The report quietly tabled in the House of Commons last Friday shows that overall, the government cut its total number of employees from 278,092 to 262,902 from March 31 last year to Dec. 31.
Of those, 8,000 of the more than 15,000 jobs that were eliminated were for fulltime “indeterminate” positions, a reduction of about three per cent. The remaining roughly 7,000 positions that were eliminated were for students and casual, or term, employees, the report says.
The document, an annual report to Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) on the public service, shows the students and casual employees, often women and younger members of the work force, took the biggest hit.
Of about 5,300 student positions, the government cut nearly 1,100, a reduction of just over 20 per cent, the report says. Out of about 29,500 part-time positions, the government eliminated 5,550, a cut of just over 18 per cent.
The report to Mr. Harper from Wayne Wouters, Secretary to Cabinet and Clerk of the Privy Council, appears to be the first published report that breaks down jobs that have been eliminated under Budget 2012 in a way that distinguishes part-time and student jobs from permanent employment.
A spokesperson for Treasury Board President Tony Clement (Parry Sound-Muskoka, Ont.) said the federal budget last March included more recent job numbers, but it was not immediately clear whether that meant a breakdown of fulltime job eliminations as opposed to student and short-term employment.
“We have said all along that a significant proportion of the reduction in positions would be through attrition,” said Andrea Mandell-Campbell. “We have closed vacant unfilled positions and not renewed casual positions as they expire.”
Another spokesperson for Mr. Clement emailed The Hill Times to point out the late federal budget last March announced that as of Dec. 31, 2012, 16,220 public service positions had been eliminated, of which 9,390 were achieved through attrition.
“As promised, we are reducing the size of the Public Service, while reducing the impact on employees through attrition, sun-setting term contracts and qualified placements to other positions,” said press secretary Matthew Conway.
There was no explanation for the difference in numbers between the two government agencies, but Mr. Conway’s statement did not differentiate between fulltime, student and temporary positions.
Liberal MP Scott Brison (Kings-Hants, N.S.) said the cuts to student employment compounded the worst summer employment prospects for students in decades.
“The summer of 2012 saw the worst summer jobs numbers in Canada since Stats Canada started tracking the numbers in the 1970s,” Mr. Brison said in an interview.
“At the same time the Conservatives had cut student employment offices and the number of jobs created through the summer jobs program,” he said. “This report demonstrates a further attack on young Canadians who are struggling to get work experience and to earn money to pay off debt.”
Mr. Brison also criticized the government for failing to include the distinction between student jobs and part-time work in earlier reports on the restraint measures.
“This government is the most secretive, opaque government in Canadian history, that is why they had a donnybrook on [former Parliamentary Budget Officer] Kevin Page. His job was to give Canadians and Parliament the numbers,” Mr. Brison said.
Original Article
Source: hilltimes.com
Author: TIM NAUMETZ
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