Less than seven days ahead of the upcoming federal budget announcement, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne emphasized the necessity for the public service to attain a more sustainable scale. Champagne’s declaration came following the revelation of funding allocated for women and 2SLGBTQ+ communities in the budget scheduled for presentation next week.
During a subsequent press briefing, he was questioned about the anticipated size of the federal service. In response, the minister reiterated the need for difficult decisions in the expenditure review process, highlighting the challenges involved in such endeavors.
The government plans to make “workforce adjustments” by enhancing operational procedures, consolidating programs across departments, and leveraging advanced technology. Champagne emphasized the importance of implementing these changes intelligently.
While addressing whether attrition alone could meet the government’s spending reduction objectives, Champagne stressed that the current size of the civil service is unsustainable. He expressed the need to revert to a more sustainable workforce level compared to the pre-COVID-19 era.
Despite the necessity for downsizing, Champagne assured a compassionate approach in the implementation of these measures. According to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the federal government had 287,983 employees in 2019, a number that increased to over 300,000 in 2020 and reached 367,772 by the end of last year.
