Background

On September 26 Stephen Harper’s Conservative government announced a series of cuts totaling $1 billion over the next two years. The cuts were announced on the same day the government made a $13.2-billion payment on the national debt. The cuts affect a vast array of departments but are concentrated primarily on aboriginal programs, skills and literacy training, social policy research, legal assistance and research, and funding for Status of Women Canada.

The political nature of these cuts sends a very disturbing signal. Though the government claims the cuts came after careful reflection, most of the cuts came from programs opposed by the Conservatives while in opposition but not mentioned in the government’s recent election platform. The decisions on the cuts were managed by the Prime Minister’s Office with little or no consultation with those affected. Civil servants and officials who run the programs learned of the cuts in the media, not through any prior consultation, and are now responsible for implementing the cuts – where the programs still exist.

Beyond the rhetoric of fiscal management, it is clear that these cuts reflect the ideological view of the Prime Minister and his closest advisors that equity-seeking groups in Canada have too much power and previous gains in equity made through charter challenges should be impeded where possible. Virtually all areas in which the government provides support for alternative voices were cut.

The Law Reform Commission of Canada and the Court Challenges Program were eliminated and these cuts, in particular, seem designed to silence the debate about charter rights and the evolving dialogue about what rights are protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Prime Minister and his senior officials have been critical in the past of any legal program that sets aside funding for marginalized and equity-seeking groups.

The cut in funding for Status of Women Canada represents nearly 20% of its budget. The government claims this cut can be realized through operational efficiencies, but cuts to programming will wipe out organizations like The National Council of Women of Canada and the Canadian Feminist Alliance. The conservative lobby group REAL Women applauded the cuts and is lobbying the government for further reductions in funding. The Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff has cited REAL Women’s concern about funding for women’s groups as a key reason for cutting funding for Status of Women Canada.

The cuts in skills and literacy funding were deep, unexpected, and puzzling. The federal government had given no indication that it would be cutting skills and training funding. The curious logic used by the government to justify the cut to literacy funding is that they want to focus on improving literacy amongst young people in the K-12 system. While no one could argue against that pressing need, it is difficult to see how that justifies cutting funding for programs that offer literacy courses in local communities across the country. Literacy programs are designed specifically to give adults a second chance at literacy and enhanced job skills.

The cuts in youth employment were justified on the grounds that the youth employment program was a needless subsidy to business. The reality, however, is that the program provides vital summer jobs for students facing record high tuition fees and student debt. Planning in post-secondary education is already difficult because insufficient funding of Statistics Canada makes it impossible for that agency to gather data routinely collected in our industrialized countries. Cutting $15 million from the budget of an agency already on life-support will further hamper Canada’s ability to make educational policy decisions on an informed basis.

Finally, the cuts to Aboriginal programming were particularly deep, fully 7% of all cuts were born by Aboriginal programs. This reduction in funding comes on the heels of the government’s refusal to honour the Kelowna Accord, which set aside $5 billion in new funding for Aboriginal health, education, housing, and social services. Despite a wide gap in health and educational outcomes these cuts send an ominous signal about this government’s commitment to addressing systemic economic and racial barriers facing first nations communities in Canada.

Summary of Treasury Board of Canada Funding Cuts

Aboriginal Programs

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada is being cut by $3.5 million. The savings will be realized through “operational efficiencies.” A further $50 million in savings will be realized through unused funding related to Northwest Territories Devolution (i.e. Nunavut). The $50 million left “unused” in the devolution of the Northwest Territories was to assist Nunavut with governance issues and setting up autonomous social programming. The cut presumes that a successful devolution has occurred with no need for further funding. The funding will not be re-allocated or made available for other programs in Nunavut. The elimination of funding for the First Nations and Inuit Tobacco Control Strategy will save $10.8 million. Though there was some debate about the effectiveness of the smoking cessation program, the reality is that that money is now lost and not redirected to other programs.

