Federal organizations to spend at least $18 million on return to office

Federal departments and agencies are projected to spend more than $18 million on the government’s policy requiring most public servants to work from offices four days a week.

In response to what’s called an order paper question by NDP MP Heather McPherson, 13 federal organizations revealed the amount they expect to spend on accommodating more public servants working in the office. An order paper question is a formal request from a member of Parliament to a federal institution for information.

Of the 81 responding departments and agencies, 12 said they had no costs associated with the new policy. There were 56 organizations who did not disclose their projected costs or referred such questions to Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), the government’s property manager.

In February, the federal government announced it was increasing the number of days that most public servants would have to work in offices. The new changes came into effect in May for executives, who are now back in the office full-time, and in July for employees, who must work in person for four days a week.

In its response to McPherson’s questions, the Treasury Board confirmed that “no specific metrics, assessments, or studies” were used to develop the new in-office requirements. The response echoed comments made by Bill Matthews, the top public servant at the Treasury Board, who has said the policy was based on a “philosophical choice.”

The government currently only has enough office space to accommodate 90 per cent of government workers, and some departments have had to delay their implementation of the new policy as a result.

The Ottawa Citizen previously reported that PSPC has not acquired any net new office space since the government announced the new policy, but the department is “considering” increasing its portfolio “over the next few months.”