Ottawa's ‘RTO4’ starts today

Today marks the start of a stricter in-office requirement for Canada's federal public service, as most departments moved from a three-day to a four-day mandate — but the rollout has been far from uniform, with several major departments unable to meet the deadline for all their staff.

The new requirement, known informally as "RTO4," was announced in February and builds on a three-day standard in place since September 2024. Executives have already been required on-site five days a week since May.

Not every organization is ready. According to the Ottawa Citizen, only six of the 20 largest federal organizations — Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and Veterans Affairs Canada — confirmed they could accommodate all eligible employees four days a week starting July 6.

The Treasury Board has acknowledged the unevenness, saying the mandate was rolled out with awareness that some departments have more employees than available workspace, with deputy ministers given room to phase in the change on their own timelines, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

Departments falling behind

The list of organizations delaying full compliance spans large and small departments, according to the Ottawa Citizen:

• National Defence cited space constraints and anticipated growth in a May memo from senior official Christiane Fox, who said the department would stagger its rollout.
• Global Affairs Canada has kept most employees at three days a week due to a renovation project affecting the Lester B. Pearson Building.
• Statistics Canada will keep most offices — including Ottawa-Gatineau, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver — at three days, with only Edmonton, Halifax, Sturgeon Falls, and Winnipeg ready for four.
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada gave up 12 floors of downtown space in January, then told staff in May it couldn't fit everyone in four days a week by July.
• Employment and Social Development Canada, the largest federal department, also told the Ottawa Citizen its compliance would be staggered.
• Smaller delays were reported at Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Justice Canada, and Environment and Climate Change Canada, each citing localized shortages in specific regional offices.

Even PSPC, the department managing federal real estate, told CBC News it lacks enough space to bring all its own staff back four days this week. The Ottawa Citizen also noted about 1,600 workers at the federal pay centre still haven't met the three-day standard set nearly two years ago, due to a lack of workstations in New Brunswick and Quebec.

Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali's spokesperson, Mohammad Kamal, told the Ottawa Citizen that deputy heads "may stagger implementation schedules to match their workplace realities."

Where did the office space go?

The shortage traces back to a shrinking federal office footprint colliding with a workforce still larger than before the pandemic. The Ottawa Citizen reported Ottawa-Gatineau's public service population was about 120,000 in 2019, peaked above 155,000 in 2023-24, and will likely remain well above pre-pandemic levels even after planned staffing cuts under the 2025 budget review.

Meanwhile, PSPC has been shedding real estate rather than adding it, projecting a cut of more than 7 percent to its national office portfolio between 2024 and 2026-27 — part of a broader 2024 commitment to halve the federal office portfolio over a decade, backed by $1.1 billion in funding, per the Ottawa Citizen. The department says it is adjusting those plans because of the four-day mandate, though the Citizen reported it is not on track to meet the original target.

CBC News separately confirmed PSPC has leased more than 1.28 million square feet of new office space since February — equivalent to roughly 16.6 World Cup soccer fields — though the department cautioned this doesn't necessarily mean a net gain in usable space, since some leases cover relocations or renewals.

PSPC also plans to shut its GCcoworking flexible-space sites by the end of September and redirect that space to departments most in need.

Unions warn of ‘another hot mess’

Both PIPSC and PSAC have filed unfair labour practice complaints against the government, CBC News reported.

PSAC national president Sharon DeSousa said that members are complying for now but the union is pursuing legal action to protect their rights. Pointing to ongoing problems with workspace and traffic, she warned the four-day mandate would be "just another hot mess."

PIPSC said it plans to document complaints about overcrowding as they emerge. Separately, the president of the Union of Taxation Employees said roughly half of the Canada Revenue Agency's offices lack sufficient space for everyone required to return Monday, said CBC News.

Parking and transit under pressure

The shift to four days is also expected to strain commuter infrastructure across the region.

National Defence has struggled to find enough parking for over 10,000 employees at its Kanata headquarters, where roughly 5,000 spaces fall well short of demand; the department has arranged overflow parking with shuttle service to the Carling Campus. The City of Ottawa estimates about 7,000 long-term downtown parking spots exist, and area manager Scott Caldwell told CBC News: "We expect high demand to be even higher."

A February memo referenced by CBC News showed senior public servants worried about whether OC Transpo could handle the influx. OC Transpo's Pat Scrimgeour told CBC News that "bus reliability continues to improve" even as the O-Train's Lines 1 and 2 run at full capacity on weekdays; the agency is monitoring 10 bus routes this summer, with another review planned for September.

Gatineau's STO said it's already running drivers at full capacity but may double up service on the busiest routes, spokesperson José Lafleur told CBC News.