QUESTION PERIOD — Privy Council Office
Return-to-Office Mandate
March 24, 2026
Thank you. My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Senator Moreau, in light of the current oil shock, the International Energy Agency, or IEA, last week recommended governments to encourage people to work from home to preserve fuel. Yet, our government is mandating employees back to the office. This, despite other significant headwinds, such as unreliable public transportation in the nation’s capital and the lack of office space for our public servants to return to.
Will the government heed the advice of the IEA, lead by example and put the brakes on the RTO mandate?
Thank you for the question, Senator Deacon. I am in a very bad position because I’m turning my back to you to answer the question. My apologies.
I cannot speak to this specific issue. However, the government looks at a multitude of factors when it comes to its in-person work policy. Departments have specific procedures tied to the nature of their work, necessitating many workers to come into the office five days per week.
As far as I’m aware, the government maintains their current hybrid work model for now, which stipulates that, until May 2026, public servants in the core public administration are only required to work on site for a minimum of three days per week, and executives for a minimum of four days per week.
Thank you. I’m aware of that.
At this moment, are you able to provide or direct us to any research or numbers that give us information on what has been spent thus far in purchasing office space to accommodate this RTO mandate?
My understanding is that, under the federal real property modernization initiative, over $2 billion in projects have been completed with an additional $6.6 billion currently in progress or planned. They have space for when hybrid work will be removed.
However, with regard to the actual situation with the oil crisis, I’m not aware of any measures that are now being implemented to address that.
