Around 800 jobs to be cut Service Canada offices nationally
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Around 800 passport office jobs are expected to be cut across the country at the end of June due to a forecast of reduced applications from Service Canada.
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In an email to this newspaper, a spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) said the decision was 'necessary and not taken lightly.'
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The cuts will impact Service Canada offices nationally, the spokesperson added. They did not provide details about how many jobs from each service location will be cut, but did say all impacted employees have been notified.
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'As a federal department, ESDC has an obligation to ensure sound fiscal management throughout the organization based on forecasted workload volumes. Revenues must be balanced with costs, including costs for employee salaries,' the email read.
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The job cuts come after the Canadian Revenue Agency announced it will cut 280 jobs, most of them in the National Capital Region.
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The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents nearly 240,000 public service workers across the country, said the job cuts will threaten services that people rely on every day.
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It will mean longer wait times at passport offices as well as weakened services for taxpayers and businesses, the union said.
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'Throughout the election, the Liberals promised 'caps, not cuts,' but each week, hundreds of federal workers are receiving notice that their jobs are being eliminated,' said Sharon DeSousa, PSAC national president, in a statement posted online.
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