Real Property

December 6, 2010

Portfolio

• Stewardship of $6.5B worth of holdings, including national treasures;
• 7.14M square metres of space (43.5% owned/49% leased/7.5% Lease-purchase);
• 1,500 leased buildings with 2,116 lease contracts at a cost of around $1.111B;
• 345 Crown Assets (and 10 more Lease-purchase);
• Accommodation of about 265,000 Public Servants and Parliamentarians in 1,855 locations across Canada.

Green Lease Initiatives

Public Works and Government Services Canada’s (PWGSC's) leases address key environmental standards such as the proper management of waste water, indoor air quality, recycling, energy-efficient lighting fixtures and greenhouse gas reduction. PWGSC developed environmentally friendly provisions and continues to improve them with the objective of meeting its most current Sustainable Development Strategy commitments.

Heritage Conservation

PWGSC is the federal government’s expert in real property and steward of its own heritage assets. The department integrates heritage conservation expertise into its investment process and project management practices, related to designated “classified” and “recognized” heritage buildings. As a result, PWGSC’s expertise in the conservation of heritage assets has been recognized through some of Canada’s most treasured structures, from the Parliamentary Precinct in Ottawa to Canadian war memorials in Europe.

Office Accommodation

The department has adopted a whole-of-government, standards-driven approach to planning office space for departmental clients. This includes the application of sustainable design principles to ensure adequate individual workspace and to provide common support functions.

This approach allows the department to make more efficient use of limited resources and deliver office accommodation in a more timely and consistent way. It also provides client facilities personnel with greater predictability and a more manageable and responsive office environment. The ultimate result for the office worker is a healthier, more equitable and more satisfying work place.

Accessibility

The Government of Canada has clearly taken a leadership role on accessibility and aims to become a world leader in the field. Federal government standards are more stringent than any provincial or territorial building code. The standards, updated in 2004, are applied to any new property under construction or undergoing major retrofit since October 2004. These standards also apply to new leases. The Government of Canada ensures that our buildings are fully accessible to each and every employee.

Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT)

The Government of Canada’s property is constitutionally exempt from local taxation. However, since 1950, the federal government has shared in the cost of local government, where it owns property, by making payments in lieu of property taxes. The Payments in Lieu of Taxes Program is administered by PWGSC under the authority of the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act. Across Canada, annual payments of more than $460 million are made on approximately 22,500 federal properties located in almost 1,300 taxing authorities.

Alternative Forms of Delivery (AFD)

PWGSC has successfully outsourced property management services and project delivery services in most of its office portfolio since 1998. PWGSC retains full accountability for service standards and performance while the contractor delivers the services.

In 2003/2004 PWGSC undertook a rigorous and comprehensive tender process and awarded eight contracts to SNC-Lavalin ProFac Inc. (now known as SNC Lavalin O&M), effective April 1, 2005. The contracts included a more rigorous regime of performance indicators and the implementation of ISO-certified quality management systems.

In addition to the provision of property management services and project delivery services, the department has also secured options for a variety of other services, including facilities management, project delivery for work valued between $200,000 and $1 million, lease administration and commercial leasing. Property Management and Project Delivery Services are also being delivered to a variety of other government departments including RCMP, NRCan, via the PWGSC AFD contracts.