The Long Term Vision and Plan—The Long Term Vision and Plan Annual Report 2016 to 2017

Overview

The Minister of Public Services and Procurement (PSP) is the official custodian of the Parliament Buildings and grounds. In 2008, the Parliamentary Precinct Branch (PPB) was established to provide a single point of service delivery to the Parliament of Canada. 

In collaboration with its Parliamentary Partners: the Senate of Canada, the House of Commons, the Library of Parliament and the Parliamentary Protective Service—and other key stakeholders, PPB is responsible for the overall management and day-to-day operations and care of the buildings and grounds within the campus.

PPB is also responsible for the development and advancement of the Long Term Vision and Plan (LTVP), a comprehensive strategy to:

• rehabilitate the heritage buildings
• provide additional and appropriate parliamentary accommodations
• create a secure and welcoming environment for parliamentarians, staff and visitors

First developed in 2001, the LTVP created a vision and set of guiding principles for the future of the precinct. In 2006, working closely with the Parliamentary Partners, PPB updated the LTVP. This review underscored the need to rehabilitate the Parliamentary Triad (West Block, Centre Block and East Block) as the first priority since these buildings face serious deterioration.

A tool to guide future designers and decision-makers, the 2006 LTVP provides a broad comprehensive assessment of the site, setting out overall capacity for new development and coordinating future planning considerations. And it does this in ways that allow the operational requirements of the institutions to be met, the heritage character of the buildings to be preserved, the degraded elements to be repaired and the magnificent qualities and potential of the site to be fully realized.

Long Term Vision and Plan boundary

The boundary of the Parliamentary Precinct encompasses all lands south of the Ottawa River and north of Wellington Street from the Rideau Canal to Kent Street and all lands north of Sparks Street and south of Wellington Street from Elgin Street to Bank Street. This campus is illustrated on Figure 3. There are also buildings just outside of this boundary, including the Government Conference Centre and the committee rooms at 1 Rideau Street.  

PPB is responsible for the Parliamentary Precinct, which includes 34 Crown-owned buildings, of which 28 are designated heritage properties. The Branch also manages several leases on its client’s behalf, as well as special purpose facilities (including some properties outside the Parliamentary Precinct) that provide supporting functions for Parliament.

Figure 3: Boundaries of the Parliamentary Precinct

Image description of figure 3: Boundaries of the Parliamentary Precinct

This map indicates the boundary of the Parliamentary Precinct which encompasses all lands south of the Ottawa River and north of Wellington Street from the Rideau Canal to Kent Street and all lands north of Sparks Street and south of Wellington Street from Elgin Street to Bank Street. The scale is in meters.

Program delivery

Implementation of the LTVP is based on rolling five-year programs of work. These shorter cycles establish a structured framework for working towards the longer-term priorities and provide flexibility to respond to changing circumstances (for example government and parliamentary priorities, deteriorating building conditions). The five-year cycles also allow greater accuracy in defining functional requirements and establishing project costs and scheduling. This facilitates stronger project management and supports greater fiscal responsibility.

To deliver this complex scope of work in a coordinated and integrated way, all while ensuring that the buildings yet to be rehabilitated remain safe and functional, PPB established five closely connected and interdependent programs:

• The Major Capital Program (MCP) manages the rehabilitation and new construction projects, including construction and fit-up of all buildings in the precinct for interim and permanent accommodations
• The Recapitalization Program (RECAP) includes necessary repairs and upgrades in buildings that are occupied and operational but have not yet been fully rehabilitated. Projects address immediate health and safety risks to occupants, preserve buildings, reduce ongoing deterioration and make future rehabilitation less complicated and costly
• The Building Components and Connectivity Program (BCC) includes the campus-wide delivery of building fixtures, furnishings and equipment, and modernization of multimedia communication and information technology
• The Planning Program includes strategic master plans, development plans, and enabling studies to guide investment decisions and the prioritization of future projects
• The Security Infrastructure Program includes the delivery of security measures in the precinct  

At the core of all this work is a strong PPB team with the skills and expertise to manage multiple and complex projects concurrently. PPB leverages over 15 years of lessons learned through a registry that is maintained for project teams to monitor and apply as appropriate as they deliver projects. Also supporting the successful delivery of the work are employees working in operations, client relationship management, financial management, people management, cabinet affairs, and corporate reporting. 

In addition, third parties specializing in areas such as project and construction management, architecture and engineering, costing, scheduling and heritage are engaged as required to ensure that projects have the right people, with the right skills, at the right time.

Key partnerships with the private sector and academic institutions and relationships with international organizations doing similar work allow PPB to integrate industry-leading practices, leverage lessons learned and find innovative ways to approach the unique challenges of rehabilitating heritage buildings. In this way PPB is able to deliver projects in a timely and cost-effective way, and provide Parliament with the facilities and services it needs to operate effectively in the 21st century.

In concert with a strong team, good governance provides the framework for effective decision-making. PPB continually looks for ways to improve integration, optimize the use of resources, strengthen the focus on performance and enhance collaboration. With rigorous program performance standards and the careful monitoring of results and expenditures, PPB ensures the public funds dedicated to the implementation of the LTVP are used prudently and deliver the results that Canadians expect.

Long Term Vision and Plan update

The LTVP last underwent a major update in 2006. An update is required to incorporate evolving conditions and requirements, to take advantage of new opportunities, and to ensure the plan reflects current government and parliamentary priorities. From 2016 to 2017, PPB initiated Phase 1 of the LTVP update with the Parliamentary Partners and stakeholders. The result was a set of five strategic directions that will provide a framework to guide the update to the LTVP (see Annex A).

Among these strategic directions is the shift to a campus approach which will better support the safe and efficient operations of Parliament, as well as the Prime Minister’s and Privy Council Office. The campus approach will allow for a comprehensive view of important areas of project delivery, including security, information technology, sustainability, and material handling.

The next phase of work (Phase 2) will be the result of collaborative work between the PPB project team, a consulting team, the parliamentary partners, and stakeholder working groups over the course of the coming months. This collective work will identify functional, flexible, integrated and creative approaches to realize the full potential of the precinct and its important role in the nation’s capital.