How to Apply

The CFIA is committed to making a difference in the lives of Canadians through the protection of our food supply, our animals and our plants. Likewise, the CFIA has a variety of opportunities dependent upon your academic background or professional interests. You can find career opportunities in policy development, regulatory, science & technology, security, or service delivery to name a few. If you are seeking a challenging and dynamic career on a part-time, full-time or seasonal basis, you should consider working for the CFIA. We are committed to having a skilled, diversified workforce across Canada. Find out how you can join us!

If you would like information on living and working in Canada, visit the Government of Canada's Working in Canada site. To learn more about Canadian citizenship, visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada site. The CFIA accepts foreign education credentials, as long as written documentation to substantiate equivalency is provided. More details on how to do this are available at the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials.

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Apply as a Student

The CFIA hires over 250 full-time students each year and offers students work assignments related to their field of study. The CFIA has the flexibility to hire students directly from an educational institution or to recruit through established public service student employment programs like the Cooperative Education (Co-op) Program, the Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP), the Research Affiliate Program (RAP), and Students Providing Aligned Research and Knowledge (SPARK).

If you are a student at one of Canada's veterinary colleges or a recent graduate in veterinary medicine, visit our Veterinary Student Corner. Here you'll find information on the CFIA's veterinary student initiatives, including summer employment opportunities, and national and international veterinary experiential opportunities.

Co-operative Education (Co-op) Program

The Co-op program is designed to provide post-secondary students enrolled in a Co-op program with work assignments related to their field of study. If you are interested in participating in this program, the first step is to register in a Co-op/Internship Program with your academic institution. Once you are registered, you should consult the notice boards at your campus career centre or Co-op/Internship placement office for public service placement opportunities. Please note that the Public Service Commission (PSC) does not maintain a listing of opportunities on its website.

Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP)

The FSWEP is designed to provide full-time secondary school, CEGEP, college, technical institute, and university students with an opportunity to learn about the public service and gain valuable work experience in their field of study. If you are interested in this program, you should fill out the FSWEP application form which is only available online through the PSC's website. The form is sent electronically to a computerized database and contains all the students who applied to the FSWEP campaign for the current year. Federal organizations looking to hire FSWEP students submit a request to the PSC. The PSC will conduct a search in the database to identify all the students that meet the organization's requirements and the résumés for the qualified applicants will be submitted directly to the hiring manager.

Research Affiliate Program (RAP)

The RAP is specifically designed to give post-secondary students experience in applied research (design, execution, evaluation) when they must attain relevant knowledge and skills in order to graduate. As a student in this program, you are expected to work part-time while attending classes. It is possible for RAP interns to be re-employed as an FSWEP student with the same or different department. For more information about eligibility and how to apply follow the RAP link above.

Students Providing Aligned Research and Knowledge (SPARK)

SPARK is a pilot initiative of the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) in cooperation with the Public Service Commission (PSC). The program is targeted at university graduate students.

The two main objectives of the program are to:

• Better align the intellectual capacities of students and professors in academia with the public administration and public policy research needs of the federal public service; and
• Provide high-performing students the possibility of being considered for future positions in the federal public service.

Under SPARK, selected graduate students will be paid for research projects in areas of public administration and public policy, gain knowledge and experience addressing practical, real-life issues, and can potentially be hired into an indeterminate position upon graduation. Further, working with a professor in a supervisory role, students will be able to carry out research from their current location.

Related Links:

• Veterinary Student Corner
• Federal Public Sector Youth Internship Program
• Student Employment Programs in the Federal Government

Apply as a Recent Graduate

The CFIA hires recent graduates through established programs such as the Post-Secondary Recruitment (PSR) program, and the Financial Officer Recruitment and Development / Internal Auditor Recruitment and Development (FORD/IARD) program. We offer many opportunities in a wide range of career choices.

If you are a student at one of Canada's veterinary colleges or a recent graduate in veterinary medicine, visit our Veterinary Student Corner. Here you'll find information on the CFIA's veterinary student initiatives, including summer employment opportunities, and national and international veterinary experiential opportunities.

Post-Secondary Recruitment (PSR)

The CFIA currently hires recent university and college graduates for entry-level officer positions through the Post-Secondary Recruitment (PSR) program. The PSR program provides two choices for organizations to post their employment needs - through an advertised career choice or a general inventory. The advertised career choices are targeted at specific job opportunities that call for specific educational requirements, while the general inventory is non-specific and is open to college and university students of all fields of study.

The PSR program is administered through the Public Service Commission's (PSC) website. The primary PSR campaign normally begins in early Fall, but PSR opportunities at the CFIA and elsewhere in the public service are posted throughout the year. Please click on PSR opportunities to view current job opportunities through the PSR program.

