Ottawa councillor requests 5 day in office mandate be rescinded
Posted Sep 22, 2025 12:16:59 PM.
Last Updated Sep 22, 2025 12:24:12 PM.
One Ottawa councillor is requesting that the city’s move to require all staff to return to the office five days per week be rescineded.
Wendy Stephanson, the city manager, provided a memo to councillors in August noting the decision to return to office full-time as of Jan. 1, 2026. She said the move was required to “help strengthen the organizational culture and build confidence and trust in the city’s ability.”
Following the release of the memo, Jeff Leiper, Ward 15-Kitchissippi Councillor, took to social media to voice his “disappointment” with the new mandate.
“It is a short-sighted decision that serves no one well in either the short or long term,” he wrote on X. “Office workers get to spend more time with their families without long commutes. Taking that away weakens our neighbourhood main streets and undermines communities that have finally started to thrive.”
On Wednesday Sept. 24, council will vote on a motion from Lepier asking senior management to reverse the decision.
The motion states that no evidence has been provided pointing to declining productivity or a decrease in the delivery of taxpayer value under the current arrangement that allows councillors and other staff to work from home “subject to reasonable operational requirements”.
Data from the Angus Reid Institute shows three in five Canadians would prefer to spend the majority of their time working from home, while 79 per cent say they want a schedule that allows for some remote work.
While opinions are divided, there is some evidence to suggest that working from home could be more productive.
Between April 2020 and June 2021, 30 per cent of workers surveyed by Statistics Canada were performing the majority of their job duties from home. Statistics Canada labour force survey data shows productivity between 2019 and 2021 increased 7.3 per cent across all sectors.
Telework was associated with a better work-life balance which can increase efficiency on the clock.
But while many workers want to keep the option to work remotely, many offices across the province are now requiring staff to come in-person.
Effective Jan. 5, 2026, the Ontario Public Service and its provincial agencies, boards and commission public bodies will be returning to the office.
“The return to a five days per week in-workplace standard represents the current workforce landscape in the province and it reinforces our commitment to reflecting the people and businesses we serve across Ontario,” Caroline Mulroney, President of the Treasury Board, said in a statement.
Premier Doug Ford has said he believes employees are more productive when they work in-person.
“How do you mentor someone over a phone? You can’t. You’ve got to look at them eye to eye,” he said at an unrelated press conference in August.
The Premier has also said he believes municipalities and the federal government should follow suit, applauding the City of Ottawa’s decision.
Many of Canada’s major cities, including Toronto and Vancouver, have not made the move back to require full-time in person work.
– with files from Patricia D’Cunha and The Canadian Press