Status of Women Canada

Status of Women Canada’s $5 million cut is to be realized in administrative savings. No program funding for organizations are affected but this $5 million in administrative savings will have to be found from an overall budget of $23.4 million. Funding for several women’s organizations were to be cut under the original plan but received a reprieve at the last moment. The Minister responsible for Status of Women Canada, Bev Oda, has refused to commit to long-term funding for women’s groups.

Skills and Literacy Programs

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada’s Adult Learning and Literacy and Investments in Youth Employment suffered a cumulative cut of $72 million. The cuts will be realized by gutting eligibility for funding to agencies working to improve literacy skills. The program offers support to local programs offering literacy training. The entire literacy division is now under one banner with $55.4 million less in funding. The cut in youth employment of $17.6 million eliminates subsidies for businesses and organizations to hire youth who “would otherwise find it hard to find employment.” The cut in funding virtually eliminates the federal government program that subsidizes businesses and organizations who hire students for summer employment.

HRSD cuts also included the elimination of the Canada Labour Business Centre, the only forum in Canada in which labour, business, the provinces, and the federal government work together to respond to labour market challenges.

Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada will see a budget cut of $15 million to be realized through savings in “organizational efficiencies”. Though there are assurances that programs will not be cut, $15 million in so-called efficiencies is a substantial portion of Statistics Canada’s overall annual budget of $600 million. Statistics Canada is already under financial pressure and lags well behind other similar agencies internationally in its ability to collect vital data. In relation to post-secondary education, Statistics Canada is not able to collect a significant amount of data routinely gathered in the United States and the United Kingdom, making it impossible to have a solid basis for policy development.

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

SSHRC suffered a cut of $2 million from a program in social economy research run through its community outreach arm. The program undertakes research on initiatives to deliver social programs through community agencies. It is a permanent cut to a program initially funded at $15 million, leaving overall funding for the program at $13 million going forward.

Health Canada

Health Canada’s Policy Research Program was eliminated, saving $7.5 million and $28.1 million was cut through “health portfolio efficiencies.” The Policy Research Program provided grants to academic researchers in a competitive, peer-reviewed process to examine health outcomes through interdisciplinary research.

Foreign Affairs Youth International Internship Program

The $10.2 million in funding for the program was eliminated entirely. The program subsidized youth in a first job to work abroad in international affairs for an NGO or embassy. The program offered a pathway for youth to gain experience in nongovernmental organizations abroad. The program also worked as an employment subsidy for organizations delivering food and development aid. Substantial cuts were also made in Foreign Affairs by delaying and cutting back international postings and outreach programs at Canadian embassies.

Law Commission of Canada

The Law Commission of Canada offered the government advice on a wide array of issues from electoral reform to marriage laws. The commission operated independently from the government and consulted across a wide variety of professional organizations and citizens groups in developing proposals for legal reform. At the time of its elimination the commissions had two large scale projects underway on indigenous law and vulnerable workers. The annual funding for the program was $3.2 million.

Court Challenges Program

The announced cuts eliminated the Court Challenges Program. The program was introduced after the ratification of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and was a way of providing ordinary Canadians with the resources to challenge laws that may violate the Charter. The program made a decisive contribution to several historic and successful challenges including the judgment guaranteeing pay equity and marriage rights for same-sex couples as well as francophone rights outside of Quebec. The program was specifically designed to assist equity-seeking groups who would not otherwise have had the resources to bring a challenge. The program was run by a board of professionals who vetted all proposals for viability before extending funding. The cancellation of the program will save the government $5.6 million.

Treasury Board of Canada

Several internal cuts were made to Treasury Board’s operations, primarily through gutting $82 million for training programs for civil servants. An unspecified cut of $18 million took place through “unallocated funds across all departments.” No specific breakdown of these cuts was provided. Savings were also realized through the elimination of advisory panels in Revenue Canada and Agriculture Canada.

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