The union representing workers with the Public Health Agency of Canada says the federal government is not renewing the contracts of over 800 employees, including at least 245 at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.
Shimen Fayad, national president of the Union of Health and Environment Workers, told Radio-Canada in an email the health agency initially said job reductions would be done through attrition, but “now we see many of our members losing [their] term position.”
Some are longtime employees, including one with 14 years experience, she said.
The term positions that are ending include 245 at the National Microbiology Lab, which is currently the only Level 4 biosafety lab in the country — meaning it can handle the most dangerous pathogens.
According to the Treasury Board, the Public Health Agency had 4,251 employees as of the end of March last year, almost twice the number it had at the beginning of 2020.
The agency told Radio-Canada that its time-limited funding for COVID-19 response is coming to an end, and it’s managing its resources to ensure sustainability going forward.
In a statement sent in French, the agency said management had informed staff that the contracts of current temporary employees will not be renewed after their current end dates.
The agency declined to provide further information, citing privacy reasons.
Another federal department — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — announced this week that it plans to cut 3,300 jobs, or about a quarter of its workforce, over the next three years.
In a statement to CBC, the immigration department said it had expanded rapidly in recent years to address global crises like the pandemic, and that growth relied on temporary funding.
It and other departments have been directed to return spending to pre-pandemic levels, the statement said.
