'A single bedbug' found at government building in Ottawa after four-day in-office order

"Public servants were told Feb. 5 that they would be required to work in-office four days a week starting in July, while executives to be in-office five days a week starting in May. Following an implementation of remote work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, return-to-office for public servants began in September 2024: three days a week for staff and four days weekly for executives."

"The announcement of the extension to four days per week was delivered just weeks after thousands of workers received notice letters that they could lose their jobs as part of a spending review inside the federal public service. Nicole Allen, a PSPC spokesperson, said the department took "appropriate measures to quickly address the situation," which included a treatment on the affected area on the evening of Feb. 12."

""This is an isolated incident and does not constitute an outbreak or infestation," Allen added. "While we recognize this is concerning, pests are unfortunately common in commercial real estate." Allen stressed the importance of early reporting and said that workers were "permitted to return to the workplace" the morning after the treatment and that "follow-up inspections are scheduled for next week.""

A single bedbug was discovered Feb. 10 at the Willet Building near St. Laurent Boulevard and Innes Road, where roughly 200 to 315 public servants from the Canada Revenue Agency and the Canada Border Services Agency work. The department that manages federal office space arranged a treatment of the affected area on the evening of Feb. 12 and allowed workers to return the following morning. Officials described the incident as isolated, not an outbreak, noted pests are common in commercial real estate, emphasized early reporting, and scheduled follow-up inspections for the coming week.

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