N.L. loses federal jobs, sniffer dog

Thousands of job cuts announced in the last federal budget are beginning to take effect in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada says it knows of at least 15 job losses in Newfoundland. 

It says 13 jobs will disappear when the Food Inspection Agency's lab in St. John's closes.

The Veterans Affairs office in Corner Brook will be phased out, eliminating one job.

The Canada Border Services Agency is losing its director for the province as well as the agency's only dog trained to sniff out drugs and guns in Newfoundland.

Jeannie Baldwin, PSAC's vice-president for the Atlantic region, said this is just the first wave of cuts and she believed the government is being reckless. 

"The government is rushing these cuts through and we really believe they have no understanding of how this is going to impact Canadians," said Baldwin.

The union said it has received 236 termination notices for all of Atlantic Canada.

Cuts at the border services agency have left a former district director for Newfoundland and Labrador dumbfounded.

Jack Fagan says before his recent retirement he was told he would be replaced. But now, the province's border security decisions will now be made in Halifax.

"You know to depend on someone in Nova Scotia for all the work that's been done for the last number of years… I can never remember a time that there wasn't a district director in the province for Canada Border Services," Fagan said.

Newfoundland and Labrador has five border service offices and 80 people on staff.