Budget reinvests in parts of public service cut last year, economist says [IRCC]

All real pressures. Funny the juxtaposition between “significant backlogs” and the regular backlog updates that generally show progress in reducing them. CCPA has a bias towards a larger public service irrespective of outcomes and efficiency:

…The department only answered specific questions around funding for IRCC, pointing to “increasing pressure from identity fraud, security risks, large asylum inventories, and aging border technology.”

The result, according to the federal government, has been “significant backlogs” despite new measures to reduce asylum intake.

The federal government’s earmarking of $98 million over five years to reduce asylum backlogs will “help strengthen the integrity, security of Canada’s immigration and asylum systems, while focusing resources on initiatives that address immediate operational pressures,” said the finance department statement.

For Macdonald, regardless of instances where the government is putting money back into parts of its operations affected by CER cuts, the overall impact of the spending review is “massive.”

One silver lining for public servants whose jobs were cut, he said, is that any potential reversals could lead to some affected workers getting a callback notice months later.

“I mean, this does happen,” he said. “It’s just a lot easier to lay people off and close programs down rather than to start then back up, with a six month or a one year delay.”

Source: Budget reinvests in parts of public service cut last year, economist says