Parks Canada has told 2,917 employees, about 61 per cent of its workforce, that their positions are affected by workforce adjustment. The agency expects to cut the equivalent of about 500 full-time positions as it finds $144.9 million in savings over three years under the federal government’s comprehensive expenditure review. Parks Canada runs sites across Ontario, including the Rideau Canal, the Trent-Severn Waterway and Bruce Peninsula National Park, and has offices in the National Capital Region.
Updated October 2026
An affected letter is a warning, not a layoff. Most people who receive one will keep their jobs, and the rules that decide who leaves come from the collective agreement, not from Ontario employment law. This article explains what an affected letter means, the options a Parks Canada employee has if their position is cut, how alternation works, and how all of this differs from a mass layoff at a private employer in Ontario.
For Parks Canada employees represented by PSAC, the next steps are set by the workforce adjustment appendix (Appendix K) of their collective agreement: a possible guarantee of another job, or a 120-day window to choose between staying on as a surplus employee, a lump-sum transition payment, or a payment with an education allowance, plus the chance to swap with a colleague who wants to leave. A private Ontario employer cutting 50 or more jobs at one site works under a different system altogether: the Employment Standards Act, 2000, with 8, 12 or 16 weeks of notice and a Form 1 filed with the Director of Employment Standards.
What Parks Canada announced
On October 20, 2026, Parks Canada’s interim president and CEO told staff the agency was starting a second phase of workforce adjustment. A first phase in June affected 15 positions. This one is far larger: letters to 2,917 of the 4,773 people the agency employed as of March 31, 2026, to remove about 500 full-time equivalent positions. The agency said it notified a large group so that more employees would have the chance to leave by choice, and that it has already limited hiring, left vacancies unfilled and approved every request for early retirement.
On October 26, PSAC said about 500 Parks Canada employees are being laid off. A trustee for the Union of National Employees, the PSAC component that represents most Parks Canada staff, said the agency has not explained which programs or services will be cut or how communities will be affected, and warned that the cuts could mean reduced services, shorter seasons and sites that are harder to visit. PSAC has called on the government to stop the cuts. As of the union’s statement, Parks Canada had not said which sites will lose positions.
The cuts are part of a much bigger reduction. Budget 2025 set a goal of reducing the federal public service by about 28,000 positions by 2029, and more than 26,000 public servants had received workforce adjustment notices before the Parks Canada letters went out. A large share of those employees live and work in Ontario.
What an affected letter means
Workforce adjustment is the process the federal government uses to reduce indeterminate (permanent) positions. It was negotiated with the unions as a job protection measure, and for Parks Canada employees represented by PSAC it is set out in Appendix K of their collective agreement. Each stage comes with a different written status:
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Affected | You have been told in writing that your services may no longer be required. Nothing about your job has changed yet. |
| Surplus, with a job guarantee | Your position is going, but the agency guarantees you a reasonable job offer elsewhere in the organization. |
| Opting | Your position is going and there is no job guarantee. You have 120 days to choose one of three options. |
| Laid off | Only after the options run out, for example at the end of a surplus priority period with no job found. |
Most of the 2,917 people who received letters will stay where they are. Parks Canada has said decisions on all positions being assessed will be made over the coming weeks, and employees directly affected by those decisions will be told by their director or field unit superintendent.
If you become an opting employee
An opting employee has 120 days to choose one of three options:
| Option | What you get |
|---|---|
| A: Surplus priority | You stay employed for up to 12 months with priority for other positions. If no reasonable job offer comes, you are laid off at the end of the period. |
| B: Transition support measure | A lump-sum payment based on your years of service, set out in a chart in the appendix. You resign and give up priority rights. |
| C: Education allowance | The transition support measure plus an allowance for retraining, under the conditions in the appendix. |
The right choice depends on your age, years of service, pension position and how likely you are to find another federal job. Talk to your union representative before deciding, and check what each option means for your pension before you sign anything.
How alternation works
Alternation lets an employee who wants to stay swap places with a non-affected, indeterminate employee who wants to leave. The person leaving takes the transition support measure or the education allowance, and the person staying keeps a job. Under the Parks Canada appendix, alternation is available from the start of the 120-day window to the end of the surplus period. The swap has to lead to the permanent elimination of a position, and management has the final say. PSAC’s guidance is that the 120-day window is the best time to look for a match, because time runs short after that.
