(OTTAWA) The Banque du Canada and most other federal state companies will seek to reduce their budgets, in parallel with a wider cost reduction in cost reduction.
A spokesman for the Banque of Canada confirmed in a statement that the Central Bank “intends to align with the spirit and the objectives” of the cost reduction of the Liberal Government.
The Bank of Canada is a state -owned company responsible for monetary policy in Canada, but it operates independently and is funded by its own activities, not directly by taxpayers’ money.
Ministers are invited to save 7.5 % on the operating expenses of their ministries from the year 2026. These discounts should reach 15 % over the next three years.
The Ministry of National Defense, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Royal Canada Gendarmerie (RCMP) all have lower savings targets, set at 2 % for this period.
An internal email obtained by the Canadian press indicates that the staff of the Bank of Canada was informed Tuesday that the central bank intended to follow the example of Ottawa in terms of cost reduction.
“The approach to applying these discounts will be determined in the coming months,” read the email signed by the governor and the first sub-government of the Banque du Canada.
“We recognize that this news will raise questions and concerns. We will approach this process with caution and attention, ”says the email.
The spokesman for the Bank of Canada said that the decisions concerning the way in which the central bank will carry out the exam have not yet been taken.
A Treasury Board spokesman confirms that most state-owned companies and other institutions funded by the federal government are also targeted by the liberal cost reduction exercise.
The Toronto Star First reported on Wednesday that state companies like Radio-Canada and Via Rail will also have to find a way to save their own savings.
According to the spokesman for the Treasury Board, organizations that do not fall under the portfolio of a minister, those who are independent of the government and the organizations that finance their own activities will not be explicitly included in the economies plan.
During the federal spring elections, the Liberals campaigned on the promise to “cap, and not to reduce, employment in the public service”.
Mark Carney also promised, during the campaign, to balance the government’s operating budget within three years, while continuing to increase capital spending.
David Macdonald, principal economist at the Canadian Center for Alternative Policy, warned, in a report published last month, that even the objectives of economies set out during the campaign would require “generalized job losses and significant service reductions”.
This analysis was published before the government announced more ambitious savings objectives last week.
The Prime Minister, who is committed to rapidly increasing Canada’s defense spending last month, continued to boast a plan to “spend less” and “invest more” before the publication of his new budget in the fall.
The interim leader of the new Democratic Party (NPD), Don Davies, called on the liberals to cancel the planned cuts, which he described as “damaging”.
He argued, in a statement made Thursday, that these cuts will harm state companies at a time when “they should be strengthened and enlarged”.
“Deleting jobs and services on which people depend is a mistake. Deleting people’s livelihood is the bad thing to do. Instead of making cuts, Mr. Carney should strive to reduce the number of expensive external contractors and invest in the development of our public service, “said Davies.
Davies compared the Prime Minister’s strategy to the action plan for reducing the deficit of former conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. This plan, unveiled in the 2012 federal budget, provided for the abolition of 19,200 jobs over three years as part of an attempted annual deficit.