Natasha Bulowski
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Canada’s National Observer
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cuts to the public service hit Natural Resources Canada this week, threatening the department’s ability to track wildfires, floods and other geohazards, union leadership warns.
“The federal government’s decision to cut critical research programs and scientific positions at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) poses serious and avoidable risks to safety and security across the country,” Sean O’Reilly, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), said in a press release.
Approximately 200 PIPSC members and more than 200 Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) members at Natural Resources Canada received Workforce Adjustment notices on Thursday.
In an emailed statement to Canada’s National Observer, Natural Resources Canada said “there are no immediate layoffs nor are there any increased security or safety risks to the environment or Canadians” because of the cuts.
“The department and its approximately 5,400 employees will continue to work to fulfill our mandate of improving the quality of life of Canadians by ensuring the country’s abundant natural resources are developed sustainably, competitively and inclusively,” it read. The cuts are part of Carney’s order for most federal departments to cut spending by 15 per cent over three years.
The new layoffs will further diminish the government’s ability to monitor and respond to climate change, PSAC, the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees (UCTE) and Union of Health and Environment Workers (UHEW) warned in a joint release. The union argued the move contradicts Carney’s claim the federal government remains committed to climate action.
The loss of these workers could “severely weaken” Canada’s ability to manage energy and natural resources responsibly, according to the unions.
“These cuts strip away science-based expertise on climate change, forest fires, and sustainable resource management,” said Shimen Fayad, UHEW national president. “Canada’s climate — and future generations — will feel the impact.”
The federal government hasn’t released the full details of which programs will be affected, but the workers facing job losses transport researchers, operate technical systems, collect and process data and help Canada meet international commitments related to environmental protections, the PSAC statement said.
“These are highly dedicated public service professionals whose forecasting and analysis play a critical role in ensuring Canadians are not put in harm’s way,” O’Reilly said.
Natural Resources Canada is targeting a significant number of positions that promote environment and climate solutions, including fuel decarbonization, impact assessments and energy efficiency, according to a spreadsheet shared by PIPCS.
The union provided Canada’s National Observer with a breakdown of its affected members, but this does not include impacted members at other unions like PSAC. Twenty-two of PIPSC’s 50 members in the Canadian Forest Service’s Natural climate solutions division are impacted, plus another 14 positions in the forest service more broadly. The Geological Survey of Canada’s climate change impacts and adaptation division has nine out of 27 positions impacted, a spokesperson for PIPSC said in an email.
At the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation and Remote Sensing, impacts to 25 positions “decimate capacity,” the PIPSC release said. This team is responsible for gathering data to track wildfires, floods, landslides and other geohazards, as well as monitoring the state of and threats to Canada’s freshwater resources, PIPSC explained.
“These scientists produce the data that emergency responders and governments depend on to protect communities from disaster and to support responsible resource development,” O’Reilly said.
Another team impacted in a big way is forest pathologists tasked with detecting and fighting deadly diseases and pests, such as the notoriously destructive mountain pine beetle which has been devastating BC’s forests sinee the 1990s.
“If these cuts proceed, we’ll have just four forest pathologists left, and only one left to monitor the entire forestry system east of the Rockies,” O’Reilly warned.
O’Reilly said the vast majority of the positions being eliminated are through layoffs — not through attrition or voluntary means.
“We want to be clear. These cuts are not abstract. They do not just trim budgets on a spreadsheet; they increase risk,” O’Reilly said. “They are positions and programs that directly support disaster prevention, scientific monitoring, resource development, environmental protection, and arctic sovereignty.”
PIPSC is calling on the federal government to reverse the planned cuts.
In addition to the 219 affected PSAC members at Natural Resources Canada, the union said notices were also served to the following departments: 109 members at the Public Service Commission of Canada, 74 members at the Department of Finance and 92 members at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, whose work supports treaty implementation, land and resource management, and environmental assessments.
Natasha Bulowski / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer
