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Top 10 reasons to join us

1. Make a real difference

You will contribute to making a difference in the health and safety of all Canadians.

2. Most sophisticated science-based programs

You will work with cutting edge technology and some of the world's leading experts.

3. More than a job… a career

We encourage you to fill out an individual learning plan to address your current and future learning needs while your manager will provide you with an annual performance feedback and review discussion to guide your career progression.

More information on learning and career development

Network

You may have the opportunity to work on various committees and working groups, which will give you the opportunity to work with employees from different parts of the CFIA, allowing you to learn about the CFIA's various business lines and identify potential learning and professional development opportunities through networking.

You may also have the opportunity to work on intergovernmental committees and/or working groups, which will allow you to interact with scientific professionals from other Government of Canada organizations, as well as municipal, provincial and foreign governments. These committees/working groups may also give you the opportunity to work with various industry experts and stakeholders.

Synapse Network: The CFIA's Synapse Network provides interested employees with opportunities to network, engage in a diverse set of learning activities, contribute to Agency decision making and collaborate with colleagues across the country. The Synapse Network is a Canada-wide community where members share their ideas and actively contribute to the Agency decision-making process. The aim of the Synapse Network is to provide all employees, regardless of age, employment status or category, with the opportunity to learn about the Agency, exchange information, develop a network of contacts with colleagues and enhance their contribution to the Agency. The Synapse Network emphasizes networking and learning, professional and career development opportunities, social and cultural activities, and charitable events.

GCPEDIA: As a Government of Canada employee you will have access to GCPEDIA, the Government of Canada wiki. GCPEDIA has been used as a platform to take, publish, and distribute meeting minutes, to create project status dashboards, to collaboratively author interdepartmental papers, to brainstorm, to create wiki-based briefing books, and to organize interdepartmental working groups and communities of practice. Users are free to use the wiki as they see fit, within the code of conduct.

Learning

Access to Continuous Learning: At the CFIA, you will find experiences and programs that encourage learning and help you to build a successful career. We offer courses in the latest technology, communication, interpersonal skills, management, and English or French as a second language - all aimed at increasing your employability.

Employees are also encouraged to take advantage of self-directed learning opportunities. MyAccount, a public service-wide e-learning tool with a library of self-directed courses, is available to all employees. Sample courses include negotiation, conflict management, second-language training, and Microsoft Office training.

On-the-Job Training: Regular feedback through coaching and mentoring from your manager, attendance at conferences, and participation in workshops are practices promoted as part of the CFIA learning culture to help support your professional development.

Coaching and Mentoring: The CFIA encourages employees at all levels to build and share their knowledge. In addition to formal courses and learning options, our working environment is designed to make continuous learning, coaching, and mentoring an integral part of the organization.

The Individual Learning Plan (ILP): The ILP is an employee's written plan for developing the knowledge, skills, and abilities that he or she requires to perform in his or her current position, as well as for career development purposes. It is a way to organize and set priorities for learning and development.

The Developmental Fund: The CFIA created the Developmental Fund in 2003. It has invested millions of dollars since then and continues to do so in support of knowledge transfer, management development, developmental second official language training, and to complement regularly budgeted training programs and learning activities.

Performance Feedback and Review (PFR): Performance feedback is an important and effective tool for supporting career development by fostering open and ongoing communication between employees and supervisors. It's an opportunity for all employees to discuss their performance, determine work objectives, identify learning needs, and discuss career goals.

Language Training: The CFIA recognizes that obtaining and maintaining a second official language is beneficial for the employee as well as the organization. The Agency has developed tools to assist and support its employees who are required to use their second official language. Official language training is also available free of charge to all employees through the Canada School of Public Service's MyAccount website, an e-learning environment which offers a comprehensive set of online courses and resources.

The CFIA Developmental Fund supports employees who wish to maintain or improve their language skills during non-working hours, providing up to $800 per year toward books and language training at a local institution. Funding is provided on a first come first serve basis, and management pre-approval is required.

In addition, the CFIA's intranet site provides reference and self-learning tools that allow employees to improve their language skills and the quality of their bilingual communications.

4. Work/life balance

We are committed to supporting flexible work arrangements and vacation leave starts at three paid weeks per year.

More information on work/life balance

Take time for yourself

Whether it's for personal growth, self-care or to spend time with family, we give employees the opportunity to take planned leaves of absence through a number of different options, including:

We also offer more standard types of leave, including:

Work/life balance

At the CFIA, we strongly believe that employees must have our genuine support and must have real opportunities to balance their professional and personal lives. A balanced life is healthy, productive, and enjoyable.

As organizational experts suggest, work/life balance is about having a sense that we can control when, where, and how we work. This sense of control comes when our right to live a fulfilled life both inside and outside of paid work is accepted and respected as the norm. This approach to work and life benefits everyone: the individual, the organization, and society at large.

Our commitment to supporting work/life balance is reflected in our benefits package, through the importance we place on working in a collaborative and mutually supportive team environment, and via our support for our employees' involvement in extra-curricular opportunities.

