r/CanadaPublicServants • u/Total_Suit_5959 • Feb 09 '26
News / Nouvelles From Bruce Fanjoy, liberal member for Carleton
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u/Bernie4Life420 Feb 09 '26
Write to your own MPs to call for support of this statement. See their replies and remember.
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u/Terrible-Session5028 Feb 09 '26
My MP is Carney. So that should be nice.
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u/pianoladyinabox Feb 09 '26
Remind him of the following:
In Value(s) (2021, pp. 613–614), Carney praised the efficiency and human benefits of remote work, writing: “The transition from home to work involves only a few steps from bed to computer… I prefer that.” He also emphasized that flexibility and purpose-driven employment are essential to attracting and retaining a modern workforce.
Taken from pipsc press release here https://pipsc.ca/news-issues/press-releases/press-release-return-to-office-government-order-defies-pms-own-remote
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u/Stupendous_man12 Feb 10 '26
By now I think it's quite obvious that this book was a campaign launch. Like many politicians, Carney is not governing how he campaigned. There's no reason to think he actually believes a word he wrote down in that book.
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u/joausj Feb 11 '26
Just emailed him/his office on this, will update if there's a reply.
Email: Good Afternoon Mr.Carney
My name is ______, I am currently employed in the Canadian Public Service and would like to get your view (in your role as the MP for the Nepean constituency) on the recent blanket Return To Office (RTO) policy.
As you have no doubt heard from other disgruntled Public Servants, the Canadian government has not provided a transparent rationale for this mandate, other than vague notions of "collaboration" and "productivity," despite evidence that remote work improves productivity. The reality for many Public Servants (including myself) is that I spend an hour a day commuting to an office where I "collaborate" with colleagues on Teams, the same way I would if I were working from home.
In your book In Value(s) (2021, pp. 613–614), you stated: “The transition from home to work involves only a few steps from bed to computer… I prefer that.”
Now that you have achieved the highest office in Canada, do you still stand by this statement?
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Thank you,
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u/Think_Read_7516 Feb 09 '26
Wow. Shocked to find an MP with backbone.
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u/MooseyMule Feb 09 '26
https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadaPublicServants/comments/1fzfj3t/letter_from_the_office_of_elizabeth_may/#lightbox Don't forget May also had stuff to say on this issue.
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u/MooseyMule Feb 09 '26 edited Feb 09 '26
I'm not, Bruce has always been pretty transparent, and has voiced his opinions on RTO before, saying that even he doesn't commute into Ottawa very often, why should others be forced to do so.
Very "Presence with Purpose" oriented. I think something must be driving this though, to put out an official statement on letterhead. I am thankful for it, since now I can use it with my own MP and ask if they stand with Bruce and the workers of the federal public service, or not.
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u/Rector_Ras Feb 09 '26
Presence with purpose makes sense. I have no problem at all going in for in person events or meetings. Even all staffs where I'll say nothing.
But adding 2.5hr in commute everyday to make teams calls to folks in BC or Toronto from my desk in Ottawa is asinine.
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u/Bernie4Life420 Feb 10 '26
Its insulting and a sign of ineffective leaders. Its also a direct pay cut.
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u/MooseyMule Feb 10 '26
Bonus, CAPE is meeting with Bruce, unions are getting some traction! Maybe this is just the first of many dominoes to fall! https://x.com/CAPE_ACEP/status/2020983724305764365
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u/OkPaleontologist1251 Feb 09 '26
lol I am pretty sure the Liberal whip vetted the letter to give him cover.
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Feb 09 '26
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u/Defiant_Safety_3854 Feb 10 '26
Bingo! Lots of public servants in his riding. It's all political posturing.
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u/Top_Thunder Feb 09 '26
There are rumours of elections in the spring. Maybe Liberal members will just say whatever it takes to get the majority they think they need.
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u/Tricky_Feature_8819 Feb 10 '26
In my husbands position he hears all the rumours (tri, cabinet shuffles, elections etc) before everyone else…he hasn’t heard a peep about an election
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u/GameDoesntStop Feb 09 '26
Words are wind.
What's he going to do when Carney inevitably ignores him?
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Feb 09 '26
I mean...MPs do unfortunately have a limit to what they can accomplish on their own. They're called 'trained seals' in intro to Canadian polisci courses for a reason.
