Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Kitchen & Dining Tech Style & Beauty Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Amazon Prime Day Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeNewsCanadaCanadian PoliticsSpy agency workers now eligible for early retirement program after initial refusalTwo senior government sources said the change also came from pressure from top bureaucrat Michael Sabia You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Michael Sabia speaks to The Canadian Club of Montreal on Feb. 19, 2025. Photo by Allen McInnis /Montreal GazetteOTTAWA — Canada’s two spy agencies have backtracked on their decision to bar frontline employees from accessing the federal government’s early retirement incentive, saying they’ll now consider applications on a case-by-case basis.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThe Communications Security Establishment (CSE) — Canada’s cyber spy agency — and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) — the country’s human intelligence agency — both confirmed the change in direction to National Post last week.“CSE has updated its approach and is now participating in the Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) program,” CSE spokesperson Marie-Pier Baril told National Post in a statement on June 11.CSIS spokesperson Magali Hébert said in a separate statement that all CSIS is now assessing ERI applications “with a view to maximize our eligible employees’ ability to make use of this program, while meeting our operational requirements and expectations of Canadians.”In April, CBC reported that CSE, CSIS and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) had essentially barred their operational or frontline staff from applying for the incentive that removes the penalty for early retirement for eligible employees. At the time, the agencies cited the need to grow their workforce and maintain operational readiness, not cut staff.Publicly, CSE and CSIS say that their policy change vis-à-vis the Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) program came following additional guidance from the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS).In recent months, Treasury Board clarified departments could keep at least part — if not all — of the funding linked to position of the employee retiring early. At first, many government organizations believed that the funding associated to the position of an employee leaving through ERI would be forfeited.But two senior government sources said the change also came from pressure from top bureaucrat Michael Sabia, who was irked to see in the media that some agencies were not opening the program up to all staff. For Sabia, ERI is a golden opportunity to breathe fresh air into the mid- to senior-levels of the public service and promote younger bureaucrats, one source detailed.After CBC’s report, Sabia made it abundantly clear to senior executives in certain departments and agencies that they would be changing their ERI policies and at least consider all applications, said the two sources. They were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations publicly.In a statement, Privy Council Office spokesperson Pierre Cuguen neither confirmed nor denied that Sabia had pushed the agencies to open ERI applications to all staff.But he noted that the program is a “critical opportunity” for department and agency heads to advance “organizational renewal.”“It also presents an opportunity for early- and mid-career public servants to assume greater responsibilities and further develop their careers, contributing to the future strength of the public service,” Cuguen said.“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.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.”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.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.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.“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.”“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.The official was granted anonymity to discuss internal human resource processes at the spy agency publicly.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.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.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.According the Ottawa Citizen, the secretariat sent out 68,000 letters to eligible early retirees in December.National Postcnardi@postmedia.comOur website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.