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Ottawa Citizen
5 days ago
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
MacDougall: Carney's cuts won't be able to hide behind Trump forever
Article content In another time, Prime Minister Mark Carney's talk of steep government spending cuts would be the talk of the town. But these aren't other times. Article content We now live in the age of Trump, and the U.S. President's ongoing trade war with the world is a story that is able to erase much of most other country's domestic news agenda. And so it is with Canada and its need to reduce spending after years of Trudeau-era bloat. Article content Article content Article content Make no mistake; Carney's cuts are major news. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne has told his colleagues around the cabinet table that the Liberal government must cut operational spending by 7.5 per cent for the 2026-27 fiscal year, 10 per cent the following year and 15 per cent in 2028-29. Carney has already ruled out cuts to provincial transfers and pensions and other old age supports. Article content The Liberal government has also ruled out cuts to programs like child care, pharmacare and dental care, while also committing to increased spending on defence. There is either a magic money tree in Carney's garden or pain on the way for Ottawa's army of public servants, as their salaries and benefits are a key part of 'operational spending.' Article content I'm old enough to remember the furore around the Harper government's proposed cuts to return to a balanced budget in the wake of the 2008-09 financial crisis. Indeed, I was the man who had to answer the many, many media questions about said cuts. And so it's astonishing to see how little coverage is being generated by what will be, in absolute terms, much bigger cuts. Article content Article content Of course, it helps that Trudeau grew the size of the federal public service so much that achieving a similar quantum to the Harper era would be child's play. Senior Liberals say they will achieve much of the reduction by eliminating vacant positions and 'reallocating' staff rather than giving public servants the boot. Unions like PSAC are skeptical about those promises, as well they should be. Article content Article content Enter that other great media attention hog: artificial intelligence. Everyone is now talking about AI, holding it up to be either a demon or a saviour. Carney and Evan Solomon, his new AI minister, are promising the latter, at least with respect to achieving efficiencies in program delivery without compromising service levels. But you should never trust anyone who says tough goals can be achieved without pain. Article content What's more, the kinds of improvements Canadians are looking for in their lives will not be achieved without a federal public service that's fit and firing on all cylinders. Taking a scythe through the fields of bureaucrats at the same time as they are being called on to deliver will be difficult on morale. And so it is incumbent on Carney and his ministers to be as specific as they can on what is required, and what is surplus to requirements. It is not enough to hide behind the promise of technology and operational efficiencies.
Ottawa Citizen
21-07-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Union claims prime minister broke promise to 'cap, not cut' public service
Article content O'Reilly claimed that the Harper cuts 'cut into bone, they cut into meat, it was not surgical,' adding he is concerned the current government's spending review will do the same. Article content The Prime Minister's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Article content O'Reilly also criticized the Liberal government for not consulting with unions ahead of announcing the spending review, adding that he learned about it through the media. Article content 'They had known about it for a few days, and they never brought us in,' O'Reilly said. 'That's not a partnership. That's not the way I want to work with this government.' Article content Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre recently told CBC that he believed his proposals to cut the size of the public service were what led to his loss in the riding of Carleton. He accused the Liberals of lying about whether they would lay off government workers and blamed campaigning from public sector unions in his riding for his loss. Article content Article content Sharon DeSousa, president of Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), told the Ottawa Citizen that she chalked up Poilievre's local loss to his tendency to alienate voters in an election campaign that unfolded against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to make the country the 51st state. Article content 'I think that cost him more that just the seat,' DeSousa said. 'I think it cost him the election.' Article content When asked whether PSAC, which is the largest federal public sector union, campaigned specifically in Carleton, DeSousa said her union ran a similar nationwide campaign to previous elections. Article content The PSAC leader said she is calling for Carney to 'make good on his promise' to cap, not cut the public service. Article content 'Canadians are watching closely to see what he will do,' she added. Article content Another public sector union, the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) has also sounded the alarm on the proposed cuts. Article content Article content In a statement to the Ottawa Citizen, CAPE President Nathan Prier said he 'welcomes' Pierre Poilievre for holding Carney accountable on the 'broken promise' to 'cap and not cut the federal public service.'