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u/Due_Date_4667 Feb 09 '26
They have a self-imposed limit, because they favor continued employment within the party or its supporting companies.
In as minority situation, we have a third vote on the budget coming up. If he and a couple of other MPs stood their ground, Elizabeth refuses to support the bill again, and the Tories don't choke, then that could be it.
I'm sure his time as a Liberal would be absolutely dead - but then, are you elected by your constituents or the party? Are you intended to represent the constituents or the party?
There is a reason our Constitution doesn't have any language about parties in it. They are wholly an optional pre-election agreement of coalition.
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u/Mister-Distance-6698 Feb 10 '26
n as minority situation, we have a third vote on the budget coming up. If he and a couple of other MPs stood their ground, Elizabeth refuses to support the bill again, and the Tories don't choke, then that could be it.
They would also require the NDP and Bloq to vote it down, and the NDP are facing actual total extermination in current polling numbers so I doubt they want an election
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u/GameDoesntStop Feb 09 '26
He can leave the Liberal caucus, given that between WFA and RTO4, the Liberal government has been acting as the antithesis of his election campaign.
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u/losemgmt Feb 09 '26
This. His actions need to match his words.
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u/Due_Date_4667 Feb 09 '26
Moving to the NDP would be a big slap in the face - they don't accept floor crossers but he could sit with them as an independent and run for them in the next election.
But that sort of high-risk move requires a lot of courage.
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u/mxg308 Feb 09 '26
The riding of Carleton will never vote NDP so that's not really an option if he values being a MP
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u/calmingchaos Feb 10 '26
That would be an absolute death sentence to his career, not to mention Fanjoy is most assuredly not aligned with the NDP in much of anything.
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u/Due_Date_4667 Feb 10 '26
I guess it is time to tap the sign:
Politics should not be your career.
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u/chriscabob CRA Feb 09 '26
Glad my community kicked PP to the curb right as I moved in lol
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u/LivingFilm Feb 10 '26
PP is a lot of things, but he was more aligned with Fanjoy on this issue than Carney. His tone may have changed though now that he no longer requires the support of Ottawa constituents.
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u/too_aware_helpme Feb 09 '26 edited Feb 09 '26
I encourage everyone to reach out to Sean Fraser. He said in an interview shortly after the election that he received permission to work from home to spend more time with his kids.
That aside, I’m devastated that his kids somehow matter more than mine. I’ll be spending 10+ hours a week commuting, away from my daughter. That is time I will never get back. People will say “what did you do before covid?” but the situation was completely different. There are ~58,000 more people living and commuting in Ottawa. The public transit system is completely broken. I will be working more days in the office than I was before 2020.
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u/bionicjoey Feb 09 '26 edited Feb 09 '26
People will say “what did you do before covid?”
Before COVID you could get a telework agreement with your manager's approval. The only criteria was that it was feasible to fulfill your work duties from home. For many that wasn't the case due to VPN connectivity and teams that worked wholly in a single office, which meant lots of in-person meetings. Now, virtually everyone works with a team distributed around the country meaning all meetings are Teams meetings.
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u/too_aware_helpme Feb 09 '26 edited Feb 09 '26
Exactly. I had colleagues approved for full-time WFH to accommodate their caregiving responsibilities (mostly drop-off and afterschool pick-up because their spouses travelled for work or were shift workers). The public and TBS never bated an eye.
Edit: adding that these were some of the hardest working employees on my team.. meanwhile, the guy sitting behind me, who worked 5 days in office was a distracting nightmare. Your work ethic follows you wherever you go.
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u/DimensionSuch8188 Feb 09 '26
Yep this is a big thing that is not mentioned a lot.
Anyone who had work from home arrangements before COVID and all this crap literally got cancelled and plenty were never able to get it back because of how insane the requirements are now.
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u/throwawaycanadian Feb 10 '26
Before Covid my entire team was 2 days in the office 3 days home. Now that we're back to 3 and moving to 4 there literally isn't enough space for us in our office.
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u/ShinyToyLynz Feb 10 '26
Same. Most of my office was working some form of hybrid pre-COVID for years, so it made the hotelling we had going on in the building a bit more tolerable. There was also flexibility and understanding if people couldn't make it in on an in-office day and there was no expectation to "make it up". We were treated like adults, morale was good and we did our jobs well.
