Federal Department denies decision has been made

on the loss of the Workplace Equity Officer in Newfoundland and Labrador or in other Atlantic Provinces.
In an interview with Sue's Blog today, Senior Director of Labour Standards and Workplace Equity Programs , Human Resources Canada said, "This is currently under internal review and no final decision has been made. It is only a proposal at this stage."
According to the Department the Atlantic Region has 4 full-time equivalent resources in the region. In other words 4 jobs. These people, according to the spokesperson, would not move but their funding allocation would.
According to Senior Director, Gay Stinson, the proposal is being considered because Ontario and Quebec do not have enough Workplace Equity Officers to adequately meet caseloads while the Atlantic Provinces have significantly lighter caseloads. "Newfoundland and Labrador represents 1% of the caseload but 4.3% of the funding resources".
The Department says there are 23 officers in the country with 4 in the Atlantic Region. If the proposal were to go through 3 of the 4 positions would go to Ontario and 1 to Quebec.
Stinson claims, "The Departmental proposal would see a Workplace Equity Officer travel to Newfoundland and Labrador at predetermined times to meet with employers who are governed under the Department. According to the Department there are 14 employers who fall under the federal jurisdiction.
The process of review is not complete therefore the official was unable to tell Sue's Blog what the estimated travel costs would be or the number of trips that would have to be made - so at this time there is no determination on whether the cost of the new delivery would be greater to the Department.
Stinson did confirm there had been no discussion with the Province on the proposal.
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That's the story now here's my take.
Burke is sounding the alarm bells for a crack at the feds - when the Minister should be discussing the proposal with Loyola Hearn to ensure the proposal does not become a reality.
If Burke would be as aggressive with each of the 300 lost jobs in Stephenville or if Rideout would be as upset as Burke over the potential loss of one job over each of the thousands of jobs lost in the fishery - we would be better off.
Having said that the proposal is not acceptable and if adapted would not equally service Newfoundland and Labrador. We cannot lose resources because Ontario and Quebec do not have enough. The Department should simply bump up the budget- instead of taking ours - to take care of the shortfall in Central Canada.