Federal remote work rules need to be ‘customizable,’ says Ottawa MP

The member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre says there should be more flexibility regarding remote work arrangements for public servants, acknowledging that the government is “nowhere close” to offering its employees a customizable work model.

In an interview with the Ottawa Citizen, Yasir Naqvi said he thinks “hybrid work is here to stay” and the government is working to find the “right balance” between working from home and the office.

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In November, the Ottawa Citizen contacted every MP who represents a riding in the National Capital Region, from Glengarry-Prescott-Russell to Hull-Aylmer, to ask whether they supported the government’s return-to-office mandate. None gave a straight answer, with the majority of the MPs declining to comment or failing to respond to the request. At the time, Naqvi did not respond to the Ottawa Citizen’s request.

“My view is, I think it will get to a point where it will be fairly customized based on individual needs,” Naqvi said, resembling calls from federal unions for remote work requests to be considered on a case-by-case basis. “I’ve met with people who love going to (the) office five days a week and I’ve met people who are productive while they’re working from home and we’re not there yet to have that customized approach.”

When asked directly whether he supported the government’s latest update to its remote work directive requiring public servants to be in the office at least three days a week, Naqvi fell short of voicing clear opposition to the policy. Instead, he said the decision was taken “from the perspective of trying to figure out what the right balance looks like.”

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“I’m not suggesting that’s the decision they should stick with or that is the right decision because I think we’re still trying to explore what is the right balance,” Naqvi said. “It’s early to make those ultimate decisions.”

He also wouldn’t give a clear answer on whether increasing required office time to four or five times a week would be a detriment to the public service but emphasized the need for flexibility.

“In the long run, I think the optimum place would be that we get to a place where it’s as customizable as possible based on individual needs and their job requirements,” Naqvi said, adding that developing that model will take time and organization. “I fully admit that we are nowhere close to that model right now and I cannot tell you how long (it) will take us to get there but I think that’s the direction eventually we will go, which will result in (the) most optimized productive workplaces.”

Naqvi said there are “multiple steps” that have to occur for the system to be “optimum,” adding that the government will continue to work on reprofiling office space to maximize its use.

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The issue of remote work could be a headache for local politicians in the next election, which must happen by Oct. 20 2025, as Ottawa is home to around 155,000 federal government employees, spread out over its ridings.

According to 2021 census data provided by Statistics Canada, Naqvi’s riding, Ottawa Centre (17,960), has the most public servants of any Ottawa-area riding, followed by Orléans (17,475) and Pontiac (14,120).

In May, shortly after the government announced its latest remote work rules for public servants, Naqvi said there was “no consensus on the issue” among his constituents, according to the Hill Times. 

Naqvi told the Ottawa Citizen his opinion for years has been that hybrid work is “here to stay.”

“Anybody who thinks that we can go back to 2019, I think is unreasonable or anybody who thinks that we will just have no office and we’ll all work from home, I think is unreasonable as well,” Naqvi said. “We gotta figure out what that balance middle ground looks like.”

Naqvi acknowledged that employees’ ability to work from home also depends on their job requirements, which he said is “not your preference as an employee, that’s just the condition of work.”

“When it comes to (the) federal public service, the ultimate criteria has to be the best possible public service to Canadians,” Naqvi said.

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