Mr. Speaker, in the 1990s, I experienced a similar situation when we came to power and inherited a $42 billion deficit.
We had to reduce the number of public servants. We went about it in a completely different way. People knew when their jobs were going to be cut. They also had access to a range of benefits over and above the minimum legal or collective agreement requirements. As many have said repeatedly, lots of people were upset that they were not laid off because they were not entitled to those benefits.
At the time, nobody left unwillingly. People left the public service willingly. That is not the case this time around. Two or three times more people are being told that they could be out of a job, instead of just the people who will really lose their jobs. Imagine the tension that creates in an office where 10 workers know that five jobs are going to be cut. Ten people get the notice and have to compete with each other. That is just great for team spirit, morale and productivity.
That is exactly the kind of terrible situation our public servants are dealing with now.