Government to soon have 'sharper view' on public servants' return to office, says Carney

Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government will be speaking with public sector unions in the coming weeks to hash out the details of the updated return-to-office rules for federal public servants.

"We will be engaging with the public sector unions on the modalities of that, on the appropriate levels of that. We will come to a sharper view on it over the course of the next several weeks," Carney told Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe at an event on Monday.

"There will likely be different levels of return depending on seniority, depending on role and obviously depending on capacity."

Carney said he is a "huge fan of the public service" adding that it is particularly important now that Canada's economic and political security is being challenged by the Trump administration.

"We need the public service at this critical time, and we need public servants to have all the tools, including offices and workspaces, that make their jobs as interesting, as impactful as possible,” he said.

Remote work rules have been an ongoing issue in the public service since COVID-19 forced most federal employees to work remotely in 2020.

The last update was announced in May 2024, when the federal government set out a policy requiring employees eligible for hybrid work to be on site a minimum of three days per week.

Executives were required to be on site a minimum of four days per week to ensure employees were properly supported.

Mayor wants thriving downtown

Sutcliffe said he thinks adding another "day or two" in the office for civil servants is feasible and the city is working on expanding transit options, including opening the next phase of the light-rail system.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how [return-to-office] plans roll out. I've seen some of the reports. We want to see our downtown thriving and prosperous. It's been a challenging time over the last few years since COVID," he said at the Mayor's Breakfast event.

Rumours of an update to the rules have been the subject of discussion across the public service in recent days as unions pressed the government for clarity on whether workers will have to be in the office five days a week.

Late last month, Nathan Prier, the president of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE), wrote to Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali seeking details on an update to the return-to-office rules.

Prier wrote that last year's change "was a complete fiasco," warning that unresolved issues including "insufficient office space" remain an obstacle to more days in office.

"Employees suffered, managers suffered, departments struggled and the process failed in every dimension: planning, communication, fairness and operational logic. Repeating those mistakes would be unacceptable," he wrote.

Alex Silas, the national vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), said last week that it was "worrying" employees might be soon expected to return to the office five days a week.

"The state of buildings right now would not permit for a five-day, full return to office," he said.