Parliamentary Precinct: Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates—June 2, 2021

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Status of the Long Term Vision and Plan for the Parliamentary Precinct

Context

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is implementing the Long Term Vision and Plan (LTVP)—a multi-decade strategy to restore and modernize the Parliamentary Precinct.

Note

Questions related to the Indigenous People’s space should be directed to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs as the federal lead on this initiative.

Suggested response

If pressed on continuing work during COVID:

If pressed on the media reports about Victoria Building:

If pressed on Centre Block interpretive panels:

If pressed on the Parliament Hill escarpment:

If pressed on governance and costs for the Centre Block:

If pressed on Parliamentary engagement:

If pressed on redevelopment of block 2:

If pressed on 100 Wellington:

If pressed on Indigenous involvement in the precinct:

Background

The LTVP was first approved in 2001 for the restoration and modernization of Canada’s Parliamentary Precinct. All major projects continue to track on time and budget.

PSPC has invested approximately $3.5 billion in the Parliamentary Precinct to date. This has created over 25,000 jobs in local and national economies in, for example, engineering, architecture, construction, manufacturing and skilled trades sectors.

The restored West Block and Senate of Canada Building and the new Parliament Welcome Centre (phase 1), were transferred to Parliament in fall 2018. These projects followed the completion of the 21 key projects since the Library of Parliament in 2006, including the 180 Wellington Building (2016) and the Sir John A Macdonald Building (2015).

Efforts are now focused on restoring and modernizing the Centre Block and leveraging the remaining 23 assets in the Parliamentary Precinct to create an integrated parliamentary campus that addresses Parliament’s long-term requirements, including material handling, the movement of people and goods, accessibility, sustainability, and security.

Restoring the Centre Block is a core objective of the LTVP. Since the building was successfully de-commissioned in fall 2019, significant progress has been made:

Parliament is being actively engaged on the future of the Parliamentary Precinct and in particular, the Centre Block. The Senate has established a subcommittee to the Committee of Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, The House of Commons has established a Working Group of MPs that provides advice and recommendations to the Board of Internal Economy. PSPC officials have appeared regularly before these bodies since the spring of 2020, helping drive forward key decisions on the Centre Block.

During the fall of 2020, over 40 parliamentarians toured the Centre Block and Parliament Welcome Centre construction site through 10 site visits to survey the progress of the project. Overall, reactions to the project have been positive regardless of party affiliation.

Parliamentarians have raised questions on the construction including on the quantity and type of hazardous material removed from the site, the number of workers on site, and the impact of COVID-19 on the progress of construction. Programmatic questions such as governance, schedule and cost of the overall program are also raised routinely.

On June 21, 2017—National Indigenous Peoples Day—the Prime Minister announced that 100 Wellington Street would become the Indigenous Peoples’ space. The project also includes the re-development of the former CIBC building located at 119 Sparks Street and an infill space between the 2 buildings.

In June 2019, while planning continued on the long-term development, a short-term use project at 100 Wellington was completed by PSPC that was co-developed with the National Indigenous Organizations (Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and the Métis National Council), the Algonquin, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and PSPC. However, the space did not open as planned due to a lack of consensus amongst the National Indigenous Organizations on governance, and a request by the Algonquin Nation (represented by the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council (AANTC)) for equal and full partnership.

PSPC has leveraged the LTVP to create opportunities for Canadians, including youth and Indigenous Peoples. We have committed to include provisions in all of our major projects’ contracts that would subcontract at least 5% of work to Indigenous firms.

The Parliamentary Precinct is a model for accessibility. It will achieve, and in some cases exceed, accessibility standards. The West Block and Senate of Canada Building include barrier-free access and improved accessibility features in the Chambers, public galleries, offices, meeting places, washrooms and corridors.

The LTVP is reducing the government’s carbon footprint. PSPC has already reduced greenhouse gas levels in the precinct by 60% from 2005 levels and is on track for reductions of 80% by 2030 while also diverting more than 90% of demolition materials from landfills.

The slope behind the Parliament has deteriorated over time as invasive (non-native) species have increasingly displaced the healthy mixed forest. As a result of this unbalance, barren slopes have destabilized and, if not rehabilitated soon, could pose health and safety concerns. Working with experts in forestry, geology and environmental biology, PSPC carried out a successful pilot project in 2015 to reforest the eastern section of the escarpment. PSPC is now extending the work up to the west side of the escarpment. The new planting will consist of seedlings and small shrubs to anchor the slope. Of the 70,000 plants, approximately 4,100 are deciduous trees, 2,650 are coniferous trees, 3,000 are large shrubs and the balance are small shrubs and plants. Of the trees, a few varieties may be as tall as 1 metre, but most will be 1 foot or less when they go in the ground.

Laboratories Canada Strategy

Context

Laboratories Canada is a 25-year strategy, guided by a Long Term Vision and Plan, to strengthen federal science. The vision is to build modern, accessible, and sustainable laboratories while addressing critical enablers such as scientific equipment and Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) systems, and barriers that inhibit collaboration.

Key messages

Background

The Minister of Public Services and Procurement is supporting the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry in bringing forward a new vision for federal science infrastructure.

Budget 2018 launched the first phase of the Laboratories Canada strategy by providing a historic $2.8 billion investment to build world-class, collaborative and accessible science facilities. Phase 1 lays the foundation for future success, addresses scientific facilities that are in poor-to-critical condition, and supports science in priority areas such as security, regulation, health and safety resource management, transportation safety, and heritage conservation. This strategy brings together science-based departments and agencies to share facilities, develop synergies, and facilitate collaborative research in addition to scientific excellence. Public Services and Procurement Canada is leading integrated efforts across government, working hand-in-hand with federal science departments and agencies as well as service providers, to deliver the Laboratories Canada strategy.

Federal science and research is critical to solving increasingly complex national issues (for example climate change, COVID-19) and plays a key role in the lives of Canadians. Laboratories Canada is an integrated approach to building modern, multi-purpose facilities with modern equipment that will support evidence-based decision-making. This investment will create benefits to small- and medium-sized businesses and create direct, related, and induced jobs, while integrating accessibility and sustainability practices through the construction of environmentally sustainable, climate resilient, and carbon-neutral buildings.

Various science hubs, projects, and components of phase 1 of the Laboratories Canada strategy have been announced publicly. Minister Anand announced the Laboratories strategy on April 15, 2021, which outlined the Laboratories Canada LTVP for federal science, investments in science infrastructure to support Canadian scientists, and the phase 1 TerraCanada hub, including the investments in its Mississauga and Hamilton projects. On April 8, 2021, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc with Liberal MP Ginette Petitpas Taylor announced the launch of 2 requests for proposals, as well as the concept design, for the new Atlantic Science Enterprise Center (ASEC) Hub facility in Moncton. The Laboratories Canada website was also launched in November 2020. These events represent major milestones that will enable Laboratories Canada to continue advancing phase 1 projects, and engage with key stakeholders such as municipalities, community organizations, Indigenous groups and universities.

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