{"id":493980,"date":"2026-02-23T11:29:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/493980\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T11:29:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:29:19","slug":"ontario-has-not-purchased-or-leased-new-space-for-thousands-of-returning-civil-servants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/493980\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario has not purchased or leased new space for thousands of returning civil servants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Premier Doug Ford\u2019s government says it has not signed any new leases or purchased real estate to accommodate 60,000 public sector workers ordered to return to the office five days a week, as unions representing the civil servants say they’re facing a serious space crunch.<\/p>\n

The government statement to CBC News comes nearly two months after Ontario\u2019s return to office mandate deadline passed. It has also raised the ire of the unions representing thousands of public servants who they say their members are struggling to work in cramped buildings that don’t have adequate space.<\/p>\n

The head of AMAPCEO, which represents some 17,000 professional, administrative and supervisory employees in the Ontario Public Service, says in many instances, workers are sharing desks with colleagues, crowding into shared common areas to work, or are being sent home altogether by managers because there isn\u2019t space.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur members are reporting one of two things, they’re either being told, \u2018Stay at home. We can’t accommodate you in the office,\u2019\u201d Dave Bulmer said. \u201cOr stricter managers are saying, ‘you have to be in here.’ And there’s eight people in a boardroom working on their laptops.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

WATCH | Ford previously said Ontario is ‘working on’ office space:\"\"<\/p>\n

Ford says Ontario is ‘working on’ office space as public service workers return full-time<\/p>\n

Tens of thousands of provincial government staff in Ontario are now required back in the office full-time. Premier Doug Ford says the province is in the process of figuring out additional office space as the mandate comes into effect.Policy shift announced last summer, surprising workers<\/p>\n

In August, Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney announced that the 60,000 employees of the Ontario Public Service, provincial agencies, boards and commissions had to “increase their attendance to four days per week” starting Oct. 20, 2025 and transition to full-time hours in office effective Jan. 5.<\/p>\n

It’s a change from a policy that has been in place since April 2022<\/a>, when provincial government employees were mandated to be in their offices at least three days per week.<\/p>\n

AMAPCEO said some civil servants have had work from home or hybrid arrangements dating as far back as 2010.<\/p>\n

The province previously said a review of all government offices has been conducted to see if there are any space limitations, and it found \u201cthe vast majority\u201d of OPS offices have adequate space for the return. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Infrastructure said this week that the government continues to address any challenges relating to office space.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this time, no new leases or purchases have been initiated related to the OPS Return to Office mandate,\u201d Ash Milton said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ATreasury Board President Caroline Mulroney announced last August the public servants would have to return to the office five days a week. (Evan Mitsui\/CBC)Unions say hybrid arrangement allowed PCs to cut office space<\/p>\n

The unions say the hybrid arrangements allowed the government to cut its office space needs, and costs, during the pandemic. But the Ford government denies it made any such move.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no reduction nor consolidation to office space related to the pandemic,\u201d Milton said.<\/p>\n

Despite that, both the WSIB and Ontario Health told CBC News last fall that they were working to meet the province\u2019s directive and increase available space for their workers.<\/p>\n

Bulmer expressed skepticism about the government statements, and said any work to increase space will cost the government “tens of millions.” It’s money better spent on health care and education, he said.<\/p>\n

In addition to the crowding, around 6,000 requests for individual accommodations are moving at a snail\u2019s pace, and a review process for that, that used to take about 20 days, is now taking months, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMorale is at an all time low,\u201d Bulmer said. \u201cI don’t say that with any degree of exaggeration or hyperbole \u2026 the impact that it’s had on people, it’s real.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unions call for transparency around office space plan<\/p>\n

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which represents roughly half of the Ontario Public Service workforce, said the government statements don\u2019t “pass the smell test\u201d and called on the government to be transparent about its plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cA decision this big doesn\u2019t just happen without analysis, planning, or a paper trail. At best, this looks like a lack of due diligence,\u201d said Amanda Usher, chair of the OPSEU\/SEFPO OPS Unified Central Employee Relations Committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt worst, it raises serious questions about transparency and how these decisions are being made.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Usher said workers are experiencing overcrowded offices, broken furniture and a general lack of planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just about workers, this is about public dollars, public services, and whether decisions are being made in a way that people can trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ANDP finance critic Jessica Bell said the PC government must be transparent about the office space crunch being experience as a result of its return to office mandate. (CBC News)Opposition calls for transparency <\/p>\n

NDP finance critic Jessica Bell said the government didn\u2019t conduct adequate planning to accommodate the workers. She urged the PCs to reverse course on the policy and to consult with workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow they know for sure that there’s not enough office space available for everyone, and it seems like they just don’t care, because they’re not planning on doing anything to address the problem,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bell said the decision will ultimately hurt efficiency, which was at least part of the government\u2019s stated rationale for bringing workers back to the office full-time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s just downright disrespectful, and it also impacts productivity,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Despite the government\u2019s insistence, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said, it\u2019s clear there isn\u2019t enough space for workers. He called for the PCs to be more transparent about their plans and urged them to return to the hybrid arrangement with civil servants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re making an absolute mess out of a dictate coming from the premier, where there’s absolutely no plan on how to deliver it,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Premier Doug Ford\u2019s government says it has not signed any new leases or purchased real estate to accommodate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493981,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,3302],"class_list":["post-493980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}