How to cut the public service? Smartly, compassionately, deeply

The crucible of workforce adjustment will reveal much about the state of federal public service culture and values.

On November 4, as part of his budget speech, Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne formally announced long expected, sweeping reductions in the public service . The headline take-away was a reduction of 16,000 federal public servants this year and a drop of 40,000 overall by 2028-29. There are further statements in the Budget that “a leaner public service is a more impactful public service”, as well as an effort to impress upon federal public servants that “the government understands that transitions can be difficult and is committed to minimising hardship for federal employees”. Be that as it may, these reductions will force difficult decisions on public servants