DND will eliminate 242 civilian scientists
Just months after Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Walter Natynczyk credited them with saving the lives of soldiers in Afghanistan, hundreds of civilian employees of the Department of National Defence science and research branch have been told their jobs no longer exist.
Documents leaked to the Ottawa Citizen show that Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) is taking a significant share of the government’s cuts at DND; its budget has been slashed by 13 per cent and its workforce will be reduced by 15 per cent, or 242 full-time jobs.
As a result of the layoffs, the defence science organization is stopping work on a bomb detection project at its Suffield, Alta., site. The Counter Terrorism Technology Centre at Suffield, which conducts research into chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive incidents, also will be scaled back. Some robotics work will be cut, and commitments to research for public security programs will be reviewed.
Scientists at DRDC Ottawa will reduce their efforts in computer network security and support for radar system design work, according to the documents. Basic research into naval radar will be stopped.
The moves fly in the face of assurances by the Conservative government that only “back-office operations” would be hit by the budget cuts, with no effect on front-line services.
Overall, DND will see the jobs of between 900 and 1,000 civilian employees eliminated.
In a statement emailed to the Citizen, DRDC chief executive officer Marc Fortin noted that “DRDC is assessing the Science & Technology (S&T) program and carefully reviewing how we can conduct our business more efficiently. Program efficiencies were carefully planned by ensuring that DRDC’S existing S&T capabilities are focused on the areas of highest priority to our CF/DND clients and public security partners.”
But military officers privately worry the cuts could put troops at risk in the future since such research provides an edge to soldiers on the front lines.
Natynczyk recently praised the work of DRDC scientists in a promotional DVD for the organization. “Thank you for what you’ve done,” states Natynczyk in the DVD. “You’ve saved lives. You’ve saved countless lives, and for that I’m truly indebted.” DRDC workers were at the forefront of providing technical assistance to troops in the field. DRDC civilians were sent to Kandahar where they, along with researchers back in Canada, helped improve vehicle and personnel protection. They also worked on bomb-disposal robots and provided technical advice on dealing with injuries from roadside bombs and on reducing the risk of heat injury among soldiers. In contrast to the Canadian government’s decision to cut its defence research, the U.S. shielded its own defence research organization, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, from any serious cuts.