Community involvement

We encourage you to support the organizations or causes of your choice. To this end, most employees are entitled to one volunteer day each year in addition to their normal leave allotments, which may be used for the volunteer activity of their choice. With the many different types of leave options available at the CFIA, there are ample opportunities to spend your time doing the things you are passionate about.

In addition, we give back to the community through the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign on an organization-wide basis every year, and to many other causes in different offices across the country, based upon the initiative and interests of our employees.

Workplace wellness

Personal wellness is affected by one's health, work environment, and work/life balance. Our wellness initiatives promote balanced living by helping managers, employees, and their families develop and maintain a superior personal and professional quality of life. We do this in several key ways:

Employee health initiatives

A safe, positive, and productive workplace

The CFIA monitors wellness indicators in a number of different ways to ensure that the program is effective.

5. Occupational health and safety is a top priority

Occupational health and safety is deeply embedded in our corporate culture and taken into consideration when every business decision is made.

More information on occupational health and safety

The CFIA provides a safe and healthy working environment for all of its employees. Promoting occupational health and safety is an integral part of our corporate culture, as is integrating Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) into our management and business decision-making processes.

There are many good reasons to make health and safety a top priority. The primary reason is to protect workers, but OHS also makes good business sense by dramatically reducing the cost of accidents, injuries, and occupational illness.

Because many of our workplaces bear an inherent level of risk (the laboratory environment is a good example of this) we take extra precautions and have a variety of OHS prevention programs, a network of OHS committees, a commitment to ensuring that safe work practices are included in work procedures, and that we regularly provide OHS program information and training.

6. Employment equity and diversity

The Canada Food Inspection Agency is committed to employment equity and diversity.

More information on employment on equity and diversity

Diversity and equity

For the CFIA, the principles of equity, multiculturalism, and diversity underlie the Agency's approach to business. To serve Canadians effectively and to work cooperatively with Canadian and international stakeholders, the CFIA is committed to having a workforce that represents the public it serves. We provide a work environment where all people are treated with respect and dignity. This commitment is reflected in the actions of individuals at every level of the organization as well as in its formal policies, programs, and practices.

Our attention to diversity enables us to attract and retain a representative workforce. We recognize that our success relies on the quality and ability of our employees and also the sustainability of our workforce. To that end, we encourage women (especially in non-traditional occupational groups), Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and visible minorities to join our workforce. We welcome applications from all individuals who have legal status to work in Canada and we do not give preference to Canadian citizens for purposes of employment. We also accept 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.

At the CFIA, we make a conscious effort to combine our differences and to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of all our people. More specifically, we aim for an environment that, among other things, offers adequate and timely learning opportunities, promotes diversity, and ensures that processes and practices are in place to resolve workplace issues. Embracing diversity is a fundamental principle that underlies the way we do business.

Linguistic duality

The CFIA recognizes English and French as its official languages. It is committed to taking concrete and positive measures to serve the Canadian public in the official language of its choice, to build an exemplary workplace respectful of Canada's linguistic duality, and to actively promote its official languages.

The CFIA ensures that the work environment is conducive to the effective use of both official languages by enabling its employees to use either official language in designated parts of the country. This means that the CFIA respects the right of employees to work and communicate in the official language of their choice, and that the Agency ensures that communications with and services to employees are in both official languages, simultaneously and of equal quality.

7. Compensation and benefits package

Our benefits package includes a competitive salary and a first-rate dental plan.

More information on compensation and benefits package

Compensation and benefits package

The CFIA is a leading employer, particularly when you consider our total compensation package. We offer a variety of benefits, based on your length of employment:

For more information on Executive Compensation, please visit the Directive on Executive Compensation.

The agency is a unionized work environment. Based on employee status, length of service, and job classification, specific entitlements are defined in greater detail in each separate collective agreement or Terms and Conditions of Employment.

Bargaining agents within the agency include:

8. Canada's largest science-based regulatory agency

We are responsible for the delivery of all federally mandated programs for food inspection, plant and animal health products and production systems.

9. Rewards and recognition

We are committed to recognizing achievements at the local, organizational and Agency level as well as special contributions, years of service and retirement.

More information on rewards and recognition

President's National Awards

The President's National Awards (PNA) are presented each year to recognize employees for outstanding performance and achievements.

The PNA is designed to promote a spirit of co-operation, mutual respect, excellence, quality and responsibility. It encourages and recognizes initiative, flexibility and innovation in performing tasks that are above and beyond the call of duty, while linking to the Agency's business objectives. In addition, the Awards foster the CFIA's values and ethics by rewarding openness, integrity, trust, professionalism, respect, commitment, and a positive outlook. These represent the basis for our behaviours and relationships with our clients and one another.

External awards

Some examples of external awards that employees of the CFIA have won in the past:

10. Learning and career development

When you join us, we will work with you and will support your career development efforts by providing you with on-the-job training, assignment opportunities and mentoring programs.

More information on lifelong learning

Lifelong learning

The Agency provides access to various tools that executives and leaders may use to support their career management goals. A few of the available tools are:

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