Valerie Plante is calling on workers to return to their downtown office buildings.
The Montreal mayor is asking employers to encourage workers to return to their offices while also following public health guidelines, citing that a return to the office will help provide a boost to the downtown economy.
There are typically about 300,000 people who work in downtown offices in Montreal, but currently, only about 5 to 10 percent of employees in downtown buildings are going in to work. The city's goal is to get that number up to the 25 percent that was approved by the government
Those against the idea say the city should look at ways to accommodate the changing economy, rather than resisting it. As office buildings empty, there's an opportunity to retrofit them into residential spaces, he suggested.