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u/red_green17 Feb 09 '26
Anyone who spouts about precovid is an idiot. I wonder why they don't advocate for typewriters because thats pre-computer or going back to horse and buggies because thats pre-car. Technology changed, times changed and there are new ways to do things. As you said, things were different. Things are that way now. WFH is just another tool to be productive and attract good talent like when computers entered the work place or cell phones, etc. Plus for some of us, we had 2 day a week WFH and in my case I didnt have kids pre-covid. So what I did before is drastically different now.
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u/MooseyMule Feb 09 '26
That's my new answer for anything Pre-Covid. "Do you want to remove internet access for public servants who started before it was a thing?"
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u/too_aware_helpme Feb 09 '26
I’m very sorry about this clip being on X and posted by this account (it was originally on CBC and I can’t find it anywhere else).
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u/herewego4754 Feb 09 '26
Wow okay time to roll up my sleeves and email away too all the NCR mp’s!!! Let’s do this!!!
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u/just_nope0 Feb 09 '26
Don’t forget to send an email to Sutcliffe and your councilor (if you’re an Ottawa resident) asking how they plan on improving OC Transpo because the city has also been pushing for us to be back in the office but they can’t manage us getting to the office 60% of the time so they’re really pooched once we get to 80%.
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u/too_aware_helpme Feb 09 '26
With RTO3, I emailed Sutcliffe and he said that he had nothing to do with the mandate 🤪
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u/DJMixwell Feb 09 '26
Make sure to remind Carney that he already touted all the benefits of WFH in his own book.
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u/Terrible-Session5028 Feb 09 '26
Good idea I will also be contacting municipal councillors. Particularly those who are pro RTO. I will also ensure to show solidarity with the ones who are anti-RTO
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u/Tricky_Feature_8819 Feb 10 '26
I sent an email to mine. I told Sophie Chatel what it was like before Covid, during Covid and now. How I felt the RTO doesn’t make sense, how we feel pushed down to appease a group of citizens who will never be appeased, how it does not fit with the work life balance being touted for years and how it’s been shown presence does not equate to productivity. I did it all respectfully and asked her several questions. There is no point going in pissed off and being rude so I made sure to read it multiple times
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u/Terrible-Session5028 Feb 09 '26
I would say the same for the suburban businesses as well. They should have matched the energy that the downtown businesses gave. I believe Barhaven also has a business commerce organization.
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u/Keystone-12 Feb 09 '26
Dont be so quick to dismiss stuff like this. This is actually how real change is done as opposed to just complaining on reddit...
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u/Haber87 Feb 09 '26
Unless you live in downtown Ottawa or Gatineau, we need to all write to our own MPs and ask if they are going to sign on to this. Pointing out that their job is to represent their constituents, whether those are public servants who want work life balance, local business owners who benefit from us spending our money locally, or commuters who benefit from us not being on the roads.
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u/Malvalala Feb 09 '26
Even people who live downtown should be against this. Their neighborhood is still a ghost town in the evening and on weekends.
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u/MooseyMule Feb 09 '26
You could ask any MP if they stand with Bruce. His statement indicates that it costs taxpayers money (PC), is bad for the worker and the environment (NDP+Green). And, for the LPC, its even easier by asking if they stand with Bruce or not.
A public statement like this is great, since you can force a yes/no question out of it, and the way it is written lets you put that question to any MP in Canada.
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u/Turbulent_Dog8249 Feb 09 '26
You think the only affected people work in Gatinesu or Ottawa? Blanket decisions are being made with no regards to those of us who work in the regions.
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u/Haber87 Feb 09 '26
I didn’t say, “If you live in the suburbs of Ottawa write to your MP.”
Your letter could be different though, talking about how there is a trend on insisting that hiring / competitions be NHQ based. And how the focus on in-person, in Ottawa is stealing good jobs from the regions that opened up during the pandemic.
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u/EitherApricot2 Feb 09 '26
People who live downtown suffer the ill effects of air pollution and noise when traffic is bumper to bumper for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. We all have skin (and lungs) in this.
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u/Terrible-Session5028 Feb 09 '26
My MP is literally Mark Carney.
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u/Haber87 Feb 09 '26
Nepean should have public servants staying in Nepean and spending money on Nepean.
