Canada to slash environment ministry jobs

Canada's environment ministry will cut or reassign around 10 percent of its workers, unions said on Thursday, prompting fears that services like weather forecasting and environmental protection will suffer, according to Reuters. Officials said the move was designed to help eliminate the budget deficit. Critics said it underscored what they portray as the right-leaning Conservative government's contempt for the environment. The two unions representing workers at Environment Canada said they had been told this week that 300 employees would lose their jobs while a further 450 or so would be reassigned. Those affected include engineers, meteorologists, scientists, chemists and biologists. William Pynn, head of the Union of Environment Workers, said meteorology, water monitoring and enforcement of regulations would suffer.