The federal public service’s largest union has filed official complaints asking the government to "cease the unilateral implementation" of its early retirement incentive program until its parameters are negotiated with the union. The federal labour relations board is an independent tribunal tasked with resolving disputes over collective bargaining and unfair labour practices. The federal government is predicting the early retirement program will cost $1.5 billion over five years, with about half of that expense coming in 2026. Marc Boudreau, a lawyer specializing in labour law, says the early retirement incentive program likely 'shocked' the union. Labour lawyer Malini Vijaykumar, partner at Nelligan Law, said even she and her colleagues have very few details about the federal early incentive program, despite representing several other federal public service unions.

Source: CBC News March 02, 2026 16:32 UTC