Ottawa, December 8, 2025 – Reacting to news today shared by Prime Minister Carney that a new return to office mandate is coming in the next few weeks, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) is calling on the federal government to ground any Return to Office (RTO) decisions in evidence, service outcomes, and operational reality.
“Canadians want results, not roll calls,” said PIPSC President Sean O’Reilly. “When the government makes policies about optics instead of outcomes, it risks slowing service delivery, draining talent, and making it harder to recruit the next generation of professionals.”
“We’ve been clear for years: RTO must be about 'presence with purpose,’” continued O’Reilly. “Where in-person work improves innovation, training, or service delivery, that’s great. But forcing people back just to be seen and to sit in on video calls from another location is not leadership. It’s theatre.”
As unions return to the bargaining table, the timing of the Prime Minister’s comments raises questions that underscore the need for evidence, transparency and collaboration.
“The government has consistently told unions that RTO was not being considered, and its most recent budget made no reference,” said O’Reilly. “We can all agree that no one wants a repeat of past RTO Directives, which were announced without consultation and caused widespread disruption, confusion, and unnecessary strain on labour-management relations.”
PIPSC wrote to the government as recently as last week to reiterate the union’s clear expectations.
“RTO is not a workforce strategy. You can’t modernize government with a 20th-century workplace model.”
PIPSC represents over 85,000 public sector professionals across the country, with the majority employed by the federal government.
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For more information or a copy of the letter PIPSC sent to TBS please contact : Brittany Smith (416) 841-4325, smithb@pipsc.ca.