Federal taxpayers have spent at least $17 million equipping public servants to work from home since 2022, with total costs likely higher as some departments admit they cannot fully account for their spending.Blacklock's Reporter says records tabled in the House of Commons show remote work expenses totalled $17,381,488 over four years — the equivalent of more than $4.3 million annually — covering items such as laptops, office chairs, printers and other home office supplies.The figures were released in response to a question from Conservative MP Scot Davidson (New Tecumseth–Gwillimbury, Ont.), who asked for the total cost of supporting federal employees working remotely.“The Treasury Board issued government-wide guidance to support employees who were required to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the years since as hybrid working was integrated across the Government of Canada,” cabinet wrote in an Inquiry of Ministry.That guidance included reimbursements for approved equipment and direction on setting up ergonomic home workspaces.However, officials acknowledged the total is incomplete. Major departments, including Global Affairs Canada, said they were unable to fully calculate their expenses within the required timeframe.“The level of detail of the information requested is not systematically tracked in a centralized database,” the department said, adding that compiling a full accounting would require extensive manual data collection..The $17.3 million in reported costs comes on top of $36.3 million spent by Public Works during the early years of the pandemic to provide furniture and equipment for employees working remotely.Breakdowns in the inquiry show the Treasury Board spent $530,800 on computer equipment, Prairies Economic Development Canada spent $117,865 on chairs and desks, and the Department of National Defence spent $61,112 on office supplies. The Department of Indigenous Services also paid $11,236 to cover employees’ home internet costs.Despite the spending, the federal government did not reimburse workers for utilities such as electricity, heating or insurance. Those costs remained the responsibility of employees.At the same time, the Canada Revenue Agency confirmed that 287,978 federal employees working from home were eligible to claim home office tax credits ranging from $400 to $500.“During the pandemic federal departments were responsible for providing employees with necessary work equipment but were not responsible for reimbursing home utilities,” the inquiry stated. “Employees remained responsible for these costs.”
