Mr. Speaker, this government has downsized the Department of National Defence, hurting both civilian and military employees. Since 1993 the civilian work force has been cut by over 11,000.
The threat now facing DND employees is the government's alternative service delivery which will be used to cut another 3,800 workers; 600 to 800 job losses in the Halifax area alone.
The government argues the ASD process will find workers who can provide support service for the best price. Yet when civilian military workers successfully beat the ASD contract bids of private companies, the government changed the rules in favour of the large corporations. What is the real agenda here, an efficient military or a privatized military?
The devastation of the ASD is evident at CFB Goose Bay in Newfoundland where support services were recently privatized to a foreign corporation which is now slashing jobs and reducing the leftover wages by 20% to 30%. The impacts on the community have been dire, with everyone from DND workers to the local chamber of commerce denouncing the privatization deal.