Financial Officer Recruitment and Development / Internal Auditor Recruitment and Development (FORD/IARD)

The objective of the FORD/IARD program is to recruit entry-level financial officers across Canada and create a large pool of potential candidates for participating departments and agencies such as the CFIA. Recruits get a full-time, entry-level position in the public service along with suitable training and career development in finance or audit. For more information about the FORD/IARD program, please visit the Treasury Board Secretariat website.

Apply as a Member of the General Public

The public service has over 250,000 employees and is the most visible employer in Canada. It operates out of 1,600 points of service across Canada and over 150 countries around the world. The public service is Canada's largest employer and has the widest range of occupations such as policy development, regulatory, science & technology, security, and service delivery. The scope of career opportunities is endless and is dependent on your area of interest and/or education. For more information, please visit the Public Service Commission website.

Because the CFIA manages some of the country's most sophisticated science-based programs, working for us means working with some of the world's leading experts in the animal health sciences. When you work for the CFIA, you may be immersed in a work culture of continual learning and development, where teamwork and the pursuit of excellence are valued. Management and colleagues appreciate and encourage the sharing of ideas.

The CFIA employs approximately 7,000 dedicated, highly trained professionals across the country who operate in a bilingual and diverse environment, working together to meet the demands of domestic and international consumers and markets. Approximately 70% of our employees work in a scientific, professional, or technical capacity.

Dedication, scientific rigour, and professional and technical competence are highly prized values at the CFIA. Here, you will work as part of a diverse team of enthusiastic professionals who are committed to the safety of Canada's food supply.

We are always looking for qualified applicants, including Co-op and summer students, recent graduates, and experienced professionals from various disciplines, so we encourage you to apply to the CFIA today.

Please click on job openings to see what jobs are currently available.

Apply as a Public Service Employee: Questions and Answers

The CFIA is a separate agency of the Government of Canada, which allows us to establish human resources policies and programs that meet our specific needs. If you are an employee of the public service who will be joining the CFIA, or considering it, you may have questions about what it means to work for a separate agency and how this may affect you. The following questions and answers were developed to address some of the most common inquiries on this subject.

When you join the CFIA, you will have access to most of the same benefits and entitlements that you enjoyed as an employee in the public service. For case specific information, contact your HR Advisor or, for questions concerning rates of pay and benefits, your Compensation Advisor, who will be able be able to provide you with more details.

1. How will my salary or rate of pay be calculated?
2. Will my prior service count towards the accumulation of vacation leave?
3. Will my unused vacation leave credits transfer with me to the CFIA?
4. What will happen to any other special leave entitlements I may have?
5. Can I transfer my unused sick leave credits to the CFIA?
6. Does a probationary period apply when I come to the CFIA?
7. Are my benefits affected if I accept an appointment at the CFIA?
8. What collective agreements are in effect at the CFIA?
9. What happens if I have recently returned from a leave without pay for which I received an allowance (e.g. maternity or parental leave) and I have not yet fulfilled the terms of my return to work agreement?
10. Will I lose the opportunity to be considered for other jobs within the public service by accepting an indeterminate appointment at the CFIA?

1. How will my salary or rate of pay be calculated?

Your rate of pay will be calculated in accordance with the same promotion, demotion or transfer rules followed elsewhere in the public service. It is important to note, however, that the pay scales themselves may be different, since the CFIA undertakes its own collective bargaining separately from the Treasury Board. Visit the Rates of Pay page for more information.

2. Will my prior service count towards the accumulation of vacation leave?

Prior service in the public service will normally be counted toward the accumulation of vacation leave, except if you have accepted severance pay upon leaving that employer. However, it is important to discuss this question with your Compensation Advisor.

3. Will my unused vacation leave credits transfer with me to the CFIA?

The transfer of unused vacation leave credits may occur, assuming that vacation leave has not been liquidated.

Such a transfer is subject to the terms and conditions applicable at the CFIA. The collective agreement for the Informatics (IN) group, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) group, the Scientific and Analytical (S&A) groups and the Veterinary Medicine (VM) group all have a provision which limits the amount of annual leave an employee can transfer to a maximum of 262.50 hours.

4. What will happen to any other special leave entitlements I may have?

Any additional leave entitlements granted previously may be treated differently than annual leave.

For example, some individuals may have received a transitional one-time leave credit of 37.5 hours from their employer when marriage leave was discontinued; however, some collective agreements at the CFIA still allow for marriage leave and the one time entitlement leave would not be transferred over for employees coming in under those collective agreements.

