Government Operations committee  Yes, thank you for the question. Mr. Chair, the design of the roof was provided by world-class Canadian architects. They have looked at other examples of glass roofs elsewhere in the world, in fact, in a number of countries, and they've actually also used a louvre system in orde

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Chair. It is a very good question. We have been fortunate that our construction managers were able to get the required resources. Of course, masonry has been talked about considerably. It's a very artisanal trade. We have a sufficient number of m

Government Operations committee  If I understand the question, it's basically to build a similar building.

Government Operations committee  Thank you. Mr. Chair, obviously, heritage buildings are classified buildings. Knocking them down is something that we did not consider because of the importance of these iconic structures. As my colleague mentioned, we looked at many, many options for the design of the buildings

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question. Yes, the program for the building while it's occupied by the Senate will contain the Senate chamber, 21 offices, and two committee rooms. All of the mechanical and electrical systems, life safety systems, etc., will be replaced in the building. They h

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Chair. We do significant investigations prior to doing any work. Boreholes are taken, and samples are taken. Engineers look at the results of this information to determine rock depth, rock quality, if there are any contaminants, and so on. This is

Government Operations committee  That's a very good question, and you're absolutely right. Technology changes very rapidly, especially in the fields of multimedia, security, IT, and so on. What we've done in the West Block design is to ensure that we've installed a distributed conduit system so that it's more

Government Operations committee  We are building a number of energy-efficient measures into the building. Our targets are to actually reduce, by 20%, the requirements of the model national energy code, first and foremost. We are going to be installing systems such as LED lighting. This is a relatively new techno

Government Operations committee  That's quite right. We did not want to have the roof over-exposed. We wanted to make sure the design was compatible, subordinate, and distinguishable. In fact, the National Capital Commission has three sight cones that mandate the height of new construction in the area of the Par

Government Operations committee  As Mr. Mongeau mentioned, the upper layer is a triple-glass layer, which prevents the elements from getting in. It also soundproofs the chamber. Underneath that, there is what we call a laylight layer essentially forming a pillow. The roof is like a pillow. That's quite beneficia