When asked by - on Tuesday whether US President Donald Trump’s executive order forcing federal civil servants to return to the office five days a week was a good idea, Mr. Poilievre replied that what mattered was whether officials were doing the work, and, according to him, the results were not there.
“The work is not getting done and we need to put methods in place to ensure that the work gets done.”
Mr. Poilievre also believes that Canada has far too many civil servants.
He argued that the federal Liberals had partly increased the deficit by hiring 110,000 public servants. The leader of the official opposition, however, did not comment on the number of public service positions he intends to abolish.
“I will reduce the size of the bureaucracy and the state,” he said.
New Democratic leader Jagmeet Singh did not have to be asked, in a press scrum in Ottawa, to comment on Mr. Poilievre’s comments.
He jumped at the opportunity to argue that the Conservative leader is “not someone who is there for the working class, for the middle class.”
-According to him, possible cuts will “hurt communities” and “hurt families”.
“It will also hurt citizens,” he added, arguing that job cuts would cause delays in services for Canadians.
Ottawa’s mayor fears the impact of possible cuts on the city’s economy. (Simon Séguin-Bertrand/Archives Le Droit)
“You need a plan,” says Sutcliffe
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he was particularly concerned about Pierre Poilièvre’s comments and the impact that major cuts to the public service could have on the economy here, while the federal government is the main employer in the region.
“We will have to be ready to face this crisis. We will have to have solutions. I hope that like in the 90s, there will be a partnership between the federal government and our government to find solutions. […] We will have to have a plan to have more diversity in Ottawa’s economy.”
— With Ani-Rose Deschatelets and Émilie Bergeron