If you have additional leave credits of any type and wish to know whether or not they may be transferred over, please contact your Compensation Advisor.

5. Can I transfer my unused sick leave credits to the CFIA?

In general, unused sick leave credits will be transferred. The transfer of sick leave from an organization in the public service to the CFIA is based on the definition of continuous employment. This is a question for your Compensation Advisor to determine.

6. Does a probationary period apply when I come to the CFIA?

A probationary period normally applies to all appointments within the CFIA. This period is one year for individuals appointed to positions in any occupational group (except the Scientific Research (SE) Group, where it is two years).

Delegated managers have the discretion to waive probation or reduce the duration of probation when it is in the best interest of the CFIA to do so and the delegated manager is confident of the competence of the individual and his/her suitability for continued employment at the CFIA. The waiving of probation or the reduced probation period must be reflected in the written offer of employment.

Delegated managers also have the discretion to reduce the duration of probation at any time after the initial offer of employment has been made. The delegated manager will advise the employee of this decision, in writing, indicating the date on which the probation period will end.

7. Are my benefits affected if I accept an appointment at the CFIA? For instance: the Public Service Superannuation Plan, the Supplementary Death Benefit (SDB), the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP), the Public Service Disability Insurance Plan (DI) and the Dental Care Plan (DCP).

In general, your public service benefits will not be affected upon being appointed on a term or indeterminate basis to a position in the CFIA. The CFIA participates in all of the plans mentioned above.

Where there is no break in employment between your current position and the one you would accept at the CFIA, and you are already paying into these plans, you will continue to do so upon appointment into the CFIA. There will not be a break in coverage.

However, on movement to the CFIA, new employees should contact their Compensation Advisor to ensure there is no interruption to the benefits provided under their dental plan.

8. What collective agreements are in effect at the CFIA?

The CFIA has negotiated its own collective agreements, separate from those of other public service employers. Agency employees are represented by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

PIPSC represents the following groups: CS, AG, BI, CH, CO, EN, ES, PG, SE, and VM.
PSAC represents the following groups: AS, CR, EG, FI, GL, GS, HP, IS, PM, PR, and SI.

Not all classification groups at the CFIA are represented. Unrepresented groups include: EX, PE, OM, PL and IM.

Visit the Collective Agreements page for more information.

9. What happens if I have recently returned from a leave without pay for which I received an allowance (e.g. maternity or parental leave) and I have not yet fulfilled the terms of my return to work agreement?

When you return from a leave without pay during which you received an allowance (e.g. Maternity or parental leave), there is an obligation to fulfill the terms of your return to work agreement. Details of this agreement are explained in your collective agreement.

If you are currently employed with a Treasury Board department, Canada Revenue Agency or Parks Canada, accepting an indeterminate position at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency may fulfill your return to work obligation. However, it is important to verify this information with your compensation advisor.

10. Will I lose the opportunity to be considered for other jobs within the public service by accepting an indeterminate appointment at the CFIA?

No, consideration for other positions in the public service will not be affected by accepting an indeterminate position with the CFIA. There are a number of staffing mechanisms available, outlined below, which allow CFIA employees to accept permanent or temporary positions in other organizations within the public service.

Some of these staffing mechanisms depend on whether an organization is considered to be part of the core public administration. The core public administration is made up of the departments named in Schedule I and IV of the Financial Administration Act.

Advertised Processes

The Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) states that employees of separate agencies, such as the CFIA, are considered to be "employees" of the public service, for the purpose of internal advertised processes. As a result, CFIA employees may be eligible to apply for positions, as long as they meet the other criteria, if any, established for the process.

Deployments

Under the authority of the PSEA, the core public administration may deploy CFIA employees into their organizations, provided that the move does not result in a promotion or change in tenure (term or indeterminate).

Non-Advertised Processes

Core public administration organizations may appoint CFIA employees to any position in their organization, in accordance with the PSEA, when:

• Appropriate;
• Permitted by their organization's policies; and
• When the employee is deemed qualified.

Temporary Assignments

CFIA employees may accept temporary assignments with core public administration organizations at their substantive group and level through the Interchange Canada program. Unfortunately, acting appointments between separate agencies and the core public administration are not possible.

Notes:

• If you currently meet the education requirements of your position in the core public administration through a grand-parenting clause, you should discuss your particular situation with your HR Advisor before accepting a position in the CFIA, as future opportunities back into the core public administration, in that same group, may become difficult to obtain.
• Individual circumstances may vary. Employees should always speak to their HR Advisor and Compensation Advisor prior to making any decision in order to verify

Please visit Publiservice to see what current job openings are available for public servants.