citizenship and Immigration should be spared.
“When you take resources out of immigration processing, what you’re really saying is human beings have to wait to get on with their lives,” he said.
Liberal immigration critic Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Man.) said that he would wait to see what comes out in the upcoming budget, and that he’s hoping that the government makes speeding up the application process a priority.
Mr. Dykstra said he thinks there is still room in the department to find administrative efficiencies.
“I do believe that we will be able to address the efficiencies and also meet the requirements of coming in with reductions with respect to the budget and the goals that we have set for ourselves as a government,” he said.
The Hill Times
A rundown of strategic review cuts in 2011-2012
n Aboriginal Affairs: Nothing in 2011-2012.
n Agriculture and Agri-Food: Savings of $700,000 and the equivalent of 13 fewer full-time jobs, from the sunsetting of Canadian Agriculture and Food International. However, the government’s new commitment under the AgriMarketing Program means $97-million in spending over 4 years and the equivalent of 14 new full-time jobs.
n Canadian Heritage: Nothing in 2011-2012.
n Citizenship and Immigration: Savings of $59.3-million and the equivalent of 13 full-time jobs, coming from seven different grants and programs. Most of the savings are from administrative efficiencies, but it includes a wind-down in funding for the Migration Policy Institute and the Metropolis Secretariat.
n Environment Canada: Savings of approximately $19.4-million from 15 different programs, grants or funding agreements. The cuts include the complete de-funding of six different research and monitoring activities. The department’s response did not say how many jobs this would affect, but in 2011 it announced that some 300 positions would be cut.
n Finance Department: Nothing in 2011-2012.
n Fisheries and Oceans: Savings of $56.7-million this year, and a loss of 275.5 full-time equivalent jobs, coming from finding internal administrative efficiencies, decommissioning outdated technology, changing reporting and scientific study requirements and consolidating search and rescue services.
n Foreign Affairs and International Trade: In 2011-2012, the department implemented the last part of its 2008 strategic review, streamlining internal operations. The department found 344 “inefficient positions” at its Ottawa HQ, and of those 132 were eliminated through attrition. The department is looking for places to eliminate 56 more jobs but it hasn’t made any decisions yet. Financial savings were fully realized in 2010-2011.
n Health Canada: The department is also implementing the last of its 2008 strategic review, including $52.3-million in savings, including cuts to grants and finding internal services savings.
n Human Resources Skills Development: The department has over $172.7-million in savings planned, affecting the equivalent of just over 720 federal jobs. The savings start this year, with certain cuts coming into effect in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014. The money comes from a variety of programs and grants, including the youth internship and employment programs, sector councils, the automation of employment insurance claims, and Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnerships. A further $22.5-million and 17 jobs are slated to be cut in the next two years.
n Industry: Savings of $6.7-million and the equivalent of 18 fewer full-time jobs. Five programs have been affected in 2011-2012 by the department’s 2010 strategic review. They include policy analysis, communications, spectrum management and telecommunications, the Communications Research Centre and the Automotive Innovation Fund.
n Justice: Savings of $7.5-million this year due to “efficiencies and flexibilities in the management of resources devoted to the delivery of legal services through the closer monitoring and matching of assigned work based on legal practitioners’ competencies.”
n Labour: Slated savings of $7.3-million and the equivalent of 27.6 fewer full-time positions due to 13 savings initiatives. The savings start this year, with about $4-million coming into effect in 2012-2013. The biggest savings (more than $1-million in cuts each) are to the Labour Management Partnership Program, the Wage Earner Protection Program, and the Government Employee’s Compensation Act.
n National Defence: Did not release any specifics of its spending review, as “the results of this review continue to be assessed.”
n Natural Resources: Savings of $37-million.
n Prime Minister’s Office and the Privy Council Office: Savings of $1.1-million and the equivalent of eight fewer people working as Prime Minister and Portfolio Ministers Support and Advice. The savings come from Cabinet and Cabinet Committees’ advice and support and internal services.
n Public Safety: Savings of $13-million and the equivalent of 21.5 fewer people in the program areas of Countering Crime, Emergency Management, and policy development.
n Public Works Government Services: The equivalent of 307 fewer full time jobs, and savings of $24.1-million in 2011-2012. Of that, $23.5-million in savings will come from the real property program. The department plans to cut a further 380 positions and save $126.6-million by 2014.
n Transport Canada: Savings of $21.8-million and the equivalent of 66 full-time positions, from five programs, including aviation security, road safety and motor vehicle regulation and airport and port modernization.
n Treasury Board Secretariat: Savings of $7.2-million and the equivalent of 52 fewer full-time positions, through internal savings, including “streamlining internal processes” and sunsetting the regional communications network.
n Veterans Affairs: Savings of $24-million from “making better use of internal resources” and “improving alignment of programs and services with actual needs.”
n Western Economic Diversification: Savings of $3.3-million and the equivalent of 2.5 full-time jobs, from the business development and community economic development program, as well as internal efficiencies.
Original Article
Source: hill times
Author: JESSICA BRUNO
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