The following op-ed by PIPSC President Sean O’Reilly was published in the Ottawa Citizen on Dec 18, 2025.

Six weeks after the federal government unveiled Budget 2025, its implications for the public service are becoming clearer and more troubling.

At the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, we’ve heard from members  that fighting outsourcing remains a top priority.

During the spring election, the Liberals promised to reduce the government’s reliance on external consultants, but it’s obvious that the budget moves Canada in the opposite direction. What was pitched as a plan for discipline, modernization and efficiency is instead accelerating a decade-long shift toward outside consultants and away from in-house expertise.

Rather than strengthening the public service, the federal government has chosen once again to double down on outsourcing — the practice of hiring private consultants to do work the public service can and should be doing. This is a bad habit that’s been quietly draining billions of dollars from federal coffers for years, all while weakening the very systems Canadians rely on.

Budget 2025 even claims it will “cut back” on private consultants, but the government’s own numbers tell a different story. Outsourcing has doubled since pre-pandemic levels, and spending on professional services is projected to hit $26.1 billion this year — a 37 per cent increase from last year and a record high.

Even if the government somehow achieves its promised 20 cent reduction, outsourcing would still be roughly double what it was a decade ago. Private contractors cost taxpayers up to 26 per cent more than public servants.

It’s not even close. At best, it’s a premium price tag for duplication, delay and dependency. At worst, it weakens the very systems Canadians rely on, such as food safety, emergency response, digital security and environmental protection.

The budget makes matters worse by cutting around 30,000 public service jobs  in addition to about 10,000 that were lost last year. Replacing skilled, permanent staff with contractors isn’t efficiency — it’s erosion. Fewer public servants and more outsourcing will leave departments stretched thin, less resilient, and increasingly dependent on private-sector firms to perform core government functions.

We’ve seen this play out before. Phoenix was sold as a cost-saving reform and became one of the largest administrative failures in federal history. Billions were wasted.  ArriveCAN began as a modest digital contract and ballooned into a $60-million fiasco. Both were built by outside firms. Both continue to cost Canadians.

Contrast that with what happened when emergency struck during the COVID-19 pandemic: it was public servants — not consultants — who designed and delivered the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)  system in just six weeks. There were no million-dollar contracts, no glossy branding and no chaos. That’s what real efficiency looks like.

If the government wants to balance the books, it should reduce contractor waste before cutting scientists, analysts and inspectors. Build capacity before buying another quick fix. Canadians want a government that works for them — not one that looks “efficient” on paper while paying more to get less.

If we want real results, we need to look at who’s actually doing the work. It’s not consultants in corporate boardrooms; it’s the public servants in labs, offices, and control rooms who keep the country running.

Budget 2025 was a chance to rebuild public capacity and chart a smarter, self-reliant course. Instead, it repeats the mistakes of previous governments.

Outsourcing doesn’t make government leaner — it makes it weaker. You can’t cut your way to competence, and you can’t outsource efficiency.

Toronto, December 13, 2025 — The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) concluded its national AGM today. This event marked President Sean O’Reilly’s first year in office, and charted a focused path forward as federal public services face deep cuts, accelerating outsourcing, and rapid technological change.

Over 800 delegates, stewards and board members from across the country gathered to assess the year’s progress and set priorities for the months ahead. O’Reilly highlighted that, over the past year, PIPSC has invested in steward training and digital modernization, thereby creating a stronger foundation for the challenges ahead.

“This AGM marks a turning point,” said PIPSC President Sean O’Reilly. “We’ve rebuilt our internal strength, we’ve shown governments that we are a serious, solutions-focused voice, and we’re ready for the difficult period ahead. Our members deliver the critical services Canadians rely on every day, and we will defend that work with clarity, determination and unity.”

A major theme of the AGM was the union’s response to the federal government’s newly signaled cuts to the public service. PIPSC emphasized the real risks these cuts pose to Canadians, from slower inspections to weaker emergency response to delays in scientific and regulatory work. These decisions are not just reducing headcount; they’re weakening the systems that keep this country functioning. At the same time, new return to office (RTO) mandates are adding instability and stress.

Delegates reflected on the national Lobby Week that saw members meet MPs across the country to raise concerns about cuts, outsourcing, and workforce adjustment (WFA) pressures.The AGM also showcased PIPSC’s leadership on federal science and artificial intelligence. The union’s recent Science Roadmap report revealed significant strain in labs and research programs across government, while PIPSC continued pushing for responsible, evidence-based AI adoption that supports rather than replaces professional expertise.

