Canada's Army cuts reserve jobs and training as federal defence spending climbs
Some temporary Class B contracts will lapse, and DND will not say how many local jobs that means.
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Ottawa is home to many reservists and defence staff, but DND has not given a count of how many local positions are affected.
The Canadian Army is also cutting some training exercises. DND will not say how much money is being taken out of the reserve budget.
Varner, a former DND policy director, said the Prime Minister's Office directed an extra cut from this year's operations and maintenance budget, with DND asked for options by Oct. 15 and a further contingency. DND has not confirmed the directive. The department has not said how it would meet the contingency.
The cuts come as the federal budget raises core defence spending this year and further by 2030-31, mostly for equipment and infrastructure. The same budget commits funding over five years to expand Operation REASSURANCE in Latvia, to be paid from existing DND resources.
How many reservists and Ottawa-area positions are affected?
Which training exercises are being cancelled, and which units do they belong to?
Did the Prime Minister's Office order the extra 10 per cent cut, and what has DND said about it?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
