Federal public servants at Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in the national capital region are now required to be in the office four days a week as it finds office space to accommodate workers. As of July 6, all federal public employees in the core public service are required to be in the office a minimum of four days a week, while executives must be on-side five days per week. Three federal departments told CTV News Ottawa they would be delaying the four day in-office mandate for public servants due to a lack of office space - Global Affairs Canada, Statistics Canada and Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada. As of Monday, Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada requires public servants working in the national capital region to be in the office a minimum of four days a week. “IRCC is complying with the government-wide directive on four days of on-site work and continues to advance its implementation across the Department. As of October 19, the four-day on-site requirement takes effect in the National Capital Region,” an IRCC spokesperson said in a statement. “Outside the NCR, IRCC is working closely with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to address office space requirements and support the transition to four days on-site, in alignment with the government-wide directive.” The former GCcoworking site in Charlottetown has been assigned to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to accommodate public servants. Public Services and Procurement Canada said last month that its existing office space can accommodate approximately 90 per cent of staff on-site four days a week, “through a combination of assigned and unassigned workstations.” The department hopes to be able to accommodate 95 per cent of federal public servants in the office four days a week by March 31, 2027. Documents tabled in the House of Commons earlier last month showed federal departments and agencies will spend more than $18 million to reconfigure or acquire office space to accommodate the four days a week office mandate.
