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The federal government extended a work program for 50 developmentally disabled Ottawa workers Thursday in the face of public outrage that they had been cut loose after dedicating decades of their working lives to sorting and disposing of federal documents.

Pierre Poilievre, regional minister and MP for Nepean-Carleton, announced the extension with the promise of a permanent solution after the extension ends May 1.

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“I will use this time to find out the needs of all departments that these great workers would be well-suited to do,” said Poilievre. “The goal will be to secure the same jobs or find very similar ones for them.”

Poilievre said the Prime Minister’s Office had also been involved in the decision.

In a letter to Poilievre, Ottawa South Liberal MP David McGuinty, said the cancellation of the program was “callous” and urged him to permanently reinstate it.

As offers of help and support poured in, and public outrage grew on social media — aimed mostly at the federal government — questions were also being asked as to why any Canadian worker would be paid the lowly equivalent of $1.15 an hour.