Veteran Affairs eliminates nearly 300 jobs in deficit-reduction fight

OTTAWA – Nearly 300 employees at Veterans Affairs Canada were told Thursday their jobs will be eliminated as a result of measures in the 2012 federal budget.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada, the union representing the federal workers, was served with a letter June 17 notifying it of the impending loss of 297 positions.

The jobs have been declared surplus as part of the drive to eliminate the federal deficit, and the letter says the reductions will be achieved through a combination of retirement, attrition and relocation.

The department’s headquarters in Charlottetown, locations in Ottawa and field offices across the country will be touched by the measures.

The overhaul of the department will take until 2015, and the Harper government has consistently said it will not affect services to ex-members of the military and the RCMP.