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Staff are leaving the Defence Department rather than relocate to its new headquarters in west-end Ottawa, but just how many employees are bailing are unknown at this point.

The Department of National Defence acknowledges it has lost staff because of the move to the former Nortel campus on Carling Avenue. But statistics are not available as they have not been compiled, the department acknowledged on Wednesday.

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A number of DND employees contacted this newspaper to say they took jobs in other federal departments because of the lengthy commute to the west-end headquarters known as the Carling Campus or NDHQ Carling. A large number of DND employees live in east-end Orléans.

In addition, there have been issues with parking at the headquarters and a lack of bus routes to service the location.

The new headquarters will eventually be home to 9,300 Canadian Forces personnel and DND staff who are being moved from over 40 locations in Ottawa and Gatineau.