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‘It’s going to be a long time’: tens of thousands of federal public servants still working from home, eight months into pandemic and no end in sight
By Mike Lapointe and Kate Malloy October 26, 2020
Treasury Board provided 'evergreen guidance' to deputy heads of departments in the spring, which included consideration of a possible resurgence in positive cases and the re-tightening of restrictions in provinces, territories, and cities. But most public servants have been told they'll be working remotely for 'the foreseeable future.'
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured Oct. 16, 2020. As of March 2019, there were just under 288,000 employees in the federal public service, most of whom continue to work remotely, given the resurgence of COVID-19 cases across the country. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
As tens of thousands of federal public servants across the country continue to work remotely, the government is keeping a close eye on the resurgence of COVID-19 cases across the country as department-by-department plans are made for employees to return to their physical worksites. But as public health authorities continue to signal that physical distancing requirements must remain in place, many public servants will continue to work remotely “for the foreseeable future,” according to Bianca Healy, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board Secretariat.
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