News release

May 2, 2006

Federal budget spells bad news for federal public services

TORONTO - The Harper government’s first federal budget provides more questions than answers about its impact on services to Canadians, according to the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

In its pre-budget submission, PSAC had argued that demands for public services are growing as the population ages and as more and more people locate to larger cities and communities. The union urged the government to reconsider premature tax cuts.

“In addition to tax cuts, particularly the many corporate tax cuts contained in the budget, the Conservatives are slowing government spending at a time when the economy is growing,” says PSAC National President Nycole Turmel. “They’re also instituting another round of expenditure review, cutting $1-billion in each of the next two fiscal years.”

“If the government is planning to institute these cuts in addition to Liberals’ five-year expenditure reduction plan, there will be a serious impact on the provision of federal public services in more areas,” says Turmel.

Instead of taking advantage of the growing economy to spend tax dollars investing in public infrastructure, child care and other programs Canadians say they want, the Conservatives are unnecessarily speeding up the federal debt reduction plan.

Working parents who had hoped that the Conservatives would reconsider their position on the creation of new child care spaces will find little relief in this budget. “The government is offering only $250 million to create new spaces, fully $4.75 billion less than the previous government had negotiated with the provinces,” says Turmel.

If there is any good news for PSAC members in the budget, it is that the government is planning on spending $101 million over the next two years to eliminate work-alone posts and begin arming border officers. According to Turmel, “these are health and safety issues that the union has been pursuing through successive governments.”

“Our pre-budget submission also urged the government to ensure adequate staffing. Any cuts will have the opposite effect, increasing workloads and negatively affecting the delivery of services and our members’ health and safety.”

Turmel is putting the government on notice that the union expects to meet with the President of the Treasury Board as soon as possible to find out more about which programs will be affected by government cuts and what impact these cuts will have on service to Canadians.

For information:
Denis Boivin, PSAC Communications (613) 324-0522 (cell)

11-020506