17-07-2025
- Politics
Did federal workers cost Poilievre his job? Top union boss says it's more about Trump
A major union leader says Pierre Poilievre's claim that he lost his seat because of his pledge to cut the public service is simplistic and should also be attributed to voters linking the Conservative leader to U.S. President Donald Trump. I think what people saw was too many similarities. People see the platform that was presented. They see past decision-making and they link it to what's happening down south in an extreme manner, said Sharon DeSousa, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the largest federal public sector union. She said Trump's mass firings of government workers caused Canadians to worry the same could happen here. They're worried about their livelihood. They're dependent on public services, she said. After Trump was elected president a second time, he launched the Department of Government Efficiency with the help of billionaire Elon Musk (new window) , which gutted several U.S. government agencies and fired thousands of workers. DeSousa said those events changed the game of the 2025 federal election. PSAC national president Sharon DeSousa says Poilievre's argument is 'simplistic.' Photo: CBC / Francis Ferland Poilievre said on Friday that he lost the riding of Carleton — which he represented for more than two decades — because of an aggressive union campaign after he was honest about wanting to cut federal jobs. It's an Ottawa riding with a lot of federal public servants who disagreed with that approach, Poilievre said in an interview with CBC's (new window) The House (new window) . "They ran a very aggressive campaign, particularly the public sector unions did, to defeat me on that basis." DeSousa said PSAC ran a campaign during the 2025 federal election called For You, Canada (new window) that focused on protecting public services and reached about four million people. The very basic campaign targeted MPs in a variety of ridings, she said. At the end of the day, the public sector unions don't have a vote. Individuals do, DeSousa said. I feel like the stance that is being provided is very simplistic. WATCH | Why Poilievre thinks he lost his riding: The union president also said Poilievre's track record in the House of Commons made him even less appealing to his constituents. DeSousa cited Poilievre's vote against developing a national framework (new window) to establish a school food program. I think it's also a disconnect with him and the members of that particular riding. Keep in mind, this is someone who's held that riding for 20 years and was re-elected seven times, she said. In a statement to CBC News, the president of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees, Nathan Prier, said Poilievre actively campaigned against the interests of both his constituents and all Canadians, and as a result, his ideas were rejected. Prier also said Poilievre blaming public sector unions should be a warning to anyone else who fell for his masquerading as a friend of unions, while he clearly attacks federal public sector unions over his electoral defeat. Poilievre claims Liberals hid plans to cut public service During his interview on The House , Poilievre argued he was honest with Canadians about his plans to cut the public service while the Liberals and Mark Carney hid their intentions to do the same. Some people might say, 'Well, it wasn't the best idea to run on a smaller federal public service when you're an Ottawa MP,' but I had an entire country to represent, Poilievre said. I had to be honest with people. Last week, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne sent letters to cabinet ministers asking them to figure out ambitious savings proposals to handle public sector spending. The wording of the letter was confirmed by Champagne's director of communications. WATCH | Poilievre's exclusive interview with Catherine Cullen: DeSousa said she doesn't think the Liberals were hiding their plans because the Trudeau government had already begun the work to cut federal spending (new window) , including funding to departments and agencies. Carney's election platform promised to cap spending growth at two per cent per year through 2028-29. He also said during the election campaign that he would cap but not cut the public service (new window) . DeSousa said she's hoping Carney will keep that commitment. The prime minister still has an opportunity to make good on his promise, and I think it's a little bit early to say that it was a blatant lie, DeSousa said. We're in a transition period … the prime minister is well aware of the position of the federal public service, the unions and the workers.
Edmonton Journal
17-07-2025
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
Lorne Gunter: Carney's need to cut spending should focus on bloated public service
Article content Cutting federal government spending by 15 per cent over the next three years — as Prime Minister Mark Carney has instructed his cabinet ministers to do — is an entirely worthwhile and commendable goal. I hope they can pull it off. Hard-working Canadians need them to pull it off. Article content Article content Article content So even after accounting for inflation and population growth, the Trudeau government increased the size of the federal government by well over 40 per cent. That even includes the way they let immigration and rising prices both get way out of control. Article content So when federal public-sector unions, like PSAC (the Public Service Alliance of Canada) start threatening that essential services will be cut if the Carney government touches even a dollar of public spending, don't listen. Article content Over the past decade, Ottawa has grown by over 40 per cent in real terms, but are you getting 40 per cent more service from federal bureaucrats? Forty per cent better service? Article content Article content Chances are as the cost of the federal bureaucracy has skyrocketed, the level of services you have received has plummeted. Article content Article content It's the same story with the statistics on civil servants. Article content Under the Trudeau government, the federal civil service grew by nearly 100,000 employees, or just about 40 per cent, at a time when the national population grew about 16 per cent. Article content What were all those added bureaucrats needed for? What are they doing now that is so essential that most of them couldn't be cut? I would bet most Canadians wouldn't notice if half or more of the extra 100,000 civil servants were let go. Article content The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates that every frontline federal worker has seven layers of management above them. That's managers managing managers who manage managers.
