Federal Budget: Government Plans Significant Public Service Cuts and Weakens Workers’ Bargaining Rights
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has expressed serious concerns about the federal government’s proposal to drastically cut essential public services, reduce the federal workforce by over 40,000 positions, and erode collective bargaining rights affecting hundreds of thousands of workers.
Impact of the Cuts
Despite the increasing demands of a growing and aging population, Budget 2025 will terminate key programs and services over the next three years. It aims to substitute many workers with artificial intelligence as part of the Comprehensive Expenditure Review (CER).
“These deep public service cuts will hurt workers, families and communities across Canada,” said PSAC National President Sharon DeSousa.
She highlighted that Canadians should expect longer delays in processing passports, employment insurance, and child care benefits, as well as more unanswered calls at the Canada Revenue Agency. The cuts will also reduce public health and food safety initiatives, leaving the government less equipped to support ordinary citizens when it matters most.
Government Priorities
Rather than strengthening frontline services and supporting the workers who sustain Canada's operations, the government is intensifying job reductions and relying heavily on AI chatbots. This strategy threatens to weaken Canada’s social safety net and public service quality.
Summary
The federal budget’s planned cuts and workforce reductions, paired with reliance on AI, pose severe risks to essential public services and workers’ rights throughout Canada.