Federal employees are preparing to come back to their in-person workspaces. At the same time, we have read alarming accounts of cockroach infestations in many of the Crown’s buildings around the National Capital Region. Amber Sabourin, a spokesperson for Public Services and Procurement Canada, said there have been 549 verified cases of different pests this year. This data represents one of the longest stretches of time, April 1–November 24.
The incidents occurred in 93 unique physical buildings. They spanned a host of different pests, including bats, birds, ants, bedbugs, bees, wasps, creepy crawlies, mice and other rodents. Sabourin shared her concern that these reports are being construed as an indication of a widespread infestation instead of isolated occurrences.
Sylvain Routier, one of the office buildings’ tenants actively engaged in addressing this challenge. He added that bedbugs have turned up there three or four times in the last year. He suggested that these repeated hiccups are creating anxiety for employees getting ready to go back to in-office work.
Sabourin clarified the nature of the reported figures, stating, “In some cases, one pest may lead to multiple confirmed reports if it is observed or reported more than once. Therefore, these figures reflect occurrences rather than an exact count of individual pests.” Adding to the difficulty, she said, is that these pest infestations are not uncommon in commercial real estate.
The health impacts of pests in work environments are especially distressing for workers returning after long stints of remote work. Citizens should have confidence that action is being taken. To keep workspaces safe and healthy, they are doing something about these alarming issues right now.
Even with the high number of incidents on record, she painted a positive, rosy picture. “Pests are very common in commercial real estate,” Sabourin stated. The feds are doing their part to prevent these tragedies from happening as workers begin returning to their work places.
