Ottawa news: PSAC asking federal employees to ‘buy nothing’ from downtown [Video]

A union representing federal employees is asking its members to bring their own lunch to work, in an apparent retaliation against downtown Ottawa businesses as new return-to-office protocols begin.

“Buy nothing,” reads a post by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) on Instagram. “The needs of the downtown core shouldn’t fall on the back of workers and the federal public service. How workers spend their money on in-office days will send a clear message to politicians.”

PSAC is asking its members to minimize spending on in-office days and buy from local businesses in their neighbourhoods.

The union says working conditions should not be shaped by politics and politicians’ “commercial interests.”

The move comes after members of Canada’s business community have been asking the government to bring its employees back to office. The request is meant to help local businesses and revive downtown core.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe took to …