HALIFAX - Atlantic Canada could lose up to 4,500 public sector jobs in the next few years, a member of Parliament from Newfoundland said Monday.

Jack Harris, the NDP member for St. John's East, said the job cuts are the likely result of cost reductions in the upcoming federal budget.

The federal government has to slash its budget because it's offered too many corporate tax cuts, Harris said.

"These cuts aren't necessary; they are being sold as being necessary to balance the budget," Harris said. "This is the wrong approach."

Harris was in Halifax to attend a meeting of the federal party's Atlantic caucus.

The NDP politicians met with members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents government workers from various departments.

The Conservative government has not said how it will find savings but has acknowledged that jobs will be cut and layoffs are likely.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has estimated that federal cuts could see up to 68,000 public service jobs eliminated across the country.

The cuts are being conducted in three waves. The first comes in the form of departmental reviews launched between 2007 and 2010, which are intended to yield $1.8 billion in savings.

However, the centre predicts most cuts will come from the next two waves: the $2-billion departmental spending freeze announced in 2010 and the $4-billion strategic and operating review that will be part of the March budget.

"You are seeing cuts which are beyond cuts to the bone," said Ryan Cleary, another Newfoundland MP and the Atlantic caucus chairman. "You are seeing amputations now."

Cuts that have already been made to Service Canada have resulted in thousands of people waiting beyond the minimum 28-day waiting period for their unemployment insurance cheques, Cleary said.

Last month, the employment insurance call centre received over four million calls from frustrated people waiting for benefits, said Halifax MP Megan Leslie.

According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Atlantic Canada will be badly hurt by the cuts because of its relatively small population but large number of civilians working for the Defence Department and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.