Manitoba to cut 112 senior government positions

Manitoba is cutting 112 core senior management positions through attrition, retirements and workforce reductions, the province announced Thursday.

Finance Minister Cameron Friesen said streamlining the upper echelon of the provinces bureaucracy will save taxpayers at least $10 million.

"We're talking about the most senior people in those operations. Middle managers, senior managers, all of those," said Friesen.

The streamlining will begin immediately, he said. The first phase of cuts will be completed by the end of March and thesecond phase will be completed by the end of December 2017.

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According to the Progressive Conservatives, senior management in Manitoba has grown 33 per cent since 2005.

"This dramatic growth rate, nearly four times the rate of overall staff growth within the civil service, has not improved Manitoba's performance results and is simply not sustainable given the significant challenges associated with our province's fiscal situation," said Friesen in a provincial news release.

The cuts to senior management comes after the new provincial government cut the number of cabinet positionsto 12 from 18.

"Layers of administration and top-heavy structures do not create better value or performance," added Friesen. "Rather they complicate effective decision-making and restrict the free flow of ideas from critical front-line service providers."

Last month, Friesen announcedManitoba's deficit stands at $846 million.

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