Return-to-office throws wrench in federal government’s building offload plan

The federal government is rethinking its plan to offload fifty per cent of its office spaces as more staff work in the office. CTV’s Katie Griffin reports.

While the city and the province are requiring workers to return to the office full time, the federal hybrid work policy is throwing a wrench in the government’s plan to get rid of some of its real estate.

The federal government had planned to offload 50 per cent of its office portfolio by 2034 which would have generated an estimated $3.9 billion in savings over the next 10 years. It’s now projecting it will get rid of about 33 per cent.

“Not unsurprising to me given what I know about the broader federal government,” said employee Andrew Bryant.

“I’m lucky enough that my organization has done a really good job with in-office space. We haven’t needed to sort of sit on the floor or fight for space.”

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) says changes in hybrid work along with growth in the public service means they need more office space.

“It’s a work in progress but at this stage we’re so focused on the objective we’ve set ourselves to save significant sums of money by reducing office space,” said Joël Lightbound, the minister of government transformation, public works and procurement.

PSPC says it’s working to hit their 33 per cent target by having federal departments and agencies share office space, speeding up the disposal of surplus assets and reviewing space allocation and funding models.

“We have been worried for months, if not years, that there hasn’t been a clear accommodation strategy and that the math equation of the growth in the public service and the amount of office space and usable office space that the feds have don’t align,” said Shawn S. Hamilton, principal with Proveras Commercial Realty.

The Ottawa Board of Trade wants to see a workforce strategy that provides certainty for businesses while allowing unused office space to be utilized.

“That will unlock the assets that need to go out to market that can hopefully be turned into affordable housing and placemaking like cultural institutions so that we can get more people downtown and make a vibrant downtown, which is really a downtown that’s operating 24/7 and doesn’t shut down at five p.m.,” said Mallory Clyne, the director of advocacy & economic development at the Ottawa Board of Trade.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada says the government could find savings through remote work.

“The irony would be comical if it weren’t tragic,” Sharon DeSousa, the president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada said in a statement.

“We’ve made it clear for years that remote work would save the government billions of dollars – instead, they’re firing thousands of workers and putting Canada’s public services at risk.”

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