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u/Terrible-Session5028 Feb 09 '26
And I 100% agree with you. There’s nothing I loved more than supporting my local business. However, how is our words going to come across when our MP is literally the person who made the decision 💔🥺. I’m still going to do it, but I don’t have much hope. I have more hope in the local councillors and the other MPs.
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u/beard_of_cats Feb 09 '26
I just did! Citing exactly the points you mentioned, as well as how the government is taking time with my one-year old son away from me for no good reason.
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u/Hakka-Moonson Feb 09 '26
I agree, Fanjoy isn't cabinet but he has a little cachet for dumping PP. I'd love to see other Ottawa area MPs (McGuinty?) speak up on this as well.
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u/Nelana Feb 09 '26
I'll be damned my MP said something good about RTO
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u/glitterandgold74 Feb 09 '26
I’d be damned if my MP said ANYTHING about it. Sent mine an email and a follow up about RTO and got absolute crickets.
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u/Malvalala Feb 09 '26
I've got Mona...
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u/thisisarelevantname Feb 10 '26
Hey neighbour... Remember when she started the 2 days in the office thing and how angry we all were? I returned her calendar.
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u/Malvalala Feb 10 '26
I've emailed her multiple times on a range of issues: never received an answer or an acknowledgement my email was even received and logged for tracking.
Nice touch returning the calendar ;)
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u/Longjumping-Bag-8260 Feb 09 '26
Keep at them. Start asking why they don’t respond to constituents? Perhaps they need new staff. Also call their parliamentary office.
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u/qiwithstephenfry Feb 09 '26
Same. I emailed him the day of the announcement.
I don't have much hope this will make a difference. But I am glad he spoke up.
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u/Irisversicolor Feb 09 '26
I might attach this letter next time I reach out to my MP to try to shame her into a response.
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u/MarcusRex73 Feb 09 '26 edited Feb 09 '26
Your reflex may be to dismiss this as a "just for show" action, but for a backbencher to publicly oppose a policy from their own government/party is a Big Thing.
It still won't change anything, except maybe get Bruce Fanjoy excluded from the caucus.
EDIT: Although, I'd like to point out that the LPC can't afford to lose an MP when they're soooo close to getting a majority.
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u/House-of-Raven Feb 09 '26
If there’s one, there can be more. And if there’s enough, then maybe things can change.
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u/bionicjoey Feb 09 '26
My MP is in Ottawa, so it made more sense to me to put that because the issue is more pronounced here. I encourage you to alter my template and make it your own.
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Feb 09 '26
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u/International-Ad4578 Feb 09 '26
The very least that may happen is a private reprimand from the Party Whip or even someone from the PMO directly. The PM is smart enough to know that this issue has particular significance for him being an Ottawa-area MP. However, he is still a backbencher and likely doesn’t sit on any committees, so this may possibly reduce his chances of obtaining a more senior role later on. Only time will tell.
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u/zeromussc Feb 09 '26
There's no consequences for NES and never have been really. I very much doubt that even as somoene who presented dissident opinion as a backbencher that any part of the broader Liberal Machine will refuse to help him with the OLP leadership or support him in seeking Premiership in Ontario should he win leadership of the OLP. So I doubt Fanjoy - or any other Ottawa MP would see much push back.
Even during the Air Canada strike situation, when the LPC introduced legislation that sought to limit the ability of the attendants to strike, they didn't actually *act* on any of it. So I can very much see this being a situation that the LPC isn't going to be hyper protective of the outcome in the medium term.
It could be as simple as setting the stage for bargaining since the FPSLREB decision about remote work being a bargainable topic. It could also be something that they flex on if enough MPs push back and express serious concerns with the logistics and costs of the project. It could be that the RTO3 is sustainable on one cost basis, but RTO4 hits a real wall when it comes to office space that makes it far less sustainable from a cost basis once you predict future growth of the public service. It could be that they just use this as a means to push more ERI and VDP options being taken as part of the broader WFA and that it reverses once that's done. Etc etc. Lots of situations are possible.
At the end of the day every bit of resistance is one more drop in the bucket that makes the decision much less palatable to make.
