North Grenville Mayor Nancy Peckford says a new federal policy reveals the clear bias for employing people living in the city and national capital region.
Last week, a directive was issued that starting in early May government executives must be in the office five days a week. Then, as of early July, federal employees in the core public service will need to be in the office at least four days a week.
Peckford says in a Facebook post that the action will have the effect of significantly narrowing the talent pool for federal public servants who often have to travel up to 3 hours into work.
Putting federal public servants back on the road five days a week, Peckford says, will only worsen congestion and gridlock across the country.
She adds that the countless public servants she speaks with were making working from home work, and the federal government had implemented technology to fully track their online engagement and productivity.
Peckford goes on to say that a heavy emphasis on employees from large urban centres will not always generate the best ideas and solutions and she says it will also force people to choose between small towns and their desire to be a federal public servant when it really matters.
