Some federal departments, agencies spending millions on more office time for staff

Some federal departments, agencies spending millions on more office time for staff

13 organizations said they plan to spend a combined $18.7M

More than a dozen federal government departments and agencies are set to spend more than $18 million to get their employees to work in the office more often.

Federal public servants were given the target of being in the office four days a week starting in July, an increase from three days. Executives returned to the office full-time in May.

In response to an order paper question from NDP MP Heather McPherson, 13 federal organizations said they plan to spend a combined $18,720,150 to reconfigure or acquire office space to accommodate the increased in-person work.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said it will spend almost $5.7 million, while Fisheries and Oceans Canada said it will spend $4.2 million.

The Canada Border Services Agency estimated its costs at $3.9 million, while Correctional Service Canada said it plans to spend $1.37 million.

Some federal organizations said they have no costs associated with the return to the office, or that they were still being assessed. Several referred questions to Public Services and Procurement Canada, which said it was still evaluating the cost.

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McPherson told The Canadian Press on Wednesday that the government clearly has not done the research to back up its claim that it's cost-effective for workers to be back in the office.

She said it's likely the total cost will be much larger once responses from other departments and agencies become available.

"They don't have the information that they would need to make a good, informed decision that protects the rights of workers in this country," she said.

"And yet they're moving ahead with decisions that are hurting people, that are hurting families, that [are] hurting individual workers in the country."

Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali declined to comment on the costs associated with increasing office time to four days a week when asked by Radio-Canada. He said it's been going "OK."

Treasury Board Secretary Bill Matthews told a House of Commons committee in May that the government's decision on public servants' return to the office was a "philosophical choice."

"If you look outside the federal government — industry, municipalities, provinces — you will see the trend," he said.

"If you're looking for a study that says this is a better way to do things, I don't have one. I would describe this as a philosophical choice of the employer and a belief that teamwork is better."

Unions representing federal workers have long argued that the cost to taxpayers, the environment and the work-life balance of their members isn't worth what they see as minimal gains in productivity, if any.

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The responses to another order paper question asked by McPherson revealed that dozens of federal buildings have reported the presence of pests such as mice, rats, bats and bedbugs since 2020.

McPherson said the government is not respecting the rights of workers by sending them back into "unsafe or unproductive" working conditions.

Catherine Morrison is a reporter for The Canadian Press.

With files from CBC News and Radio-Canada's Anne-Marie Trickey