Spy agency workers now eligible for early retirement program after initial refusal

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“The expectation is that departments and agencies consider eligible applications in a fair and consistent manner, in accordance with Treasury Board direction, while taking into account their operational requirements, and workforce planning needs,” he added.

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In April, CBC reported CSE as saying it would not participate in the ERI program at all because it was focused on “expanding and sustaining its workforce.” CSIS told CBC at the time that it didn’t expect to approve many ERI applications either, citing growth and “continued operational pressures.”

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The ERI program was put in place by Prime Minister Mark Carney last year to help reduce the size of the federal public service. The incentive allows eligible employees to receive their pension early without penalty, provided they apply by July 24 and depart by January 20 of next year.

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But the program also specifies that an organization cannot accept an ERI request if it will undermine critical operations or services to Canadians — two key issues for the intelligence agencies.

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The challenge for both agencies is that, on top of the very long top secret clearance process for new hires, some frontline workers can take years to train up to operational level. At the same time, the government is investing significantly in both with the expectation they hire more people amid expanding mandates.

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“We will have very real operational impacts that we’ll have to consider, even though we get to keep the money” associated to the position, a CSIS official explained to National Post. “It’s not like hiring a communications person or a financial analyst; our intelligence officers take 15 years to train.”

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“Our lens is if this person takes ERI, can we still protect Canada? And so… it is a harder question to ask when we’re looking at somebody that has very specific training versus somebody who has more general training,” they added.

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The official was granted anonymity to discuss internal human resource processes at the spy agency publicly.

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In a statement, Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson Guillaume Bérubé said it has not changed its criteria for ERI and has approved 14 applications to date.

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But in mid-May, border agency head Erin O’Gorman sent a memo to staff encouraging all employees who may be interested in early retirement to apply — including front line staff. Their application would then be assessed in light of the agency’s needs and the government’s promise to hire 1,000 new officers.

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According to Budget 2025, the incentive is expected to cost taxpayers $1.5 billion over five years but reduce the government’s pension-matching payments by $82 million per year. As of June 16, the Treasury Board Secretariat said it had received 7,530 applications, with 4,620 approved and only 12 denied.

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According the Ottawa Citizen, the secretariat sent out 68,000 letters to eligible early retirees in December.

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National Post

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