The livelihood of thousands in the Capital could be threatened by the federal government's 2010 budget.
Wage freezes and operational budget cuts means every federal government worker is at risk. In Ottawa-Gatineau, that is a whopping 75,000 people.
The seizure in spending comes as an effort to cut down the nation's massive $53.7 billion deficit.
"This is a big government and to start turning this ship around and to start making some tough decisions and ensure that we do not have a structural deficit in the future," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says spending must be slowed.
The government says clamping down on spending in the public sector could save nearly $7 billion over a five-year period. However, public sector unions say the move will lead to tense times in years ahead.
"The government needs to be able to function to serve Canadians and when you freeze budgets it means you don't have the ability to bring in new recruit and retain people, " says Gary Corbett of the Professional Service Institute.
"If there are programs going to be cut and the largest chunk of that is $6.8 billion it's going to affect departments right here in Ottawa," said John Gordon of the Public Service Alliance.
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