Posted on 28 October 2011
Charlottetown Senator Percy Downe has written Prime Minister Stephen Harper urging him to correct the disproportionate federal job cuts that have been occurring in Atlantic Canada, and to ensure that in the future, Atlantic Canada will be treated equally compared to the other regions of Canada.
“The federal ministers from Atlantic Canada, like Gail Shea and Peter MacKay, failed to stand up, speak up and fight for the citizens they represent. Since 2009, they have allowed Atlantic Canada to suffer over 400 federal government job cuts, during the same time period that federal government jobs across Canada increased by over 8000 – fully 5000 of which were in the Ottawa area,” said Senator Downe.
Downe wrote that he is hopeful that once Prime Minister Harper is made aware of the unfairness of what has happened in Atlantic Canada, he will take the necessary steps to correct the errors that occurred between 2009 and 2011.
“If his government decides additional cuts will be required, I trust that any future federal government job cuts his government may deem necessary will be done equally across Canada,” concluded Downe.
October 28, 2011
Right Honourable Stephen Harper, PC, MP
Prime Minister of Canada
Langevin Building
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0A2
Dear Prime Minister:
I wish to draw your attention – and seek your intervention to correct – to what I would describe as a troubling inequality with regard to federal government job cuts across Canada.
According to figures provided by the Treasury Board in response to a Written Question I filed in the Senate, federal government employment in Atlantic Canada shrank by 430 jobs between 2009 and 2011; and yet, during that same time period, federal government jobs increased by over 5% in the Ottawa area and 3% nationwide. My home province of Prince Edward Island was particularly hard hit, losing 119 jobs, or 3.5% of federal jobs on the Island.
Given the current economic climate, one cannot help but be concerned by such statistics. If Atlantic Canadians lost government jobs in our region when in recent years your government was adding jobs overall, will we still have equal opportunity for federal government employment in Atlantic Canada in a time of restraint?
Obviously, government alone cannot solve the problem of unemployment. Meaningful economic development can only come from a healthy balanced economy that respects and welcomes the role of a robust private sector to invest the time and money to create the jobs that will allow Atlantic Canadians to build their future.
Federal government employment provides a dependable core of stable, good-paying jobs, which are tremendously beneficial, particularly in the smaller economies of Atlantic Canada. So when those jobs disappear, or are moved to Ottawa, the effect is noticeable.
Quite apart from the cuts themselves, there is the issue of the kind of jobs involved. It would appear that senior government officials based in Ottawa have been seeking to preserve, expand and protect federal government employment in Ottawa at the expense of the regions; especially when considering that three-quarters of the highest paying “EX level” jobs are located in the Ottawa area.
A recent example of this centralization is the move of the position of Director General of Communications for Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) from its headquarters in Charlottetown to Ottawa. The position, which pays up to $149,000 per year, is the only such position for a federal department not located at that department’s national headquarters. Thus, it is not only the number of jobs being lost; it is the high-paying nature of the jobs that is a major concern.
Fairness dictates that Atlantic Canada should not suffer disproportionately while other parts of the country carry on as usual. I ask that you, as Prime Minister, instruct your cabinet ministers to take measures to correct the recent loss of federal government jobs in Atlantic Canada, to repair the harm done by those losses that have already occurred, and to ensure that any future federal government job cuts your government may deem necessary should be made equally across Canada.
Sincerely,
Percy E. Downe
Senator