Leiper Condemns City Back-To-Office Order
I want to express my profound disappointment today that the City has ordered its workers back into the office five days a week.
It is a short-sighted decision that serves no one well in either the short or long term.
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This Bluesky post from Kitchissippi Councillor Jeff Leiper is courtesy of the city-wide community group Your Applewood Acres (And Beyond) Neighbours
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As we learn more from StatsCan this morning about longer commute times, adding even more traffic congestion is the wrong direction. I’ve been struck when visiting Ottawa’s suburbs at how vibrant local businesses have become serving work-from-home customers.
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.
The decision is counter to our Official Plan thrust to build more complete communities right across the city, and to re-build a vibrant downtown by welcoming residents who want services and amenities around the clock.
It also ignores the reality that Ottawa’s public transit system is already unreliable for too many, with inconsistent bus service and a lack of dependable options for those outside the core.
Ordering workers to take on significantly more costs in their household budgets with more and longer commutes is a blow to affordability. Premier Doug Ford’s government is making the wrong choice for Ontario workers, but it’s not incumbent on the City of Ottawa to make the same mistake.
For You:
The City Gets Work-At-Home Wrong: MULVIHILL
Plante Should Say She’s Sorry: CRERAR
Cullen Analyzes The Plante Vote At Council
Transit Employees Sign Tentative Labour Pact
Hey City Staff, You Forgot $36 Million: BENN
Bookmark The Bulldog, click here
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– The Bulldog – News Feed Enter 
It’s kind of ironic that one of the major reasons for not having City of Ottawa stuff go back to the office is because of the poor transit. But it’s okay for the province in the federal government to go back to work.
And rather than say we need to improve transit for all workers they rather put the money into Lansdowne.
C. Many self-fulfilling prophesies will result from a go ahead with Lansdowne 2.0. You have noted but one. It will be interesting to watch others roll out.
I want to note that since workers have work at home, it is nearly impossible to get in touch with anyone there for any issue. I have found that I am on hold for at least 40 mins. at any time of day for a city contact. And if a service request is initiated online, it is at least a week to 10 days before there is a possibility of any action.