Canada's two spy agencies have reversed their decision to bar frontline employees from the federal government's early retirement incentive, now agreeing to consider applications on a case-by-case basis. The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) confirmed the policy change to the National Post last week.
Initial refusal and policy reversal
In April, CBC reported that CSE, CSIS, and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) had essentially prohibited operational or frontline staff from applying for the Early Retirement Incentive (ERI), which removes the penalty for early retirement. The agencies cited the need to grow their workforce and maintain operational readiness, not cut staff.
“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 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.”
Role of Treasury Board and Michael Sabia
Publicly, CSE and CSIS say the policy change followed additional guidance from the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS). In recent months, Treasury Board clarified that departments could keep at least part—if not all—of the funding linked to the position of the employee retiring early. Initially, many government organizations believed the funding would be forfeited.
However, 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 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 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, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations publicly.
Privy Council Office response
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.
