New return-to-work rules coming soon for public servants: Carney

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OTTAWA — Canada’s public servants may soon be required to work in their offices more than three days per week.

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Speaking at a mayor’s breakfast in Ottawa on Monday morning, Prime Minister Mark Carney said public servants can expect more guidance on return-to-work policies for those in Canada’s core public service,

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“We will come to a sharper view on that over the course of the next several weeks,” Carney said during a question-and-answer period with Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.

“There’ll likely be different levels of ‘return’ — depending on seniority, depending on the role, and obviously depending on capacity. “

Public servants must be in office three days per week

Like most office workers, many core public servants worked from home due to lockdown rules during the COVID-19 pandemic.

That ended in December 2022, when former Treasury Board president Mona Fortier announced that public servants would be expected to be present at the office two days per week, effective March 31, 2023.

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Last May, the Treasury Board Secretariat implemented RTO3 — a mandate requiring workers be physically present in the office three days per week — by Sept. 9, 2024, with a four-day-per-week mandate in place for executives.

Carney said the government will engage with public sector unions on how that will unfold.

Bureaucracy should brace for job cuts, Carney says

In addition to being forced to attend work, public servants are also facing the possibility of wide-ranging cuts, as Canada’s morbidly obese public service reaches levels never before seen in Canadian history.

“There is an adjustment coming to the workforce,” Carney said. “A lot of that will come through natural attrition and early retirement, but at the same time, there will be changes in the way that public services work.”

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That will include greater use of IT and artificial intelligence, he said — tools that will streamline jobs and workflows.

Carney said Monday the cost of servicing Canada’s bloated public service is unsustainable.

Over the past decade, Canada’s public service grew by an astounding 40%, while Canada’s population only saw 14% growth.

Current data puts Canada’s public service population at nearly 358,000, making the federal government Canada’s biggest employer.

The cost of Canada’s bureaucracy likewise saw huge jumps since 2015, growing by 80%.

The public service’s personnel costs amounted to $39.6 billion a decade ago, but now exceed $71 billion.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume

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