Conditions inside federal office buildings are ‘horrendous,’ PSAC boss says

The president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is describing the conditions inside federal office buildings as “horrendous,” as public servants will soon be required to spend more time in the office.

A directive issued last week announced that, as of May 4, executives will be required to work onsite five days per week. All other federal employees in the core public service will need to be in the office a minimum of four days per week, as of July 6.

PSAC president Sharon DeSousa told CTV’s Your Morning that the decision “doesn’t make sense” to public servants.

“Currently, the conditions within the offices are horrendous. There’s still issues with the buildings,” DeSousa said Monday morning.

“There are bedbugs, pests. We’re talking about mice, bats. There are just issues with the actual set up and there’s not enough space. According to the government’s database, there are about a thousand buildings that are occupied right now that are not fit or in terribly poor condition.”

The Public Services and Procurement Canada 2024 to 2025 departmental results report showed 53.1 per cent of Crown-owned buildings are in “fair or better condition.” In 2023, 56.7 per cent of buildings were listed as being in “fair or better condition.” The report showed 41.9 per cent of Crown-owned heritage buildings are in “fair or better condition.”