Polievre’s failure to take remote-work stance ‘surprising,’: expert

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Leader of the Official Opposition of Canada Pierre Poilievre has declined to take a firm stance on the federal government’s decision to increase its employees’ office presence. While one expert has deemed Poilievre’s silence to be “surprising,” he says there are multiple political reasons the Conservative leader could be choosing not to state his opinion on the issue.

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The federal government updated its policy on remote work earlier in May, saying it would require public servants to spend three days a week in the office by mid-September. Executives will be expected to be on-site at least four days per week.

The decision has been met with frustration from employees and unions, some of whom have filed unfair labour practice complaints and policy grievances.

When asked at a media availability last week about his thoughts on the policy change and whether he thought federal employees should work in their offices three days a week, Poilievre responded by commenting on the increase in the size of the public service under Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, service delays and government spending on outside consultants, arguing that the work should be brought “in-house.”

“Everyone should be working five days a week,” Poilievre told reporters. “It’s clear that, after nine years of Trudeau, he’s not worth the cost. It’s time for a government that delivers more for less, that delivers value for money. That is common sense.”

Sebastian Skamski, Poilievre’s director of media relations, clarified in an May 16 email that the leader’s comment was not about being “in-office” and that Conservatives wanted the public service working five days a week, “as they already are.”

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Skamski said no other comments were available, including on the return-to-office policy.

Patrick Fafard, a professor at the University of Ottawa’s graduate school of public and international affairs, said the most likely reasons the Conservative leader had not taken a stance on the issue were because many private-sector workers across Canada were in favour of remote work and because his team was just trying to avoid the issue.

“The Conservatives want to paint themselves as being not the same as the Liberals,” Fafard said. “In a way, the Liberals have already occupied the space that the Conservatives could otherwise, so this is not a winning issue for them.”

Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute, said one of the notable things about the messaging from Poilievre and the Conservatives was that, when they went “off-script” and talked about issues that were not necessarily top of mind for Canadians, there was “a greater risk.”

“I think some of this is just message discipline,” Kurl said, noting that topics that had been “moving the needle” included inflation, government spending and crime. “If there’s no differentiation or contrast, why talk about it?”

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Kurl said remote work was a much larger issue, and one that was more resisted, in Ottawa than in other parts of the country, given how much of the local population worked in the public service. According to the Government of Canada website, 42.2 per cent of employees are in the National Capital Region.

“In many ways, this is an Ottawa issue,” Kurl said. “Maybe Pierre Poilievre hasn’t said very much about it because he’s an Ottawa-area MP.”

The Angus Reid Institute shared the results of a survey of more than 1,900 Canadians that found that the majority of respondents (59 per cent) supported the government’s new policy. That outcome even remained true among respondents who were in public-sector unions, with 47 per cent indicating they supported the decision versus 41 per cent who said they opposed it.

“That in and of itself is a fairly striking finding,” Kurl said. “It may give reason for the unions to take a moment to reflect, to pause on their stance.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has urged the federal government to send its workers back to the office.

Despite the premier’s arguments about on-site work supporting downtown Ottawa and its businesses, Fafard said there was “no natural Conservative position” on the issue, as “businesses themselves are all over the map” about remote work.

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Fafard said Poilievre’s silence was surprising given that his team had previously taken “strong,” “rural” and “working-class Canada” positions on other issues.

“It’s a bit mysterious,” Fafard said, adding that “five days a week” is the line people would expect the Conservatives to emphasize. “Unless finally, finally, finally they figured out that they need to shift and be more nuanced and this is the first example of that.”

Another possibility, Fafard said, is that the party is “trying out lines” to see what sticks with voters. He said Poilievre might also be waiting to see how the public reacted to a skirmish between the government and public-sector unions.

“Maybe the Conservative position will shift over time,” Fafard said. “The billion-dollar question is will any of this affect federal government services? That remains to be seen.”

Chris Aylward, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said in a statement that Poilievre was “doing everything possible to reinvent himself as a friend of workers,” but that “his abysmal track record on public services and workers speaks for itself.”

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PSAC has promised the government a “summer of discontent” as it plans to fight the updated return-to-office policy alongside other unions.

“Dodging this issue is just another example of Poilievre speaking out of both sides of his mouth when it comes to workers’ rights,” Aylward said.

Aylward said it was important that Poilievre tell workers where he stood on the “critical” issue.

“Does he support the future of work for Canada’s largest employer, or does he stand arm-in-arm with the Trudeau Liberals and their regressive stance on telework?” Aylward asked.

Fafard said that, while unions are going to try to fight the on-site policy, they’re “probably going to fail.”

“Maybe the Conservatives are correct to try and ignore it because it’s just gonna fade to black,” he said. “So why waste political capital on an issue that won’t be an issue in a while?”

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