It uncovered eight WHO panelists involved with assessing safe levels of aspartame consumption who are beverage industry consultants who currently or previously worked with the alleged Coke front group, International Life Sciences Institute (Ilsi).

Their involvement in developing intake guidelines represents “an obvious conflict of interest”, said Gary Ruskin, US Right-To-Know’s executive director. “Because of this conflict of interest, [the daily intake] conclusions about aspartame are not credible, and the public should not rely on them,” he added.

Union leaders representing federal public servants say they haven’t been consulted.

Chris Aylward, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the largest union of federal government workers, said PSAC is calling on Ottawa to develop a government-wide staffing plan to address recruitment and retention issues in some areas.

“The government needs to pause these cuts,” he said.

“This proposed timeline is of more concern, as these changes are being rushed and conducted in silos,” he said in a statement. “As we said when the budget was released, you can’t cut $15-billion in public-service budgets without cutting services to Canadians or the jobs of the workers who provide those services.”