Canada public service cuts raise climate disaster risk

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada held a rally in downtown Ottawa to protest federal staffing cuts at Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Natural Resources Canada. The union says the reductions threaten essential work such as flood forecasting, satellite‑based emergency mapping, wildfire smoke and air‑quality monitoring, and forest‑threat assessments.

Between March 2025 and March 2026, Natural Resources Canada lost 418 staff, Fisheries and Oceans Canada 583, and Environment and Climate Change Canada 593. With more than 700 wildfires burning across the country and northern Ontario experiencing its worst wildfire season on record, the union argues the cuts increase Canadians' vulnerability to climate‑related disasters.