Treasury Board president says he was unaware of pest problems in federal buildings

Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali says he was unaware that federal buildings across Ottawa have harboured rats, bed bugs, bats and other pests for years — a gap he called serious when asked about it Wednesday.

"This is the first time I have learned from you on this issue, and I think if it's health and safety, I take it very seriously, and I will be asking my team to look into that," Ali told reporters at an unrelated press conference after NDP MP Heather McPherson raised the issue via an order paper question.

The problem is neither new nor small. Public Services and Procurement Canada received 369 pest-related service calls within the National Capital Region between April 1 and August 19, 2024. Of those, 197 led to confirmed pest presence across federal government buildings. The pests included ants, bed bugs, birds, rats, cockroaches, bats and a snake. L'Esplanade Laurier alone had 19 confirmed reports of mice, plus cases of insects and ants, treated with baiting stations and ceiling treatments.

The Department of Canadian Heritage spent more than $128,000 inspecting Les Terrasses de la Chaudière on Eddy Street in Gatineau and almost $12,000 for canine inspection at the Fontaine Building on Sacré-Cœur Boulevard in Gatineau. When McPherson asked PSPC for the total cost of pest management, the department did not provide a figure, saying instead that costs are absorbed into each building's operating budget and "not typically tracked or reported on a per-case basis."

Federal unions have complained about the pests as the government has forced public servants back to the office at least three days a week, a mandate that took effect Monday.