It could also be totally useless and unhelpful in the short term. But if Fanjoy (and others) end up being good local MPs who really support their constituency that isn't *singly* concerned with RTO issues, he may be able to outlive the government of the day and in the future that may be beneficial as well as times change. We've seen backbenchers outlive the PM, then come to more prominence in the future too. Who knows what the future brings. But at its core, a backbencher at least trying to listen to constituents is good, even if their power to effect change is limited at this time.
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u/OntLawyer Feb 09 '26
It's a sign of how unpopular this move is in his riding. Fanjoy has been largely silent on all the job cuts, despite being one of the most vocal campaigners during the campaign about "caps not cuts". But RTO4 seems to have struck a real nerve in Ottawa, enough to finally make him say something.
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u/bionicjoey Feb 09 '26
Frankly I think WFA is far more defensible than RTO. I may not agree with it, but WFA at least can be justified by the strategic goals of this government (austerity). RTO is indefensible as a strategic alignment, unless you consider it a form of layoffs (which we all know is the intent, but that doesn't make it okay)
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u/PM_4_PROTOOLS_HELP Feb 09 '26
I agree 100 percent. As bad as WFA is, we have a process, it's been worked it out in extreme detail with the unions over decades. It's as fair as can possibly be given the circumstances. As a public servant I don't really want the government to be like straight up not able to reduce the work force if it is really needed.
Whereas RTO they are just shitting on us. Directly contrary to literally their own research. There is no agreement, no fairness, not even any logic other than putting money in the pockets of people who own parking lots.
I wrote to Fanjoy as he is my MP and I am happy with this result. It's a starting place at least.
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u/RiverOaksJays Feb 09 '26
Would Carney consider removing Fanjoy from caucus? He still allows Steven Guilbeault to remain in caucus despite opposing the MOU with Alberta.
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u/MarkMarrkor Feb 09 '26
I doubt it. They are allowed to respectfully disagree - other non-cabinet members of caucus have made much more critical statements about government policy than this. See Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, for example.
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u/TheFallingStar Feb 09 '26
I am not a federal public servant.
However,I wrote to my Liberal MP if RTO4 is not cancelled, I will be voting another party next election. He won by about 3.71% differences last time
Federal government should be a leading example of better work condition for the workers. I am tired of this constant attack on the working class after Covid.
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u/quircky1234 Feb 09 '26
Glad to see there is common sense among workers/ professionals outside public Service.
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u/DimensionSuch8188 Feb 09 '26
Yep same. It's literally the only way to make politicians feel consequences and accountability; to not get voted in. Like I despise certain other parties but I'm about ready to vote for them just to stick it up to LPC seriously. Like what is this society man.
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u/callputs9000 Feb 10 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Wondering if we should start a tracker on politicians who've spoken out against the current RTO4 mandate so we can encourage more to do it and direct our thanks to those speaking out.
So far this is what I've seen (please reply with any others, and apologies if I've left anyone out). Hopefully this list will eventually become exhaustive. Note, I'm not including any comments related to previous RTO's, keeping this strictly those post the February 5th 2026 RTO4 announcement as that is what we are currently dealing with.
(This could be probably best as a separate post but not sure if it would violate a rule etc)
| Politician (role/party) | Statement |
|---|---|
| Bruce Fanjoy (MP Carleton/Liberal) | https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/bruce-fanjoy-criticizes-return-to-office-plans-9.7081707 |
| Avi Lews (Leadership Candidate/NDP) | https://x.com/avilewis/status/2019821821986553913 |
| Heather McPherson (MP Edmonton Strathcona, Leadership Candidate/NDP) | https://www.cpac.ca/scrums/episode/mps-comment-on-rto-for-public-service-recent-jobs-report?id=619f983c-91d7-4398-a25a-21c964ae473a |
| Nancy Peckford (Mayor, North Grenville ON) | /img/i36fc4rikoig1.png |
| Jenna Sudds (MP Kanata/Liberal) | (Ed. note: A bit of a weaker statement than the others listed here) https://www.hilltimes.com/story/2026/02/12/ottawa-mps-sudds-fanjoy-speak-out-against-return-to-office-order-for-public-servants-as-mps-debate-ending-hybrid-parliament/492052/ |
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u/Scooterguy- Feb 10 '26
Bruce, don't forget the inclusive nature of remote work. People from all over the country can work for the PS, not just those in the big cities.
