The Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) delivered a $40 billion invoice to the Prime Minister's Office on July 6, the same day most federal public servants were mandated to return to the office four days a week. The invoice represents what the union claims is the cost of cancelled savings from the government's original plan to reduce office space by 50 percent.
Union Calls Return-to-Office a Political Choice
CAPE held a gathering in front of the Prime Minister's Office in Ottawa to present the invoice. The union argues that the return-to-office mandate has forced the government to abandon its earlier target of offloading half its office portfolio, now aiming for only a 33 percent reduction due to increased demand for space. Bill Matthews, the Treasury Board's top bureaucrat, told a House of Commons committee in May that the four-day in-office requirement was a "philosophical choice" rather than a decision based on evidence. CAPE president Nathan Prier said, "What we've seen so far, RTO looks a lot less like a workplace policy and more like a political choice. It's kind of hard to believe that RTO is just about collaboration here."
Impact on Workers and Workspaces
Rebecca Clark, local president of CAPE 520 at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), expressed frustration with the rushed implementation. She said the government is "cramming in desks" and placing workers "back to back, side by side" instead of using the cubicles common before the COVID-19 pandemic. Clark added that NRCan is eliminating focus rooms and sensitivity rooms that neurodivergent employees, those with allergies, or those with migraines rely on to work in the office. She called for flexible remote work options to allow "deep focus work" and to balance work and life requirements.
Union Demands Evidence-Based Policy
Prier emphasized that the cuts and mandate threaten working conditions for public servants who serve Canadians. "We're asking for a modern workplace, we're asking for proper staffing, we're asking for the right tools and evidence-based decision making, because we serve Canadians," he said. The Treasury Board did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.
