Mayoral candidate and city councillor Jeff Leiper is pledging to reverse the city’s return-to-office mandate for municipal employees and pressure the federal government to reconsider its own in-office requirements. 

Speaking outside Parliament LRT station on Monday, Leiper argued blanket RTO mandates are increasing congestion and putting additional pressure on Ottawa’s transit system while costing workers more in commuting expenses. 

“For everyday residents, this is our time, our money and our quality of life,” Leiper said. 

His plan would restore flexible work arrangements for city employees where possible and advocate for more shared federal workspaces in areas such as Orleans, Barrhaven and Ottawa’s South End. 

“That would mean shorter commutes, less congestion, less pressure on transit, more money in your pocket,” he said. 

Leiper cited that the RTO mandate has added 65,000 additional trips onto OC Transpo, and ten of thousands more cars on the roads. 

His plan would also require the city to assess the transportation, financial and environmental consequences of major changes to workplace policies before they are implemented. 

The announcement comes as both federal and municipal employees faced increased requirements to work in person. 

In February, the Treasury Board announced the change to remote work rules in February, while executive public servants are required to return to the office full-time in May. 

Last fall, Ottawa city council voted in favour of maintaining its RTO policy for municipal employees. 

Leiper subsequently introduced a motion seeking to reverse the mandate and preserve flexible work arrangements for city staff, but the motion was defeated. 

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has supported increased in-office work, pointing to the benefits for downtown businesses and public transit.

Leiper said the downtown’s “future vitality” shouldn’t depend on the federal or city return-to-office. 

“The future of Ottawa’s downtown, its vitality, its economic vitality, its cultural vitality depends on people living here,” he said. 

“We have done work to encourage more development in the downtown and that will continue.” 

Asked what influence a mayor could realistically have over federal workplace policy, Leiper pointed to previous discussions between the federal government Sutcliffe over the implications to return-to-office requirements. 

“I don’t know what was said behind those closed doors, but certainly, my encouragement to the federal government will be to reverse those return-to-office mandates. We don’t have the transportation infrastructure to handle it and frankly, I think it’s good for the city as well to pursue that course,” he said. 

In an email sent to iPolitics, Sutcliffe’s campaign team said the management of municipal employees is the City Manager’s responsibility, not the mayor. 

“Playing politics with human resources is counterproductive and performative, especially since the City’s current policy already provides flexibility for alternative work arrangements,” the office said. 

“Ottawa needs leadership focused on delivering real priorities like improving transit, building houses, strengthening the local economy and making communities safer.” 

Responses from other mayoral candidates 

Other mayoral candidates have released similar policies on RTO mandates. 

Earlier this month, homebuilder Alex Lawson also came out against the policy and pledged to put the city formally on record calling on the federal government to reverse it. 

“For city staff, I think managers know better than politicians whether employees need to be in the office to do their job. They’re the ones who should decide,” Lawson said in a statement to iPolitics. 

Lawson has similarly proposed expanding federal workplaces outside the downtown core, including in Kanata, Orleans, Barrhaven and the south end. 

He also emphasized the return of rush-hour bus service during morning and afternoon peak periods, using the city’s existing and incoming bus fleet to accommodate increased commuter demand. 

Economist Neil Saravanamuttoo has also opposed the RTO mandate, arguing that Ottawa is “not ready.” 

He said he would have pushed the federal government to delay its plans. 

“Unfortunately, Mark Sutcliffe did not ask the federal government to reconsider its timelines,” he said in a statement to iPolitics. 

While Leiper’s proposal for greater flexibility for cityworkers “worthwhile,” Saravanamutto said his call for the federal government to reverse its decisions as “theatrics,” arguing that the larger concern is the impact of federal workers.

“People can be productive workers anywhere. Forcing them back into the office is not the way forward,” he said.