PIPSC celebrated important member-driven wins this year, including the successful CRPEG strike — the union’s first in more than 30 years — and membership growth in specialized groups, such as Crown Counsel in Newfoundland and Labrador.

As the AGM closed, PIPSC reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening public service capacity, protecting evidence-based decision-making and advocating for the resources professionals need to serve Canadians effectively.

PIPSC represents over 85,000 public-sector professionals across the country, most of them employed by the federal government. Follow us on Facebook, on X (formerly known as Twitter) and on Instagram.

Learn more about the accomplishments and continuous work of Canada’s largest union of professional employees in this year’s annual report.

Read the report

Ottawa, December 8, 2025 — Reacting to news today shared by Prime Minister Carney that a new return to office mandate is coming in the next few weeks, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) is calling on the federal government to ground any Return to Office (RTO) decisions in evidence, service outcomes, and operational reality.

“Canadians want results, not roll calls,” said PIPSC President Sean O’Reilly. “When the government makes policies about optics instead of outcomes, it risks slowing service delivery, draining talent, and making it harder to recruit the next generation of professionals.”

“We’ve been clear for years: RTO must be about 'presence with purpose,’” continued O’Reilly. “Where in-person work improves innovation, training, or service delivery, that’s great. But forcing people back just to be seen and to sit in on video calls from another location is not leadership. It’s theatre.”

As unions return to the bargaining table, the timing of the Prime Minister’s comments raises questions that underscore the need for evidence, transparency and collaboration.

“The government has consistently told unions that RTO was not being considered, and its most recent budget made no reference,” said O’Reilly. “We can all agree that no one wants a repeat of past RTO Directives, which were announced without consultation and caused widespread disruption, confusion, and unnecessary strain on labour-management relations.”

PIPSC wrote to the government as recently as last week to reiterate the union’s clear expectations.

“RTO is not a workforce strategy. You can’t modernize government with a 20th-century workplace model.”

PIPSC represents over 85,000 public sector professionals across the country, with the majority employed by the federal government.

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For more information or a copy of the letter PIPSC sent to TBS please contact : Brittany Smith (416) 841-4325, smithb@pipsc.ca.

By Sean O’Reilly, President of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) 

“The federal government’s decision to cut critical research programs and scientific positions at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) poses serious and avoidable risks to safety and security across the country.

Canada’s geography, natural resources, and climate vulnerabilities demand world-class science. Yet almost entire teams responsible for keeping Canadians safe are being eliminated – the vast majority not through attrition, not voluntarily, but via layoffs.

These are highly dedicated public service professionals whose forecasting and analysis play a critical role in ensuring Canadians are not put in harm’s way. Eliminating them makes Canadians less safe.”

Here’s just a snapshot of what’s at stake:

• These cuts decimate capacity at the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation and Remote Sensing. This threatens our capacity to track wildfires, floods, landslides, and other geohazards, and to monitor the size and threats to freshwater resources. These scientists provide the data that emergency responders and governments depend on to protect communities from disaster and to support responsible resource development.
   
• The cuts also undermine our Arctic sovereignty. Accurate geoscience, mapping, and monitoring of Canada’s vast northern landmass are essential for asserting territorial rights, protecting northern infrastructure, and ensuring responsible resource activity. Reducing this capacity leaves Canada less able to defend its interests as other nations increase theirs.
   
• Canada has already lost almost its entire capacity to detect and fight deadly forest diseases. Thirty years ago, we had 16 forest pathologists. If these cuts proceed, we’ll have just four left, and only one left to monitor the entire forestry system east of the Rockies. We’ve already seen the cost of looking away: Dutch elm disease wiped out millions of elm trees across North America. The Emerald Ash Borer is wiping out ash trees now. Without pathologists monitoring forests, dangerous pests and diseases will spread unchecked.

“We want to be clear. These cuts are not abstract. They do not just trim budgets on a spreadsheet; they increase risk. They are positions and programs that directly support disaster prevention, scientific monitoring, resource development, environmental protection, and arctic sovereignty.

At a time when Canada is facing increased threats, significant economic challenges, and big promises over resource projects, these programs are critical, not optional.

We urge the federal government to reconsider these cuts immediately. Canada’s safety, security, and scientific leadership depend on it.”

Some employer email security settings are blocking union emails from reaching members. 

If you are using an employer email address to receive PIPSC communications, we recommend updating it to a personal email address.