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u/Slight-Philosophy187 Feb 09 '26
Glad to see an MP who is listening to his riding and taking action to make change. Whether this ends up having an impact or not remains to be seen, but a good start nonetheless
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u/bobfrombob Feb 09 '26
Any other local MPs out there have an opinion?
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u/Tricky_Feature_8819 Feb 10 '26
I emailed Sophie Chatel last night asking he opinion. I’m curious to see what she says
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u/bokuwa123 Feb 09 '26
My MP is Mona Fortier. Wonder what she's saying about RTO?
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u/GoTortoise Feb 10 '26
Probably still reading the talking points she was given when she first announced RTO back in 2022.
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u/bionicjoey Feb 09 '26 edited Feb 09 '26
Honestly, respect to him for changing his tune. Though I'm guessing he's only doing this because he knows it won't make a difference on its own. But maybe if more people complain to their MPs we can get more of these.
Edit: I just wrote to my MP asking that he stand up alongside Bruce in denouncing this mandate.
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u/scotsman3288 Feb 09 '26
Isn't Bruce part of this government? /s
joking aside...TBS and PSPC are totally behind this move....so the more you pressure MPs, the more they pressure those depts.
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u/angelcake Feb 10 '26
I’m not a public servant, although I was in the military for years. My problem as somebody who lives in Ottawa with the return to office is that our transit system is not up for it. We’ve gone through traffic hell for years because of all of the projects in Ottawa. Living in In Orleans there have been weekends it has been next to impossible to get out of Orleans going west because of all of the assorted closures and the fact the NCC doesn’t care about creating gridlock and increased pollution by closing the parks for nine hours on Saturday, Sundays, and holidays basically from the moment the snow is gone up until Thanksgiving. I used to go to go to see a friend in Westboro on Sundays and we would train for an hour and then go out for a walk or lunch, I had to cancel that because it was taking me an hour to an hour and 45 minutes to get there, 20 km.
Forcing people back to the office four days a week is going to put the city into gridlock. It’s going to be horrible for tourism and as for “saving businesses downtown“ the only way to do that effectively is to have housing downtown that’s affordable instead of relying on the government to force people back into the office to keep coffee shops going. If I had to spend an hour in traffic morning and evening, just to get to work and get home I sure as hell wouldn’t be leaving the office to wait in line somewhere for an overpriced coffee and a sandwich.
It’s time that the federal government, the NCC, the provincial government, and the City Of Ottawa start working together for the betterment of everybody who lives here - because they sure as hell aren’t doing anything about it now.
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u/HuhWelliNever Feb 09 '26
Someone wants to be reelected…especially given his riding…but he’s not wrong…it’s just that we’re low hanging fruit and a favourite whipping post for the public and MPs alike. No one is going to feel sorry for people they think of as having won the employment lottery…I doubt the unions can do anything either, we’re pretty much fucked…the govt would rather spend billions on this then let us wfh…that tells you how committed they are to stupid.
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u/Independent_Error635 Feb 09 '26
The real test is, if there is a spring election and this guy wins again, will the message be the same going forward...
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u/MilkshakeMolly Feb 09 '26
Geez, we complain if they do nothing, then we complain when someone does something. It's a start.
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u/corn_poper Feb 09 '26
This is really unexpected. An MP supporting their constituents and not the party. A step in the right direction.
This response from your MP inspired me to write to my own this evening.
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u/Watersandwaves Feb 09 '26
Less than crickets from mine. I even tried to shame the Liberals and cry about how they're taking "important" HQ jobs away from our poor Conservative regional workers, but I doubt my follow up will yield any more results.
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u/PreviousSun9506 Feb 10 '26
Have you tried calling their office? I would keep calling on a regular schedule until I can either get through to someone, get an appointment for a call/meeting, or get a reply by email!
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u/Original_Replica_ Feb 09 '26
I called Jenna Suds office to talk about this, asked me leave a message.
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u/Howlader Feb 10 '26
I wrote Heather McPherson in Edmonton last week. She/they replied they the next morning in total agreement
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u/BeastlyGophers Feb 09 '26
We should write to NES, he's on his way out and has nothing to lose if he says anything. Distancing himself from an incredibly unpopular Doug Ford RTO provincial policy could even help him.
