By Richard Bloom
Power lunches on Parliament Hill are going to take on a whole new meaning.
According to the Department of Public Works, the ongoing renovations to Parliament will force the House of Commons to move its chamber to the West Block cafeteria and courtyard.
Glenn Duncan, the department’s director general, says crews will be constructing a temporary chamber in the West Block which will first be used by the House of Commons from 2003 to 2006 and then the Senate from 2006 to 2010. The chamber will then be used by committees.
Duncan says his department, along with architects and planners, are in the planning phase of the West Block renovations and will advertise for contractors early in next year.
Work is scheduled to start in March of 1999.
“It’s exciting to be a part of a project that I think is so important to Canadians,” says Duncan from his Sparks Street office. “It’s one of our most important symbols and symbols really matter.”
Duncan says the people and offices in the West Block will be moved to other buildings near Parliament Hill.
Construction crews are currently wrapping up work on the East Memorial building, located at Wellington Street and Lyon Street.
By the end of February, crews will start revamping the Justice building on Wellington Street.
“We’re moving people from Centre Block to West Block, West Block to Justice, and Justice to East Memorial. Everyone will be accommodated in one way or another during the construction,” says Louise Proulx, the department’s senior communications adviser. “It’s a like a domino effect.”
Proulx adds the work really isn’t renovation but restoration and conservation.
Despite the construction, Duncan says the House of Commons, Senate and other heritage sites within Parliament will remain unchanged.
“When you walk back in after the renovations you really won’t know anything has taken place because the work we’ll be doing will be behind the walls,” says Duncan. “We’ll be changing the rotten plumbing, the wiring, and putting in modern heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems.”
The Parliament Hill restoration will cost $265 million. $86 million is slated for the West Block.
“Originally we had budgeted for $450 million,” Duncan says. “We now know the work is going to cost more than that so we’re going to the Treasury Board to seek additional funding for the next five years of the program.”
Ottawa Centre MP Mac Harb, whose office will be moved to the West Block while work is being done on the Centre Block, says he’s pleased with the renovation plans and says they’re long overdue.
‘There’s a lot of asbestos in some of those buildings. There’s electrical wiring that’s dangerous and there’s things that really need to be removed,” says Harb.
“It’ll have a positive impact on our riding because it’ll create jobs and the people working on the Hill will have to use restaurants in the riding and other services.”
Both Duncan and Proulx say tourism is a major obstacle their department faces when planning the various stages of renovation.
They say they are working closely with the National Capital Commission and Ottawa Tourism to ensure the tourism industry doesn’t suffer.
“We’re not going to have fewer tourists because of it,” says Louis Crandall, Ottawa Tourism’s corporate services manager.
“It’s a long-term project that has to be happening. Some tourists might be disappointed but I’m sure it won’t decrease our numbers.
“The tourists will still be seeing the House of Commons. The only thing is, it will be temporary — not the fancy one you’d see in the Centre Block.”
Other work on Parliament Hill includes the Centre Block Underground Services, which is currently being constructed under the northwest corner of the Centre Block.
The department is also now seeking an architect to design a plan to restore the Library of Parliament early in the year 2000.
At that point the documents will move to the vacant Bank of Nova Scotia building on Sparks Street.