Mayor 'disappointed' by union campaign to boycott downtown businesses

Union encouraged public servants to 'buy nothing' at downtown businesses to 'send a clear message to politicians.'

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Published Sep 11, 2024  •  Last updated 0 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

Premier Doug Ford and Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe appear at a city press conference in the spring. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA

The mayor of Ottawa says he is “very disappointed” in a federal union for pushing its members to avoid spending money downtown as they return to work in government offices on a more regular basis.

In a social media post shared on Wednesday, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) encouraged public servants to pack their lunch, “buy local as much as possible” and promote their favourite neighbourhood businesses.

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“Our members cannot be responsible for revitalizing the downtown core,” the union said in the post.

PSAC said that members of Canada’s business community had been calling on the government to bring employees back to the office “for years,” adding that “the needs of the downtown core shouldn’t fall on the backs of workers and the federal public service.”

“How workers spend their money on in-office days will send a clear message to politicians,” the post read.

In a response posted on social media, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe argued that the union was “targeting small businesses in their dispute with the federal government.”

“Downtown businesses are not responsible for decisions about back to work,” Sutcliffe said. “They’ve suffered significantly as a result of the pandemic. Let’s keep them out of the line of fire. Let’s support them and support a thriving downtown.”

He also spoke about the issue at a press conference on Wednesday, noting that he hoped the union would reconsider the call to its members.

“I think that’s punishing small businesses for a decision they disagree with that was made by the federal government,” Sutcliffe said. “We don’t want to have a hollowed out downtown core where there are businesses struggling and stores being boarded up. We want a vibrant downtown core. That’s in the best interests of everyone.”

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As a result of the government’s updated remote work mandate, which took effect Monday, all staff employed under the Treasury Board are now required to work on-site a minimum of three days a week. Executives need to be in the office four days a week.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has urged the federal government to make its employees work in the office more regularly, telling business and community leaders at the mayor’s breakfast in March that “hopefully the prime minister will call people back to work.”

At a press conference with Sutcliffe in late April, Ford said the change in the remote work policy was “really positive news.” Sutcliffe said it would be better for downtown Ottawa and better for public transit.

“It’s not my decision. It’s a matter between the federal government and its employees. But, ultimately, no matter how many times a week employees are coming to the office, we need to work with the federal government on a plan for downtown Ottawa,” Sutcliffe said at the time. “Downtown Ottawa has been hit disproportionately, compared to other Canadian cities, by the effects of COVID, by the effects of hybrid work.”

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Alexandre Demers, a federal programmer, said at a union rally in downtown Ottawa last week that he planned to spend “as little money as possible” downtown because “it’s a way of protest.”

“They want us in the office because they want us to spend money downtown here for the businesses, it’s ridiculous,” Demers said. “If I don’t spend money here, it defeats the purpose that they’re bringing me here.”

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