The Provincial government is calling them job cuts, while the Federal government is calling it attrition and retraining – but whichever way you slice it, Service Canada job losses are taking place in Newfoundland and Labrador. Peter Penashue is disputing reports and claims that workers at Service Canada offices across the province are going to lose their jobs. He says the government will take care of workers who will be affected by changes that occur through attrition and other means, such as retraining. Jeannie Baldwin of the Public Service Alliance of Canada said the union had been told that the modernization of employment insurance processing at Service Canada centres will result in a total of 70 job cuts in Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Corner Brook and Goose Bay. Some pink slips, she has been told, have already gone out. She said Gander will be the hardest hit, with 29 positions being lost. Meanwhile Liberal Leader Kevin Aylward says there may be confusion among the Progressive Conservatives, but his party is ardently opposed to any cuts at Service Canada because the jobs are so important to the province.
