Carney's planned cuts will include the foreign service, alarming some ex-diplomats

Prime Minister Mark Carney's cuts to government spending will include the foreign service, just as Global Affairs Canada aims to expand its presence abroad.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne sent letters to ministers on Monday asking them to find savings of 7.5 per cent in their budgets starting next spring.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says that will include Global Affairs Canada, adding that it is necessary to cut what she calls red tape and inefficiencies.

Anand would not speculate on what those cuts will look like, but her comments come as the U.S. State Department lays offs more than 1,300 employees.

Sen. Peter Boehm is a former ambassador, and he says he hopes the government thinks hard about Canada's place in the world when it looks at constraining Global Affairs Canada's budget.

Alan Kessel, another former diplomat, voices a similar concern and argues cutting diplomats would weaken Canada's influence and ability to protect citizens abroad.

Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein