Federal public servants will be spending more time in the office starting this week, as the federal government expands its return-to-office mandate. Starting today, all federal employees in the core public service will be required to be in the office for a minimum of four days a week. All executives have been reporting to the office five days a week since May 4. As part of the new on-site mandate, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat said deputy ministers “may stagger their implementation schedules to match their workplace realities,” if departments did not have enough space to accommodate public servants four days a week. Three federal departments have told CTV News Ottawa they will be delaying the four days a week return-to-office mandate due to a lack of office space – Global Affairs Canada, Statistics Canada and Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada. The Department of National Defence has said workspace “may be limited” at certain buildings, and implementation of the four-day office mandate will be “managed by managers.” Finance Minister Francois Philippe Champagne told reporters on Monday the federal government has worked to adjust the office infrastructure to ensure public servants are “housed properly in the office.” “I would say we need to bring people back to deliver service to Canadians, and, at the same time, do that in the way that would allow people to provide those services in the most efficient way for Canadians,” Champagne said. CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at what you need to know about the new in-office mandate for public servants. What is the new policy? As of July 6, all non-executives in the federal public service will be required to be onsite four days a week. Executives have been reporting to the office five days a week since May 4. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat says the new policy applies to all public servants in the core public service, but “separate agencies are strongly encouraged to take a similar approach.” The federal government’s old hybrid work rules, in effect since September 2024, required public servants to be in the office for a minimum of three days per week. Why is the federal government increasing the in-office mandate? The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat said the new mandate “is to support the government’s ambitious agenda.” “Increasing on-site presence is about increasing organizational performance, building stronger teams and culture, and ultimately being fully focused on fulfilling our mandates and serving Canadians,” the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat said on its website. Do departments have enough office space for public servants? CTVNewsOttawa.ca reached out to the largest federal departments to see if they have enough office space to accommodate public servants four days a week. Eleven federal departments said there was enough space to accommodate employees four days a week: Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada, Canada Border Services Agency, Correctional Services Canada, Department of Justice, Health Canada/Public Health Agency of Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Transport Canada and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS). Indigenous Services Canada said it did not anticipate any issues with office space. A spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada says the majority of employees are expected to be on-site four days a week starting on July 6. “A number of ESDC offices will require additional space to accommodate our employees four days per week. We are developing strategies that support their operational needs, employee presence, and long-term accommodation goals to be able to meet on-site requirements TBS’ direction as soon as possible,” ESDC said in a statement. “To support increased on-site presence, unassigned seating will be used, with a transition toward dedicated neighbourhoods to enhance collaboration and teamwork.” A spokesperson for Health Canada told CTV News Ottawa in May that while most offices have “sufficient space” for employees, “some areas may have localized space challenges.” Which departments are delaying the four-day-a-week office mandate? Global Affairs Canada is delaying the four-day in-office requirement for public servants due to a “multi-year renovation project” at the Lester B. Pearson Building on Sussex Drive in Ottawa and other buildings in the national capital region. Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada informed federal public servants on May 7 that the department is delaying the expanded in-office mandate due to a lack of office space. The Department of National Defence says workspace “may be limited” at certain buildings when public servants are required to be in the office four days a week starting this summer. Environment and Climate Change Canada said there are a “few locations” where a phased approach to the return-to-office mandate will be needed to accommodate staff, and employees have been notified. Assigned seating Most public servants will have assigned seating, as the government increases the on-site requirements to four days a week. The Secretary of the Treasury Board sent a memo to federal workers in May, saying the government will move away from unassigned seating in offices. “We are confirming that the increase in on-site presence includes a commitment to assigned seating for the majority of employees, recognizing it will be achieved over time for some organizations,” Bill Matthews said in a letter to deputy heads. OC Transpo OC Transpo is boosting capacity on several routes this summer and fall to accommodate federal public servants spending more time in the office. Ten routes will have additional capacity: The O-Train Line 1 is now running double-car service on the east-west line. Union response The Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to explain the four-day return-to-office mandate. “We’ve heard a lot of empty and insulting justifications for RTO – from better collaboration to ‘philosophical choices,’” said CAPE President Nathan Prier. “None of them add up, so we did our own math. And we’re left with a question the prime minister needs to answer: is this policy protecting workers and taxpayers, or is it protecting banks and commercial real estate investors who made bad bets on office space?” The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) filed a legal challenge to the return-to-office mandate. In February, the unions filed an unfair labour complaint with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board. In a statement on Thursday, the president of PIPSC said he is “frustrated, disappointed, and angry” over the four-day office mandate. “This is not the outcome many of us were hoping for, and I understand why there are questions about whether enough was done to prevent it. I want to be transparent about what we have done and where we have not been able to move the employer,” Sean O’Reilly said. “From the beginning, we opposed a one-size-fits-all return-to-office mandate and advocated for a presence-with-purpose approach based on operational need. That principle has guided our work across every available channel.” O’Reilly says while the union’s efforts to stop the return-to-office mandate haven’t reversed the policy, “It doesn’t mean the fight is over.” “PIPSC will continue challenging this policy through legal, bargaining, public, and political channels,” O’Reilly said. “As we move forward, the best opportunity to secure meaningful progress on RTO will be at the bargaining table. Success will depend on all of us. We encourage every member to participate in the bargaining process and support your bargaining team in the weeks and months ahead.”
