Canada’s immigration department will slash 3K+ jobs in coming years – National

The federal immigration department is set to cut roughly 3,300 jobs over the next three years.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Canada Employment and Immigration Union said in a joint statement issued Monday that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has not said who will be affected by the cuts.

The unions said more information is expected in mid-February but the cuts were brought up in a union-management meeting before staff were notified. Both unions are urging the government to cut down on outside contracting instead of downsizing staff.

In an internal memo obtained by The Canadian Press, the IRCC’s deputy minister Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar and associate deputy minister Scott Harris told employees that some permanent positions “will be eliminated,” along with “many” term positions.

“Although the affected functions have been identified, the individuals have not,” the memo said. “Our plan is to inform affected individuals first before we start to broaden the picture of how this impacts teams, sectors and the department.”

The memo said around 3,300 jobs will be cut over the next three years, with 20 per cent of the reductions hitting permanent employees. Letters will be sent to affected employees beginning in mid-February.

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There will also be “significant reductions” in the department’s term workforce, the memo said, adding some term contracts will not be renewed or will end early. Affected term employees will be given at least 30 days’ notice, likely also in mid-February.

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“We are building an organization that is fit for purpose, fit for capacity and fit for our budget,” the memo said, adding that changes to funding have added pressure “in an already constrained budgetary situation.”

Jessica Kingsbury, a spokesperson for the IRCC, said in an email Monday that budget decisions will focus on “maintaining border security and enforcing immigration laws, while evaluating…