Public Accounts committee  I mentioned that there were previous buildings there. Depending on the age of the building, there could be some abatement work that is necessary in terms of removing potentially hazardous materials. We know that some construction material that was used in the past is obviously no longer used, and it can be dangerous if it's not properly disposed of.

Public Accounts committee  My colleagues from the procurement branch would probably be able to provide a more definitive response, but there are two approaches. One is that procurements are typically done on a competitive basis and, through the competition, there is an incentive for bidders to ensure that the price they're submitting is going to be competitive, to increase the likelihood or chances of their being successful on it.

Public Accounts committee  I think the question you asked is whether the government did. Again, I think the National Capital Commission could let you know what information it provided during its work. As I indicated before, from an overall perspective and a corporate planning perspective, these are not detailed.

Public Accounts committee  Again, the National Capital Commission will be able to provide you with more answers. My understanding is that—

Public Accounts committee  The National Capital Commission obviously would be able to provide you with more detailed responses, but in terms of helping the committee understand how it operates, when they provide their corporate plan, as I mentioned before, they have expenditures within two buckets, for lack of a better term—operating and capital expenditures.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chair, unfortunately, I'm not able to provide an answer to that question, in terms of specific expenditures, because—again—they would have been part of the National Capital Commission.

Public Accounts committee  I have not, Mr. Chair.

Public Accounts committee  I have seen the picture you referenced before, sir. That's the picture I have seen. I have not had a chance to visit as of yet.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you for that question. That's my understanding as well. The terminology of “barn” is basically a reflection of the historical building that used to be there, but as I've indicated, the building really is a storage or repair workshop or vehicle facility. While I know a barn conjures up images of certain types of buildings, for those of you who have had the opportunity to take a look at the National Capital Commission's website, where they have pictures—it was referenced before—it doesn't really look like a barn.

Public Accounts committee  I don't have a definitive answer to that. What I do know from the information I have is that it's a storage area for vehicles for maintenance and operations of the grounds and the property. I presume it's things like snow blowers and trucks and whatever is used for ground maintenance, but again, I'm speculating a little bit.

Public Accounts committee  With regard to approvals, the National Capital Commission's submitted master plans essentially provide the overall budget, divided into capital and operating budgets. The capital budget includes activities that enable us to undertake works for the construction, renovation and modernization of buildings under the NCC's responsibility.

Public Accounts committee  I can't answer that question with regard to the budget for the Governor General in particular. The National Capital Commission has an established budget, and, as I mentioned, the way to spend it is based on master plans. As regards—

Public Accounts committee  That's beyond my area of competence, but, as far as I know, the only possible answer I can give you is that all budgets allocated by Parliament are set out in the main and supplementary estimates. That's the process that the government uses to allocate budgets to the various organizations.

Public Accounts committee  In terms of requirements, the National Capital Commission would be able to let you know what their requirements were from an operational perspective. What I would indicate—which, again, is publicly available information—is the transition from the four old buildings, which were removed, to the new building.

Public Accounts committee  I can't give you a definitive answer on that one, because I don't have access to the analysis. The National Capital Commission could give you that. I have been informed, through other activities in industry and real property sectors, that when you do go towards greening, there may be an additional cost at the beginning that will be incurred, with the offset of greener facilities on a go-forward basis.