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PSAC is the most political and militant of the 17 federal unions and has crossed the line for some public servants, such as when several of its locals endorsed separatist candidates in the 2006 election. But this is the first time the union’s national leadership has pointedly told members to help defeat the government.

Federal employees must carefully balance their obligations as public servants — to be loyal and politically impartial — with their constitutional right to participate in political activities.

Benson, who is seeking a second uncontested term as PSAC’s president, said she has never told members how to vote. In the last election, she said, the union urged members to get out and vote while reminding them of the Conservatives’ track record on public services.

This time, she said, the government went too far, and its plan to bring in a new short-term disability plan whether a deal is negotiated or not is the “straw that broke the camel’s back.

“We are saying enough is enough. We have to defeat this government,” she said in an interview.

In her speech, Benson rhymed off the Conservative policies she said were widening the inequality gap, stretching public services to the breaking point, and trampling all workers’ collective bargaining rights. The message was clear: the attack on public servants’ benefits and collective bargaining rights is part of the government’s assault on public services to shrink the size of the state.