Global Affairs Canada’s handling of long-distance teleworkers highlights legal, HR and labour-relations risks when remote work ‘understandings’ aren’t clearly documented.
Some Global Affairs Canada employees hired to work from anywhere in the country now say they must uproot their lives to the Ottawa–Gatineau region or walk away from their jobs, despite verbal assurances they could stay fully remote.
Global Affairs Canada (GAC) confirmed in a statement to CBC that telework agreements are treated as separate from the formal offer letters employees sign, which continue to name the National Capital Region as the official workplace.
Several workers told Radio-Canada anonymously that they had been teleworking full time for years from cities such as Montreal and living more than 125 kilometres from their designated offices.
Some now say they simply cannot move or commute multiple days a week because of family and personal obligations and feel backed into a corner.
Employees ‘angry’ at GAC call to office
One employee, whose identity was withheld due to fear of reprisal, described their reaction to Radio-Canada: "I'm angry," they said in French.
They added that remote work was a central condition when they accepted the role. "That was definitely one of my preliminary questions. Had I known that after a while I risked losing my job for that reason, I would never have applied," the worker said.
Two other public servants interviewed said they felt blindsided by the new expectations and worried about discipline if they refuse to move. Both hoped to find other work in the federal public service but feared recent budget cuts would close that door. One concluded, "I've lost hope of returning to the government," while another described the situation as "incredibly inhumane."
GAC, PSAC responses
According to departmental figures, 307 GAC employees were working fully remotely at the end of 2025 because they lived more than 125 kilometres from their workplace, up from 238 in April 2024. Current federal rules still allow full-time telework beyond that distance under certain conditions, subject to operational needs and case-by-case management approval.
CBC reported that GAC did not say how much discretion senior managers have in deciding telework requests, nor what criteria they must weigh – nor does the department track how many requests are denied or cancelled.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) says it plans to challenge the department’s approach, arguing that employees relied on the telework commitments made when they were hired. In a CBC report, PSAC national executive vice-president Alex Silas said the situation mirrors broader frustrations among federal workers. "This is not a new feeling that workers in the federal public service are feeling, this feeling of being disrespected and undervalued," he said, warning that imposing sudden, life-altering changes on employees with solid performance records erodes trust.
"To someone who's been doing their job with no issue, and now suddenly they're being put in this impossible situation where they either have to resign or they have to completely relocate their lives, it's disappointing and it's a betrayal," Silas said.
