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Rather than conducting mass layoffs of the Canadian civil service, the Carney government is resurrecting a 1990s strategy of reducing the public sector by paying them handsomely to leave.

However, despite costing $1.5 billion, it will deliver a federal payroll that will only be about $82 million cheaper per year. As such, it could presumably be up to 18 years until the program breaks even.

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According to federal budget documents, the proposed Early Retirement Incentive will cost an average of $300 million for five years, all to deliver “ongoing savings of

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