Canada cutting jobs at Veterans Affairs

Axe falls at Veterans Affairs, 232 jobs slashed in Charlottetown
Department of Veterans Affairs national headquarters in Charlottetown.
Published on April 11, 2012
Teresa Wright

Veterans Affairs Canada will cut a total of 804 jobs from its department countrywide over the next three years, including 232 from the headquarters in Charlottetown.

This news came Wednesday after more than 5,900 civil servants from numerous federal departments were given notice their positions will be affected by federal cuts.

The 804 imminent job losses at Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) includes 500 identified last year after the government's strategic review that saw the department lose $226 million from its budget.

In Charlottetown, news that 232 employees will soon lose their jobs was a blow to the workers.

"In all honesty, I don't know if it's quite sunk in yet," said Jody LaPierre, P.E.I.'s provincial director of the Public Service Alliance of Canada who is also an employee of VAC.

"I mean, there's been lots of talk about cuts in the news but today people were actually presented letters and that's a whole different realm when the letter's in front of you... there was some mixed emotions and I think it's going to take some time for it to sink in what's really happened."
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