MP fears more federal job cuts
Charlottetown MP Sean Casey says he is hearing talk in Ottawa of more cuts to civil service jobs.
Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will table the federal budget Thursday afternoon. He's sent a memo to Conservative MPs saying the budget will focus on infrastructure, training skilled workers and the manufacturing industry.
But Casey is worried there will be another round of federal job cuts, which will have a disproportionate effect on Prince Edward Island.
"We saw it in the last budget where the federal government cut the civil service by 4.8 per cent across the country and double that in Prince Edward Island," he said.
"They claim that the cuts were even and we know otherwise. It means that this whole austerity program will strike us harder than it will regions that have year-round economies."
Casey is also concerned that the Conservatives intend to pull back funding provided to the provinces for labour force training in favour of a federally-run program.
The budget will be brought down at 5 p.m. Atlantic time.
