Federal property manager hasn't added 'net new' office space since latest RTO announcement — yet

Public Service and Procurement Canada says it's existing office portfolio is unable to accommodate about 10 per cent of federal public servants in the office four days a week. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA

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The federal government has yet to add any net new office space since it announced its latest return-to-office policy in February despite a shortage of workspace for public servants.

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However, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) — the government’s central property manager — is “considering” acquiring additional office space “over the next few months,” as its existing portfolio is currently unable to support about 10 per cent of public servants under a new remote work directive, commonly known as RTO-4.

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That policy has required four in-office days a week for most public servants as of July and five days for executives as of May.

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PSPC is working with organizations to “optimize existing office space,” and expects it will be able to accommodate 95 per cent of public servants under the current policy by March 31, 2027.

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“The Government of Canada is implementing the increased on-site presence requirement responsibly, while ensuring that organizations have the workspace needed to support collaboration, service delivery, and operational efficiency,” spokesperson Michèle LaRose said in an email statement.

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The estimates are based on a combination of unassigned and assigned seating, LaRose said, the latter of which requires more office space.

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Treasury Board secretary Bill Matthews has said the public service will be reinstating assigned seating where possible, after the government spent years embracing a combination of hybrid work and desk hotelling to help save space and offload real estate.

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In April, LaRose said an internal PSPC analysis showed RTO-4 would require more workstations and/or space “in certain locations” but declined to provide that analysis.

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Federal public service unions have long warned about a lack of adequate office accommodations in the National Capital Region, and several large departments were unable to meet the July 6 return-to-office deadline due to lack of space.

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Existing space reconfigured

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While PSPC’s office portfolio may not have grown, the department has been busy shuffling around its existing space.

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In some departments, offices are being reconfigured, and some real estate has been moved between departments.

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Since the RTO-4 announcement, PSPC has entered into leases for more than 100,000 square metres of office space, but LaRose cautioned that leases can “meet different operational needs,” including the renewal, relocation or optimization of real property, and do “not necessarily mean a net increase in occupied space.”

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On Sept. 16, LaRose confirmed those leases haven’t resulted in any “net new” office space.