CBC
17-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Did federal workers cost Poilievre his job? Top union boss says it's more about Trump
A major union leader says Pierre Poilievre's claim that he lost his seat because of his pledge to cut the public service is "simplistic" and should also be attributed to voters linking the Conservative leader to U.S. President Donald Trump. "I think what people saw was too many similarities. People see the platform that was presented. They see past decision-making and they link it to what's happening down south in an extreme manner," said Sharon DeSousa, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the largest federal public sector union. She said Trump's "mass firings" of government workers caused Canadians to worry the same could happen here. "They're worried about their livelihood. They're dependent on public services," she said. After Trump was elected president a second time, he launched the Department of Government Efficiency with the help of billionaire Elon Musk, which gutted several U.S. government agencies and fired thousands of workers. DeSousa said those events "changed the game" of the 2025 federal election. Poilievre said on Friday that he lost the riding of Carleton — which he represented for more than two decades — because of an "aggressive" union campaign after he was honest about wanting to cut federal jobs. "It's an Ottawa riding with a lot of federal public servants who disagreed with that approach," Poilievre said in an interview with CBC's The House. "They ran a very aggressive campaign, particularly the public sector unions did, to defeat me on that basis." DeSousa said PSAC ran a campaign during the 2025 federal election called For You, Canada that focused on protecting public services and reached about four million people. The "very basic" campaign targeted MPs in a variety of ridings, she said. "At the end of the day, the public sector unions don't have a vote. Individuals do," DeSousa said. "I feel like the stance that is being provided is very simplistic." WATCH | Why Poilievre thinks he lost his riding: Poilievre says committing to cut federal public service cost him his Ottawa seat 5 days ago In an exclusive interview with CBC's The House, host Catherine Cullen asks Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre how he makes sense of losing the Ottawa-area seat he held for two decades. Poilievre says public sector unions 'ran a very aggressive campaign' to defeat him. The union president also said Poilievre's track record in the House of Commons made him even less appealing to his constituents. DeSousa cited Poilievre's vote against developing a national framework to establish a school food program. "I think it's also a disconnect with him and the members of that particular riding. Keep in mind, this is someone who's held that riding for 20 years and was re-elected seven times," she said. In a statement to CBC News, the president of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees, Nathan Prier, said "Poilievre actively campaigned against the interests of both his constituents and all Canadians, and as a result, his ideas were rejected." Prier also said Poilievre blaming public sector unions should be a warning to "anyone else who fell for his masquerading as a friend of unions, while he clearly attacks federal public sector unions over his electoral defeat." Poilievre claims Liberals hid plans to cut public service During his interview on The House, Poilievre argued he was honest with Canadians about his plans to cut the public service while the Liberals and Mark Carney hid their intentions to do the same. "Some people might say, 'Well, it wasn't the best idea to run on a smaller federal public service when you're an Ottawa MP,' but I had an entire country to represent," Poilievre said. "I had to be honest with people." Last week, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne sent letters to cabinet ministers asking them to figure out "ambitious savings proposals" to handle public sector spending. The wording of the letter was confirmed by Champagne's director of communications. WATCH | Poilievre's exclusive interview with Catherine Cullen: FULL INTERVIEW | Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks with CBC Radio's The House 5 days ago In an exclusive interview, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks with CBC Radio's The House host Catherine Cullen about the ongoing trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S., his bid to regain a seat in the House of Commons and what he thinks led to him losing his Ottawa riding. DeSousa said she doesn't think the Liberals were hiding their plans because the Trudeau government had already begun the work to cut federal spending, including funding to departments and agencies. Carney's election platform promised to cap spending growth at two per cent per year through 2028-29. He also said during the election campaign that he would cap but not cut the public service. DeSousa said she's hoping Carney will keep that commitment. "The prime minister still has an opportunity to make good on his promise, and I think it's a little bit early to say that it was a blatant lie," DeSousa said. "We're in a transition period … the prime minister is well aware of the position of the federal public service, the unions and the workers."
