Downtown businesses doubt workers in office 3 days a week is enough

Some in Ottawa's business community say they are cautiously optimistic about the federal public service now coming to the office more days of the week, but doubt it will be enough to revitalize downtown. 

As of Monday, all federal employees must work from the office at least three days a week, which some had already been doing. Executives now must be there at least four days.

Since March 31, 2023, employees have been working under a twice-a-week hybrid model, a move that helped push some 155,000 Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) members to strike last year.

COVID-19 and subsequent work-from-home order for public service employees turned Ottawa's downtown core into a ghost town in the first months of the pandemic, causing many businesses to close or face financial difficulty. 

Brad Fougere, the executive director of the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement Areas, said it hasn't gotten any easier for many and he's unsure if the mandate will bring about the real change needed.

"During the last return-to-office mandate … we didn't necessarily see the meaningful impact that small businesses were hoping to see downtown," Fougere said.

The revitalization of downtown Ottawa requires moving away from the idea that the civil service is the only thing needed to save downtown, he said, and he would like to see more empty buildings converted to housing.

"For places to be animated on a regular basis, you need residents to be going into those spaces," Fougere said.

"The idea that somebody is going to drive in on a regular basis from Orléans to enjoy a street festival that's happening in Centretown isn't necessarily the most realistic expectation," he added. 

Union stance adds more uncertainty for business 

Henry Assad, the president and CEO of Happy Goat Coffee Company, said he lost up to 40 per cent of his business when public servants went home, especially at his cafés in OC Transpo stations.

He thinks this week's change is a good thing but is waiting to see how it pans out. He too, only saw a small bump in sales with the first back-to-office mandate. 

"Even three days a week is very difficult," he said. "I don't think it's good enough, but it's encouraging, and I think it will be welcomed by small businesses that have been able to maintain their existence."

The unions representing the federal workforce have opposed the mandate and continue to do so, culminating with a federal court judge ordering a full hearing on the challenge from the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

Unions have loudly argued the move to three days a week is more disruptive to worker life than it is useful to their work.

• CBC News is looking to speak with public servants about the effects of the return-to-office increase. Please reach out by email.

The uncertainty of that hearing makes it hard to know how many staff to hire or schedule, let alone plan for the bottom line, Assad said. 

What was needed was a firm plan on work-from-home arrangements from the beginning of the pandemic, one that would stick so businesses could pivot, he said. 

"Had we started planning five years ago when when COVID hit and say, OK, this is the new norm… then we all could have planned differently."