Queen’s University School of Policy Studies professor Andrew Graham is available to talk about the federal budget.

Prof. Graham, a government spending expert, has heard the federal government is looking to make cuts to defence and will try to reform the way federal employees take sick leave.

“Reforming sick leave is something the federal government should have done 10 years ago – Ontario did it about 15 years ago. They want to go from an entitlement system to a credit system. I think the federal government is scrambling left, right and centre to tighten their balance sheet and decrease liabilities,” says Prof. Graham, author of Canadian Public-Sector Financial Management. “It’s going to be interesting to see who the federal government targets beyond the defence department. The question is will the cuts be policy driven or ‘bucks’ driven? If it’s ‘bucks’ driven, the next obvious choice for cuts – after defence – is social programs.”

To arrange an interview, please contact communication officers Michael Onesi (office: 613.533.6000 ext. 77513, michael.onesi@queensu.ca) or Anne Craig (office: 613-533-2877, Anne.Craig@queensu.ca) at Queen’s University News and Media Services Department in Kingston, Ont., Canada.

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