Canada Revenue Agency laying off hundreds of temporary workers

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is laying off about 580 temporary workers, according to a report from CBC.

The jobs will be cut in about a month, affecting mostly debt collectors from different parts of the country. No permanent job positions will be affected.

This comes as the agency is “prioritizing resources for tax filing, and reducing pandemic-era staffing levels,” the CRA said, according to the report.

However, laying off debt collectors doesn't make sense as they bring in much more than they cost, said Marc Brière, the national president of the Union of Taxation Employees, according to the report.

CRA's workforce grew from 39,500 in 2016 to more than 59,000 as of March 31 this year, according to data from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Hiring freeze in Quebec

Meanwhile, Laval health and social services centre (CISSS de Laval) in Quebec is implementing a hiring freeze, according to a CTV News report.

The hiring freeze affects about 565 positions. 

“It’s a shame,” said Nathalie Bourque, president of the union representing workers at the CISSS de Laval (FSSS–CSN).

“The government keeps saying there are staff shortages and high demand, Legault keeps trying to appeal to students, and now we have a hiring freeze.”

The Quebec government attributed the decision to an ongoing review of the CISSS’s structural organization. This restructuring aims to address a health-care deficit exceeding $1 billion. While Bourque acknowledged earlier cuts to pandemic-related roles, she argued that these were distinct from the 565 unfilled positions now affected.

“These job postings are mostly vacant jobs,” she said. “The work is being spread out among employees who were just waiting to have someone fill in and help them.”

The freeze impacts positions across the board, including nurses, caretakers, technicians, sterilization staff, and kitchen workers. Bourque emphasized the essential nature of these roles. “If you don’t have anyone in the kitchen, your patients aren’t getting fed,” she said.

Amid the hiring freeze, workers feel overwhelmed by the additional workload, while others fear for their job security.

“They’re crying, they’re unsure about the future, they’re worried they’ll be out of a job,” she explained. “Meanwhile Minister Dubé says, ‘We’re a top employer, come work for us, we need you,’” she added sarcastically. “The boat is sinking.”

With the move, the government “strips public services to invest into the private sector,” something Bourque considers to be “unacceptable” because not everyone has the means to get private care.

“Those are services for the rich that profit the rich,” said Bourque. “The public network is accessible to everyone, and that’s a decision we made as a society.”

Recently, Quebec Premier François Legault said he is prepared to make a legal maneuver to require doctors trained in Quebec universities to begin their careers in the province’s public system, according to a report from The Canadian Press (CP).