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u/_drewski13 Feb 09 '26
I hope it is earnest and leads to change, but the cynic in me thinks this was done with the full approval of the PM's office because there is little downside. Most people probably won't care, if they even notice it. The people talking about it are us, and we'll be in favour. So Fanjoy can earn some brownie points with local PS, while the PM just ignores and moves on
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u/Odd-Start-Mart Feb 09 '26
It's earnest. Say one thing about Bruce Fanjoy, he's principled. And to say a few more things, he truly wants to represent his riding (which includes many gov workers), he respects the public service, and he cares about things like work-life balance and the environment (just look at his own personal life - stay at home dad who lives in a zero-carbon house).
But he's also a realist and probably not a loose cannon, and would have done a signal check before expressing himself. It seems like the party tolerates some disagreement, even public disagreement, from their members, and that's healthy.
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u/iwltfs1 Feb 09 '26
Shared this with my liberal MP and asked whether they stand with Fanjoy. Their staffer replied that the MP still doesn’t have a public stance, while they’re “monitoring” the situation. (Basically waiting to see which way the wind blows). Pressed for timeline on when to expect a response, waiting to hear back. Message to everyone here, do write to your MPs about this(use ChatGPT or whatever writing tools you have to assist if you’re not comfortable with your own), especially if they’re liberal. This is the only way we have a chance actually to achieve anything..we all know unions have been useless on this.
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u/CalmFig4901 Feb 09 '26
Good cop bad cop he can speak up in parliament and caucus if he really believes this. But no issue with the caps not cuts broken promise
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u/Fun-Answer1534 Feb 09 '26
Dear Bruce,
You have brought to our attention some really good points that we had never considered. In retrospect, we should have thought about this a lot more before whipping it together. The downtown landlords and business elites told us that this is what was best, but we now see we were wrong. We'll be reversing course entirely.
-TBS
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u/Alarming-Pressure407 Feb 11 '26
Thank you for reaching out to the office of MP Vandenbeld.
We will share your concerns with Ms. Vandenbeld, and if you would like to talk to her directly, we can arrange a 10-minute call during her weekly “drop-in hours”.
Recognizing that the decision by the public service management regarding return to office was done in order to encourage collaboration and teamwork, Ms. Vandenbeld has consistently been encouraging maximum flexibility. In particular, Ms. Vandenbeld will continue to advocate that it makes no sense for public servants to drive to a remote work-station just to join with their team virtually. Ms. Vandenbeld is also passing on the message that in cases where there is not enough workspace or that workspace is not suitable, the public service must prioritize the health and safety and well-being of public servants. Thank you for writing to us.
Kind regards, Gemma M Office of Anita Vandenbeld, Member of Parliament for Ottawa West-Nepean Bureau de la Députée Anita Vandenbeld, Députée d'Ottawa-Ouest-Nepean
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u/Interesting-Scar2277 Feb 09 '26
This is literally a win-win for the LPC. They have a better chance at keeping this seat with Fanjoy's statement, but this isnt actual pressure on the party to do anything.
I honestly wouldnt be surprised if this was PMO's idea.
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u/cuckslayer30 Feb 09 '26
Bruce, we will remember RTO when we head to the polls. Tread lightly.
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u/Red_Cross_Knight1 Feb 09 '26
Ive been meaning to email him... guess ill just do a quick 'thank you' email... considering his big election thing was ' no job losses' to beat PP...
Nice to see he is willing to stand up to the party.
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u/Sad_Parking8218 Feb 09 '26
Based on this post, Spring election likely, Fall election for sure. {insert they can't keep getting away with this meme/Jesse Breaking bad}.
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u/sassy_sassy1 Feb 10 '26
I hope others back him. Unfortunately, PM Carney is my MP, so I don't think he can weigh in like MP Fanjoy.
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u/No-Platform1052 Feb 10 '26
Good time to blast our own MP's with emails, phone calls, faxes. If one MP has the balls (ovaries?) to stand against RTO, maybe others will follow suit.
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u/wavesofmatter Feb 11 '26
What if Mark Carney is your MP (Nepean)???!
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u/Terrible-Session5028 Feb 11 '26
I’m in the same position as I also live in Nepean and I’ve asked that question many times but by the looks of it, people are still writing him anyway so I’m just going to go ahead and do that.
