By Canadian Press

Ottawa mayor urges feds to bring workers back downtown to save local businesses

Mar 22, 2022 | 2:18 PM

OTTAWA — The mayor of Canada’s capital city is urging the federal government to send its workers back to their downtown offices to bolster flagging local businesses.

Jim Watson says Ottawa has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates of any big city in the country, and it’s safe for workers to return.

He’s appealed directly to Treasury Board President Mona Fortier to bring employees downtown so they can go back to buying lunch, paying for dry cleaning and otherwise spending at local businesses. 

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business argues Ottawa has been particularly hard hit compared to other urban centres that have been starved of customers since the beginning of the pandemic.  

The CFIB says customers in Ottawa disappeared, a massive anti-government protest in the city core forced businesses to close for weeks, and the federal government has been slower than others to usher its employees back to the office. 

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Fortier was not immediately available for comment. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2022.

Laura Osman, The Canadian Press