Question Period Note: Federal government cuts to the passport service

The Union of National Employees (UNE) has publicly denounced the federal government's cuts to the passport service, which it considers discriminatory toward visible minorities, persons with disabilities, and unionized employees. Believing that these job eliminations violate the collective agreement and the Canadian Human Rights Act, the union has filed two group grievances. To raise awareness and put pressure on the government, it brought the issue into the public eye by speaking to the media, including Radio-Canada and CBC.

Employment and Social Development Canada remains firmly committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and representative workforce.

As part of this commitment, Employment and Social Development Canada is taking steps to prioritize retaining employees from equity-seeking groups to ensure that our workforce reflects the communities we serve.

All workforce-related strategies are developed with attention to the impact they may have on equity-seeking groups.

This approach is central to our efforts to build a fair and inclusive public service.

We respect the right of employees affected by these decisions to pursue the grievance process. Due to the need to uphold confidentiality, we are currently unable to share additional details.

IF PRESSED (Grievances)

We respect the integrity of this process and remain committed to transparency, accountability, and open communication.

It is important to note that anyone who disagrees with the outcome has the full right to file a grievance in accordance with the provisions of their collective agreement.

This right is protected and represents a legitimate avenue for recourse, recognized by the department and supported by management.

If an employee feels wronged, exercising this right is entirely within their prerogative and falls within the established framework for conflict resolution.

IF PRESSED (Workforce alignment)

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has projected lower passport demand in 2025–2026 compared to 2024–2025.

As a result of this projected reduction in passport demand, Service Canada has been adjusting its passport workforce since June 2025 to align with the forecasted volumes, while making sure that future operations remain sustainable and deliver the best value for money for Canadians.

As a full cost-recovery program, the Passport Program must always align workforce capacity with the forecasted passport demand.   

Through workforce adjustment, the indeterminate employees affected by the reduction will have supports, including guarantee of a reasonable job offer and priority status where possible.

The Union of National Employees (UNE) has publicly denounced the federal government's cuts to the passport service, which it considers discriminatory toward visible minorities, persons with disabilities, and unionized employees. Believing that these job eliminations violate the collective agreement and the Canadian Human Rights Act, the union has filed two group grievances. To raise awareness and put pressure on the government, it brought the issue into the public eye by speaking to the media, including Radio-Canada and CBC.

The Passport Program budget is based on the volume of applications that is forecasted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). IRCC has projected a 21% decrease in passport application volumes for 2025–2026 compared to the previous year. Workforce alignment is underway to reflect forecasted volumes.

ESDC/Service Canada carefully manages its spending and human resources to support the continuity of operations allowing the Department to fulfil its mandate to serve Canadians, while ensuring that future operations remain sustainable and deliver the best value for money for Canadians.

May 2025: 800 term employees were informed that they would lose their jobs in June.

333 of them are challenging their termination through a group grievance.

August 2025: Another 184 term employees were affected by workforce reductions.

82 signed a group grievance.

According to the Union of National Employees (UNE), more than 42% of those laid off believe they were victims of discrimination.

On October 2, 2025, 250 employees from the Passport program were notified that they were part of a workforce adjustment exercise. However, the department expects to reassign each of them to other positions within Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). As a result, no indeterminate employees will be laid off involuntarily as a result of this exercise.