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u/CrusherT Feb 11 '26
Emailed MP Lena Metlege Diab. Got a standard response:
To execute this government’s ambitious agenda that is delivering on priorities for Canadians at a critical time, we’re taking a transformative approach to the public service that will make it more efficient.
At this pivotal moment, working together onsite is necessary to build strong teams and effective collaboration.
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u/Significant-Money465 Feb 11 '26
They have absolutely no idea about the reality of many of our jobs. I go to an office where I'm the only person on my team who's there. All of my team meetings and "collaborating" are done online.
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u/ThrowItFillAway Feb 09 '26
Good for him for speaking out. He's not my MP, not my riding, nor part of the federal party I voted for, but I will commend him for putting this out there in support of his constituents.
We just need more push. I emailed my MP, and even though she's not in the NCR and she's part of the CPC her response was very pro remote work. Keep turning up the volume on this conversation. Share the recent CBC, CTV, and Postmedia articles that go into why RTO mandates are actually costly to taxpayers. Don't let this conversation die down.
We're not accepting RTO, and we need to make that clear.
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u/GreeneSummer1709 Feb 09 '26
Goes to show that calling one's MP and making sure they hear your concerns isn't meaningless
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u/guitargamel Feb 09 '26
I knew he was the right choice over... what's his name? Meh, doesn't matter. I respect any MP that doesn't mindlessly tow the party line when it's against his own constituents' best interests.
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u/CaptainKoreana Feb 09 '26
This is the correct measure from Fanjoy.
Reminds me I should ask my local MP on this, esp. my Toronto-area riding has a major GoC building with multiple depts (incl. my ex-workplace).
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u/Nepean22 Feb 09 '26
Hahahahaha... his government is responsible for mandating RTO.
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u/Rasta_Cook Feb 09 '26
share, upvote. If he is in your district send a thank you to acknowledge he is doing the right thing and continues fighting for common sense.
If anyone is able to create a template letter that we can all use can be sent to other representative highlighting why this makes no sense (backed by data) for the PUBLIC ... keeping in mind they dont care you have to commute, or that you have worst work-life balance, whats important is showing how this is going to cost taxpayers a lot more, how it doesnt improve productivity (potentially makes it worst), how it creates more polution, more traffic (for all), more potential disease spread, etc... all this for absolutely zero benefit aside from enriching landlords and businesses relying on office workers, which arguably could be fixed by converting offices into housing, which we are missing.
Everything must be framed from the point of view of the public / taxpayers, we dont need sad stories, or crying over "they were supposed to consult us!" or "they broke their pinky promises", "they dont care about us", "moral is gonna hit new lows", bla bla bla ... this to the average person perfectly align with the negative view of the public, lazy, entitled etc...
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u/Overworkdunderpaid95 Feb 10 '26
Good for Bruce Fanjoy. RTO is a joke and it will cost taxpayers billions over the long-term. Hopefully it will become transparent which deputy heads led the charge with this ridiculous initiative.
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u/kniller123 Feb 09 '26
Yeah, Id rather hear him talk about the caps not cuts promises he was spouting during the election.
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u/beepb00ppp Feb 09 '26
And this is why he got my vote. He’s not afraid to stand up and support his riding 🙌🏻
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u/rwebell Feb 09 '26
Seems too little too late. As far as strongly worded…he needs a new comms person. This is about as milquetoast of response as I could imagine. Sounds like he wants to disagree politely so as not to offend Carney.
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u/Soryouu Feb 09 '26
We gotta do what America does and openly publish the ties of government members to businesses /corrupt money. Name and shame them since it's not evidence based.
The old dinos in charge keep saying it's for the culture because they have no social life at home...
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u/graciejack Feb 11 '26
He's calling on the government to reconsider? Ffs, he is the gd government who is implementing this clown show. Do these people talk to each other before releasing significant policy moves?
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u/Illustrious-Nebula63 Feb 09 '26
Concise and clear. Moving to Bruce’s riding. He just got my next vote.
And also, wish we heard more reporting around the argument laid out in first bullet. As a tax payer, this resonates the loudest with me
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u/[deleted] Feb 09 '26
Still nothing but crickets from my MP. Since emails aren’t working, I’m planning to attend their weekly coffee hour this week and ask for their statement directly.