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It is important to use a personal email address to receive communications from your union for the following reasons:

Privacy: The employer can access your emails through your employer's email address. Using a personal email address keeps your information private. 

Communication: If you lose access to your employer email address, we can still reach you at your personal email address.

Time-sensitive information: Now more than ever, there are important issues members need to know about, such as Work Force Adjustment (WFA), Return to Office (RTO), and bargaining a new collective agreement. Using a personal email address for PIPSC communications ensures you continue to receive these updates.

The following op-ed by PIPSC President Sean O’Reilly was published in National Newswatch on Nov 13, 2025.

The federal government’s Budget 2025, tabled last week, promises discipline, modernization, and efficiency. Those words might sound reassuring. But as always, the real question is: efficient for whom? And at what cost to Canada? 

Budget 2025 is not an example of fiscal prudence. It is a high-risk experiment that will reach into every department, every program and every service Canadians rely on. 

One of the key takeaways of this document is the plan to eliminate roughly over 40,000 public service jobs in the next few years. When governments make changes that are this drastic, Canadians always pay the price. Food inspections slow down. Emergencies take longer to contain. Digital systems grow weaker just as cyberattacks become more frequent. 

These are not abstract risks. They are the daily functions that hold the country together.

Canadians want their government to spend wisely. Public service professionals want that too. But there is a big difference between improving how government works and hollowing out its ability to deliver. Efficiency cannot come at the expense of safety, stability or trust.

We have seen what happens when short-term savings take priority over smart investment. The downsizing of the 1990s closed laboratories and gutted regional services – hollowing out expertise for a generation. The “streamlining” of the 2010s gave us Phoenix, an IT project that still costs billions to repair. Every so-called era of efficiency ends the same way: broken programs, demoralized workers and higher bills later.

Today’s public service faces that same risk, this time under the banner of making the country stronger. The government says it wants innovation, faster service, better technology. So do we. But you cannot innovate by eliminating the people who deliver the work. You do not strengthen a country by defunding the systems that hold it together.

Behind the job numbers are people Canadians rarely see but rely on every day: the scientists who test our food and water, the meteorologists who track wildfires, the engineers who inspect bridges and the cybersecurity specialists who defend our networks from attack. Reducing their capacity does not simply shrink government; it weakens Canada’s resilience.

Public service professionals have delivered real efficiency before. When the pandemic hit, it was public servants who built the CERB benefit system in six weeks. There were no billion-dollar private contracts, no chaos, only competence. That is what genuine efficiency and innovation look like when expertise is trusted and properly resourced. The public service can and should be part of the solution, but only if it still has the people and tools to deliver.

True efficiency means smarter investment, not deeper cuts. It means empowering professionals to modernize from within, not hollowing out expertise and leaving the country vulnerable. It means investing in the workers delivering crucial public services, not relying on outsourcing to the tune of $26 billion dollars. 

Canadians want to know that when a crisis hits — a flood, a wildfire, a cyber-attack — someone is on the job. They want a government that protects what keeps us safe and stable, not one that gambles with the services we all depend on.

Budget 2025 gambles with that security. It treats the public service as a cost to be managed instead of the infrastructure that keeps our economy, environment and communities functioning. Cuts this deep do not make the government leaner. They make Canada weaker.

Behind every so-called efficiency is a service Canadians will lose. Behind every saving is someone’s safety, livelihood or access to the essentials of daily life. You cannot cut your way to competence.

If we want a government that delivers for Canadians, we must protect the people and the systems that make that possible. Because when those are gone, the damage will not just be measured in jobs — it will be measured in the safety and stability of the country itself.

Sean O'Reilly, President of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC)

As anxiety rises among members about Work Force Adjustment (WFA) and more departments announce WFAs, we would like to draw your attention to the Department of National Defence (DND) and Public Service Commission (PSC) Mobility Initiative.

DND will be hiring thousands of new employees in the coming years to meet government commitments. In cooperation with the PSC, DND has launched a Mobility Initiative to facilitate recruitment from within the federal public service.

DND has identified 8 functional recruitment streams, each associated with specific occupational groups. 

The table below provides links to career pathways corresponding to these groups. You must log in through your GCJobs Account to click on the links below. The links go to an internal government page for the relevant occupational groups, many of which include PIPSC classifications in the RE, IT, CP, NR, SH and SP groups.

DND and the Treasury Board Secretariat have informed us that these positions will be filled through voluntary deployments at level. This is not an alternation platform and is unrelated to alternation and WFA. If individuals are on PSC priority lists, they will receive these deployments first, but we encourage members to apply.