renamed Public Service Commission to enforce the merit principle, and established a framework for collective bargaining in the public service. The passage of PSEA and PSSRA also saw the repeal of the Civil Service Act, 1961 and amendments to the FAA. With the emergence of new social programs, and Canada's growing populations, the public service grew from around 198,000 in 1970 to 274,000 by 1975. However, austerity-driven cutbacks beginning in 1978 would see around 7,000 public servants let go by 1979. In 1979, the bilingualism bonus was introduced for employees with proven capabilities to communicate in both English and French. Employment equity initiatives In 1971, the Public Service Commission created the Office of Equal Opportunity for Women to boost women's participation in the public service, a result of the report Sex and the Public Service, and the Report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, both issued in 1970. This built on anti-discrimination provisions woven into the PSEA, which listed sex as a prohibited ground of discrimination for public service hiring. This would be complemented by the inclusion of 'marital status' as such a ground later in 1974. In 1973, the Office of Native Employment was created to advance job opportunities for Indigenous peoples within the public service. This would later be complemented by a Northern Careers Program to promote Indigenous employment with the public service in Canada's North. Expansion of employment equity and downsizing (1980-2003) Throughout the 1980s, the federal government rapidly expanded a number of employment equity initiatives. In 1983, a dedicated Women's Career Counselling and Referral Service was created to help with career development for women, and prepare them for senior management roles. That same year, a National Indigenous Development Program was formed, and sought to build on previous efforts to recruit more Indigenous people to the public service. A year later, the Equality Now! report from the Special Committee on Visible Minorities established a dedicated recruitment program to encourage members of visible minority communities secure positions within the federal workforce. The 1980s and 1990s would see a transformation and renewal of various aspects of the public service, including new executive recruitment mechanisms, and updates to the operational systems across government. The Public Service Reform Act passed in 1992 under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's government At the same time, this saw a downsizing of federal public service positions, particularly in 1986, which saw a loss