Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of National Defence stated in the House previously, 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, this government has had an obligation and the desire to make sure that employees are treated fairly. We have demonstrated that with the way we have gone about downsizing the public service. We will demonstrate it again in terms of how we treat employees affected by the ASD program.
The options being considered include alternate service delivery such as competitive contracting, which includes internal submissions and the taking over of services by government employees, partnership agreements between the government and the private sector and, finally, privatization.
However, the Minister of National Defence has ordered the department to ensure that the six locations chosen in the spring for a study on alternate service delivery have an opportunity to show that savings may be made through internal work restructuring before a decision to award contracts by competition is reached.
The alternate service delivery program provides means for consultation and the fair participation of all stakeholders, including management, employees, unions, industry, local communities and other federal departments.
In the case of initiatives that could lead to staff reductions, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian armed forces will discuss the potential impact of the reductions planned with union leaders and the employees affected.
In such cases, arrangements will be made to ensure that the new employer hires department employees preferentially, and employees not offered jobs will be offered separation packages or a new position within the public service under the workforce adjustment directive.