OTTAWA The Conservative government is putting an end to an agency it created to oversee public-sector appointments, another focused on assisted human reproduction, and a Trudeau-era educational program designed to build national unity.

The cuts to agencies, boards and Crown corporations announced in the federal budget amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in savings over three years.

The Conservatives created the public appointments commission soon after coming to office in 2006. Its goal was to oversee the process of appointing Canadians to boards and agencies, such as the Employment Insurance Board of Referees, and avoid political involvement in the process.

However, opposition parties raised concerns and ultimately blocked the appointment of a commissioner five years ago, and the commission has sat silent ever since.

The government argued in its budget that the commission is no longer needed because it has "strengthened the rigour and accessibility" of the appointments system, even though the NDP has raised concerns about Tory backers receiving patronage appointments.

Eliminating the commission is expected to yield $1.1 million in savings.

The government also said it plans to eliminate Katimavik, a Trudeau-era program that had French- and English-Canadian students learn in each other's provinces, a nation-building exercise during an era of fierce divides between nationalists and separatists in Quebec.

"It reaches a relatively small number of participants annually at a relatively high cost per participant, due to the nature and duration of the experience," the government wrote in its budget. "Canadian Heritage will continue to invest in youth programming and provide opportunities for more youth to learn about their country."

The Canada Council for the Arts, the National Gallery of Canada and national museums will not see any budget reductions. The National Film Board will see its budget cut by $6.7 million over the next three years, while Telefilm Canada will see a $10.6 million budgetary reduction.

Three of Canada's research councils will see a combined budgetary loss of $60.3 million over three years, while the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will have its budget cut by $102.4 million, with the bulk of that cut coming in the 2014-15 fiscal year.

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Budget signals death knell for public appointments commission