Return to office: Government order defies PM's own remote-work argument

OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 5, 2026 /CNW/ - At the same time as federal public servants face job cuts, program reductions, and ongoing uncertainty, the federal government is preparing to impose a new return-to-office (RTO) mandate. The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) is demanding that the government explain why workers are being ordered back into offices now, despite years of demonstrated productivity and evidence on how remote work supports recruitment and retention.

"This mandate isn't about performance, collaboration, or service to Canadians," said Sean O'Reilly, President of PIPSC. "It's about optics, imposed on a workforce already dealing with layoffs, budget cuts, and a workplace already in chaos."

At a meeting with PIPSC just last Friday, Treasury Board representatives told union leaders they had no information on when a new RTO mandate would be announced or what it would involve. That assurance now stands in direct contradiction to the government's actions.

"Either senior officials responsible for workforce policy have been kept in the dark, or union representatives were not being told the truth. Neither inspires confidence," said O'Reilly. "Also, this new directive stands in stark contrast to the views publicly expressed by Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has written at length about the economic, social, and productivity benefits of remote and flexible work."

In Value(s) (2021, pp. 613–614), Carney praised the efficiency and human benefits of remote work, writing: "The transition from home to work involves only a few steps from bed to computer… I prefer that." He also emphasized that flexibility and purpose-driven employment are essential to attracting and retaining a modern workforce.

Public servants preferred that too.

Over the past several years, federal public servants have delivered critical services to Canadians while adapting to evolving workplace models, often under significant strain. Now, in the midst of job and program cuts, they are being ordered back into offices, despite years of demonstrated productivity, despite evidence on recruitment and retention, and despite the Prime Minister's own published arguments.

"The irony is hard to miss," added O'Reilly. "The government is abandoning the very principles its own Prime Minister has championed. Carney is using one set of values in print, and another in practice."

PIPSC is calling on the government to pause the new RTO mandate, release the evidence justifying it, and engage meaningfully with workers and unions before imposing yet another top-down decision that ignores lived experience.

PIPSC represents over 85,000 public-sector professionals across the country, most of them employed by the federal government. Follow us on Facebook and on Instagram.

SOURCE Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC)

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