Federal government layoffs: no contract extension for over 800 workers

This is an unexpected development, as the health agency initially said job reductions would be done through attrition, the union representing workers with PHAC claimed.

“Now we see many of our members losing [their] term position,” said Shimen Fayad, national president of the Union of Health and Environment Workers, according to the CBC report.

Among the over 800 who will not be getting contract extensions are at least 245 at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. The lab is currently the only Level 4 biosafety lab in the country – meaning it has the capacity to handle the most dangerous pathogens, noted CBC.

Some longtime employees at PHAC are also going to be let go, including one with 14 years experience, Fayad said in the report.

Why are there so many layoffs in Canada?

This development comes just days after Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) emailed employees about its “budget situation” which would result in job cuts of about 3,300, according to a previous CBC report.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU), along with the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE), opposed the IRCC layoffs. They are also calling for alternatives for the situation.

Previously, the federal government announced that IRCC stopped converting term employees to permanent positions on Oct. 31, 2024. The development comes amid Ottawa’s multi-billion-dollar spending review, which aims to slash $15.8 billion in savings by 2027-28 and $4.8 billion annually thereafter, according to a previous report from Ottawa Citizen.

As part of the spending review, Anita Anand, president of the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada, tasked departments and agencies to develop savings proposals to hit budget reduction targets.

Ottawa declined to release the target and the plans the departments and agencies have come up with, according to Ottawa Citizen. The review, however, could mean a number of federal workers would lose their jobs.

By 2024, the population of the federal public service stood at 367,772, according to Statistics Canada (StatCan). That number has been growing since 2010:

Nearly half of Canadians (47%) believe that the number of public sector workers should be reduced, according to a previous report from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).