How this differs from a mass layoff at a private Ontario employer
Federal public servants are not covered by Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000. They are also outside the employment standards part of the Canada Labour Code. Their job security comes from the workforce adjustment terms in their collective agreements, and their labour relations are governed by the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Act. A private employer in Ontario plays by different rules.
| Parks Canada (PSAC members) | Private Ontario employer | |
|---|---|---|
| Main source of rights | Workforce adjustment appendix in the collective agreement | Employment Standards Act, 2000, plus the employment contract or collective agreement |
| First step | Affected letter, which is only a warning | Written notice of termination, or pay in lieu |
| Group threshold | No numeric trigger; applies to any indeterminate position being cut | 50 or more employees at one establishment within four weeks |
| Notice | Job guarantee, or a 120-day choice and up to 12 months of surplus priority | 8, 12 or 16 weeks, depending on how many are terminated |
| Government filing | None by the employee; the process runs through the union and employer | Form 1 to the Director of Employment Standards, posted in the workplace |
| Money on exit | Transition support measure based on years of service | Termination pay, ESA severance pay where eligible, and common law notice for non-union staff without a valid termination clause |
| Ways to stay | Job guarantee, surplus priority, alternation | Recall or bumping rights only if a contract or collective agreement provides them |
The Ontario mass termination rules
When a provincially regulated Ontario employer terminates 50 or more employees at one establishment within a four-week period, the ESA’s mass termination rules apply. The notice period depends on the number of people affected:
- 50 to 199 employees: 8 weeks
- 200 to 499 employees: 12 weeks
- 500 or more employees: 16 weeks
The employer must file a Form 1 with the Director of Employment Standards and post it in the workplace on the first day of the notice period, and notice does not take effect until the Director receives the form. There is an exception where the terminations are no more than 10 per cent of the employees at the establishment and do not result from a permanent closure. A mass termination can also make statutory severance pay available to employees with five or more years of service, even at a smaller employer. Our article on mass layoffs in Ontario covers the rules in detail.
Those are minimums. A non-union employee of a private Ontario employer whose contract has no valid termination clause is usually entitled to common law reasonable notice on top of the ESA, and that is often much more. Our guide to being terminated without cause in Ontario explains how the layers fit together.
Can a federal public servant sue for wrongful dismissal?
Generally, no. Unionized federal public servants have a collective agreement and a grievance process, and courts have held that disputes about their employment belong in that process rather than in a lawsuit. That is why the union, not a private lawyer, is the first call for an affected Parks Canada employee. Human rights issues are the main exception to watch for: if decisions about who stays or goes fall on people on medical, parental or other leave, on accommodation, or in an older age group, that should be raised early.
If you received an affected letter
- Keep the letter and note the date you received it.
- Contact your PSAC local or Union of National Employees representative. They can explain your status and options under Appendix K.
- Wait for your written status. Affected is not surplus, and surplus is not opting.
- If you are thinking of leaving anyway, ask about alternation now. A colleague who wants to stay may be looking for a match.
- Get pension advice before choosing between surplus priority, the transition support measure and the education allowance.
- Do not resign or sign anything about your options before you understand what you are giving up.
- If you are on leave or accommodated, tell your union. It can change how your situation is handled.
Frequently asked questions
Does an affected letter mean I am being laid off?
No. An affected letter means your position may no longer be required because of workforce adjustment. Most people who receive one keep their jobs. You are only at risk of layoff if you are later declared surplus or opting, and even then you have options under your collective agreement.
How long do I have to choose an option?
An opting employee, meaning someone whose position is being cut without a guarantee of a reasonable job offer, has 120 days to choose between surplus priority for up to 12 months, a transition support measure, or a transition support measure with an education allowance.
What is alternation?
Alternation is a swap. An employee whose position is being cut and who wants to stay can trade places with a non-affected, indeterminate employee who wants to leave. The person leaving receives the transition support measure or education allowance. Management has to approve the swap, and it must lead to the permanent elimination of a position.
Does Ontario’s Employment Standards Act apply to federal public servants?
No. Federal public servants are not covered by Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000, even if they live and work in Ontario, and they are outside the employment standards part of the Canada Labour Code. Their job security comes from the workforce adjustment terms of their collective agreements.
How much notice does an Ontario employer have to give in a mass layoff?
When a provincially regulated Ontario employer terminates 50 or more employees at one establishment within four weeks, it must give 8 weeks of notice for 50 to 199 employees, 12 weeks for 200 to 499, and 16 weeks for 500 or more, and file a Form 1 with the Director of Employment Standards. Non-union employees may be entitled to more under the common law.
Can I sue Parks Canada for wrongful dismissal?
Generally not if you are a unionized federal public servant. Disputes about your employment go through the collective agreement and its grievance process, and your union represents you. Human rights concerns should be raised with your union early.
How Achkar Law helps
For federal public servants, your union handles workforce adjustment, and we will tell you plainly when that is the right route. We act for unionized employees on human rights matters only. If you work for a private employer in Ontario that is cutting jobs, or a family member has been handed a mass layoff notice, our severance pay lawyers review offers before they are signed, and our Ottawa employment lawyers act for employees across the National Capital Region.
This article is general information about workforce adjustment in the federal public service and mass terminations in Ontario, and is not legal advice. It is based on public reporting of Parks Canada’s announcement of October 20, 2026, PSAC’s statement of October 26, 2026, Parks Canada’s 2026-27 departmental plan, and PSAC’s published guidance on Appendix K of the Parks Canada collective agreement. Collective agreement terms vary by employer and bargaining unit. Current as of October 27, 2026. An employment lawyer or your union can advise on your specific situation.
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