Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announces job cuts, closure of research operations

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says it is closing seven of its research operations as part of the federal government's efforts to cut the size of the public service.

The federal department said research centres in Guelph, Ont., Quebec City and Lacombe, Alta., as well as four satellite research farms across Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are closing.

It said so far, approximately 665 department positions have also been reduced and nearly 1,050 employees received notices on Thursday.

"There are no imminent site closures, and any wind-down of scientific operations would follow a careful decision process that could take up to 12 months," the department said in a statement Friday.

"As such, it is too early to determine and share details on final workforce impacts."

AAFC said, like other federal departments, its job cuts follow the identification of savings over three years, while remaining focused on its core mandate.

Research centres in Quebec, Guelph and Lacombe did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.

Lacombe County said in a social media post it was deeply disappointed with the federal government's "sudden" decision to close the Lacombe Research and Development Centre and called on Ottawa to pause the move.

"For more than a century, this research station has been a fixture of agricultural advancement in Western Canada," said Lacombe County Reeve John Ireland in the post on Friday.