Return to the office also meant a return to traffic, parking and simmering tensions

Federal public servants began their mandated three days per week in the office Monday, and there were some bumps on the way back to their cubicles.

In May, the federal government announced workers would return to the office three days a week — up from two — starting Sept. 9.  Executives must now be in the office at least four days a week.

The unions have been vowing to fight back ever since it was announced.

Workers in the National Capital Region faced traffic snarls, lack of office space, technical issues, difficulty finding parking and a flare-up over spending at downtown businesses.

Here’s a look back at the week that was.

Traffic chaos and parking woes

Roads were busier than usual this past week with the influx of workers into the downtown core.

It didn’t help on Tuesday when Ottawa’s LRT closed down for an hour during the morning cummute and was replaced by R1 buses, forcing many to drive to work rather than take transit. 

On Wednesday, Radio-Canada timed the commute from Boulevard Lorraine in Gatineau’s east end to downtown Ottawa. Normally, it would take 20 to 30 minutes. This week, they were stuck on Highway 50 for two hours.

Once office workers finally made it downtown, many had a hard time finding a place to park, and many were surprised by the cost. 

CBC Ottawa’s inbox received a lot of messages about that, including this one:

“Yesterday upon leaving the parking garage under the building I work in, I was shocked that the cost of the parking was raised from $20 to $23.”

Lack of office space

Radio-Canada contacted some 15 federal government departments to ask about their plans for this week’s return. Some acknowledged they couldn’t meet the demand for office space.

• Shared Services Canada said not all its workplaces could support all employees working three days a week, so it’s giving some temporary exemptions that will be reviewed yearly.
• Ten Employment and Social Development Canada locations may not have enough space, a spokesperson said.
• Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada said it doesn’t have the office space in the Ottawa-Gatineau area for the move to three days a week because of the larger scope of its work. Executives will go to the office four days a week but other employees may only go in for two, the department said.
• Similarly, Statistics Canada workers in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver are sticking to two days a week in the office, the agency said.

Other departments indicated they have enough office space to accommodate all employees for three days a week.

People who wrote in to CBC Ottawa said they haven’t been able to find seating close to their own teams and have experienced problems with the desk booking system.

A spokesperson for Public Services and Procurement (PSPC) Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told Radio-Canada that department also has enough unassigned office space to accommodate the change to three days a week.

“PSPC will always provide sufficient office space to support federal departments and agencies to deliver on their programs and mandate,” the spokesperson wrote.

Tension builds between union, mayor, businesses

The Public Service Alliance of Canada’s (PSAC) National Capital Region chapter issued a call to its members Wednesday to “buy nothing” downtown when they return to the office, based on the idea that the move is part of a strategy to boost downtown businesses.

“The needs of the downtown core shouldn’t fall on the backs of workers and the federal public service,” it said. “How workers spend their money on in-office days will send a clear message to politicians.”

PSAC went on to encourage members to pack a lunch and shop in their own neighbourhoods as much as possible.

On Wednesday evening, the union changed its message from “buy nothing” to “buy local.”

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe responded to the union’s call on social media and later at a news conference.

“Downtown businesses are not responsible for decisions about back to work,” Sutcliffe wrote Wednesday. “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.”

On Thursday, Ruth Lau MacDonald, the vice-president of PSAC’s capital region chapter, issued an apology in a statement.

“I want to be very clear that PSAC-NCR is not calling for a boycott of downtown businesses, and I apologize for the impact and confusion this miscommunication has caused,” MacDonald wrote.

The post was taken down Thursday.