Madam Speaker, as the Minister of National Defence has previously stated in this House, the Department of National Defence has an obligation to meet budget reduction targets.
The Canadian forces and the Department of National Defence must deliver the missions defined by the government in the defence policy in the most cost effective way possible within the constraints of the budget available.
Achieving cost savings in support activities is something that can be done with the alternative service delivery program. At the same time, however, the government has an obligation and a desire to make sure that employees are treated fairly. We have demonstrated that with the way we have gone about the downsizing of the public service. We will demonstrate it again in the terms of how we treat employees affected by the alternative service delivery program.
Among the options being considered are various alternative service delivery mechanisms such as competition, which may at times include in-house bids, or employee takeover leading to contractual arrangements and partnering and collaborations between government and private sector and privatization.
However, the Minister of National Defence directed the department to ensure that the six sites recently selected for an alternative service delivery review have the opportunity to demonstrate whether sufficient savings can be achieved through internal redesign of the work before a decision is made to pursue the competitive process.
The review of alternative service delivery initiatives provides for fair consultation and involvement of all interested parties including management, employees, unions, industry, local communities and other government departments.
In cases where there may be personnel cuts resulting from these initiatives, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian forces work with the union leadership and affected personnel to discuss the possible impact of anticipated reductions. In these cases arrangements can be made to secure employment with the new employer and remaining—