The Department of Public Works is withholding key information about what it spends on office space, making it impossible for taxpayers to know how much is being paid to landlords or how efficiently buildings are used, according to a new audit.“We found important information about office buildings was not publicly available such as the percentage use of office space, specific buildings that were sold and their condition, total proceeds on sales of office buildings, and total market value of office buildings sold and those remaining in the portfolio,” said the report titled Current And Future Use Of Federal Office Space. Blacklock's Reporter says no explanation was given for the lack of transparency..Before the pandemic, the department estimated that 50% of its office space was underused. Despite this, Auditor General Karen Hogan said the federal government has been slow to reduce its footprint and cut costs. Public Works manages about 39,000 buildings, with annual operating, maintenance, and tax-related expenses exceeding $2.1 billion.Cabinet has pledged to cut office space in half by 2034. However, the audit found that offloading surplus buildings remains a slow process. Properties typically take six to eight years to be sold once they are declared surplus, though Public Works now claims it can complete disposals in three years..“The longer the disposal process, the more it costs the government to maintain the buildings slated for disposal,” auditors wrote. Costs include property upkeep and payments to municipal governments in lieu of taxes.The government currently oversees 63.5 million square feet of office space. A 2023 internal memo forecast that it could take decades to unload empty properties. “The department is working to modernize and green the federal office portfolio over a 10 to 25 year planning horizon,” the memo said.Auditors concluded that greater public access to data — such as cost per square metre, cost per employee, and space per employee — could push departments to make more efficient use of real estate. “Parliament and the public need additional relevant information to be better informed on the progress being made,” they said.
