The federal government confirmed that a “single bedbug” was found in an office building only days after public servants were
ordered back to the office four-days-a-week starting in July.
Public Services and Procurement Canada, the department that manages office space for the
federal government
, told the Ottawa Citizen in a statement that a
bedbug was found
at the Willet Building near St. Laurent Boulevard and Innes Road on Feb.10.
Public servants were told Feb. 5 that they would be required to work in-office four days a week starting in July, while executives to be in-office five days a week starting in May. Following an implementation of remote work because of the COVID-19 pandemic,
return-to-office for public servants began in September 2024
: three days a week for staff and four days weekly for executives.
The announcement of the extension to four days per week was delivered just weeks after thousands of workers received notice letters that they could lose their jobs as part of a spending review inside the federal public service.
Nicole Allen, a PSPC spokesperson, said the department took “appropriate measures to quickly address the situation,” which included a treatment on the affected area on the evening of Feb. 12.
“This is an isolated incident and does not constitute an outbreak or infestation,” Allen added. “While we recognize this is concerning, pests are unfortunately common in commercial real estate.”
Allen stressed the importance of early reporting and said that workers were “permitted to return to the workplace” the morning after the treatment and that “follow-up inspections are scheduled for next week.”
Allen added that around “200 to 315” public servants from both the Canada Revenue Agency and the Canada Border Services Agency worked in the building.
Marc Brière, president of the Union of Taxation Employees, said that the facility was treated and the issue resolved and that the employer
“followed protocol”
after finding the bedbug.
Still, Brière remains frustrated with the roll-out of the extended return-to-office order.
He found out about the new return-to-office order only 15 minutes ahead of the rest of his membership, which he called “disrespectful.”
Now, Brière says, members are upset, especially as the UTE remains in bargaining with the federal government.
“I would say that people are really pissed off, and the other thing that has really triggered us is the fact that we are in bargaining, and this is one of our top priorities,” he said.
Brière pointed to a labour board decision that found Library of Parliament staff had a right to bargain for individual remote work.
The federal government has maintained that remote work should be exclusively decided by management.
“The government turned around and said, ‘Well we don’t care what the board says, we’re going to impose our will,’” Brière said. “For us, it was literally a slap in the face.”
Two days after the federal government announced the new in-office order,
UTE declared an impasse
in bargaining, the next step towards conducting a strike vote.
Other public service unions like the
Canadian Association of Professional Employees said they had cancelled meetings
with Treasury Board on the implementation of the new in-office order, a rebuke to the federal government.
Brière noted that government offices continued to struggle with capacity issues, adding that “some places” had enough space, “while other places, they don’t.”
Other offices, too, have had bedbugs, which Brière called an “ongoing concern,” but he said the main concern remained the four-day in-office order.
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