Citing budgetary restraint and smart use of money, Stephen Harper’s Conservative government announced a series of spending cuts Sept. 25 of approximately $1 billion over the next two years. The cutbacks were unveiled the same day the government announced it had a $13.2 billion surplus for the fiscal year that ended last March 31, which would be used to pay down the national debt.

The cuts affect a vast array of departments, but primarily target aboriginal and women’s programs, skills and literacy training, social policy research and legal assistance.
     
“The political nature of these cuts sends a very disturbing signal,” said CAUT executive director James Turk. “Although the government claims the cuts came after careful reflection, most of them target programs opposed by the Conservatives while in opposition but not mentioned in their recent election platform.”

The cuts to social programs were managed by the Prime Minister’s Office. Civil servants and officials who run the programs affected by the reduction in government funds learned of the cuts in the media and are now responsible for their implementation — where programs still exist.

The Law Commission of Canada and the Court Challenges Program were axed. Turk said 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.

“Beyond the rhetoric of fiscal management, it’s clear 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,” Turk further critically observed.

Status of Women Canada saw a 20 per cent reduction of its budget. Although the initial cut was to be realized through operational efficiencies, the government subsequently altered the mandate of this program so that groups doing advocacy and research work on women’s issues are no longer eligible for funding.

“The United Nations has been very critical of Canada’s commitment to reduce violence against women, including aboriginal women. Decreasing funding for the Status of Women will not reflect well on Canada’s reputation as a leader in human rights,” said Beverley Jacobs, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada.

The Treasury Board cuts also targeted investments for youth employment and literacy programs. More than $55 million was eliminated from the Human Resources and Skills Development Summer Career Placement Program that was designed to help students find summer employment.

“At a time when students and their families are paying record tuition fees, the federal government should be taking concrete steps to make education more affordable, not eliminate summer jobs,” said Jeremy Salter, president of the Continuing Education Students’ Association of Ryerson University.

Funding for community-based literacy projects was cut by $17.7 million. This reduction represents a cut of 25 per cent to the Adult Learning and Literacy Skills Program.

Canadian Labour Congress president Ken Georgetti questioned the equity and economic efficiency of cuts to literacy programming.

“Raising the basic numeracy and literacy of ... workers — which means investing in adult learning and literacy programs — would do more to raise overall productivity and address the shortage of skilled workers than any tax cut in the next budget,” he said.

Statistics Canada, the central agency responsible for collecting data on social and economic trends in Canada, also saw $15 million in lost funding to operations.

“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 by other industrialized countries,” Turk said. “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, 7 per cent of all cuts came from 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.

Indian Affairs and Northern Development 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 elimination of unused funding related to Northwest Territories Devolution (i.e., Nunavut). Also eliminated was the $11 million First Nations and Inuit Tobacco Control Strategy.

The Sept. 25 cutbacks are the first round in a series of program reviews. The Conservative government also plans to secure $1 billion in savings for the 2008 budget year and a “value for money” review of the granting councils is currently underway.