PRESS RELEASE – The Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU) launched “When It Matters Most,” a national campaign opposing staffing cuts at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and the Immigration Refugee Board (IRB) while calling for a public service that remains fair, human, and accessible for everyone.

“Every day, millions of people in Canada rely on public services they rarely see but cannot live without,” said Rubina Boucher, National President of CEIU. “Instead of strengthening these essential lifelines, the federal government is implementing reckless staffing reductions. These are cuts to the people who support businesses impacted by tariffs, help newcomers and refugees, answer EI, OAS, CPP, and disability benefit calls, and serve the public at Service Canada offices.”

CEIU warns that when public services are cut, pressure on service delivery grows. For workers on the front lines, including in call centres, Service Canada front ends, and processing centers – the system is being stretched to the breaking point. The result is longer wait times, mounting backlogs, and people left in limbo when they are at their most vulnerable.

“These deep cuts to the public services that deliver essential support don’t create efficiency, they create hardship,” said PSAC National President Sharon DeSousa. “When staff are reduced at ESDC, IRCC and the Immigration and Refugee Board, it’s people in Canada who pay the price through delayed benefits, stalled immigration files and longer waits for the support they depend on.”

The campaign also highlights the growing “automation gap” as staffing levels drop and the government increasingly turns to AI to replace human decision-making. CEIU is calling for technology to support workers, not replace them, particularly in sensitive cases where human judgment is irreplaceable.

Through “When It Matters Most,” CEIU is calling on the federal government to:

• Stop the cuts across ESDC, IRCC, and IRB
• Prioritize human judgment over AI
• Reduce the backlogs through adequate investment in capacity
• Invest in services and the workers who deliver them

“A strong Canada depends on a strong public service,” Boucher said. “Cutting the workers behind these programs doesn’t create efficiency – it creates a system that fails exactly when it is needed most.”

CEIU also is hosting a national public webinar on March 3 with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives to share new research on the impacts of these cuts.

People across Canada can learn more and join the campaign at:

foryoucanada.ca/whenitmatters