Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) president John Gordon says Canadians need to prepare for federal government cuts before they happen.

Gordon spoke at the 2011 Yukon Employees Union (YEU) Triennial Convention Saturday in Whitehorse.

He urged union members to meet with local politicians to get a sense of what Yukon programs might be slashed soon.

Gordon travelled from Ottawa to attend the three-day conference at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre and spoke to the Star after his speech on Saturday.

"(Prime Minister Stephen) Harper says he has received a mandate from Canadians to make these decisions, but he only got 39.6 per cent of the vote, (in the May 2 election),” he said. "That, to me, doesn't seem like much of a mandate.”

Gordon said Harper is using his majority to put a stamp on federal cuts, but he really needs to think about what his majority means considering less than 50 per cent of Canadians voted for him six months ago.

As for where the cuts might happen, Gordon doesn't know, but pointed to reductions in federal inspections of meat-processing plants in B.C., Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as problems with Search and Rescue programs in eastern Canada due to lack of funding as just the tip of the iceberg.

The president said on a local level, it will be interesting to see how the new territorial government functions.

"Are they going to piggyback on what the federal government is doing, or go in a different direction?”

Convention delegates elected Steve Geick as the new YEU president, replacing Laurie Butterworth, the convention chair and retiring president.

Geick will guide the Yukon's largest labour union for the next three years. He previously served as the organization's second vice-president and chaired the committees responsible for community representation and negotiation.

Ten new executive positions were filled over the weekend. This makes 10 of the 13 positions held by new members and five of these new members under 35.

The convention also considered dozens of resolutions to advance the rights of workers, and worked on the long-standing goal of engaging young workers within the union, according to a statement released this morning.