
Carney’s planned cuts will include the foreign service, alarming some ex-diplomats
OTTAWA — The diplomats’ union and former ambassadors are raising concerns about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s planned cuts to the foreign service, just as Global Affairs Canada is looking to expand its presence abroad.
“It’s going to be painful,” said Pam Isfeld, president of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne sent letters to ministers on July 7, asking them to find savings of 7.5 per cent in their budgets starting next spring. Later last week, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said that this will include Global Affairs Canada.
“It is necessary for us to find those instances where red tape can be cut, and where inefficiencies need to be addressed,” she told reporters on July 10, adding that she would not speculate on what those cuts will look like.