Thank you, Madam Chair.
My name is Robert Wright. I am the assistant deputy minister responsible for the parliamentary precinct within Public Services and Procurement Canada.
Canada's parliamentary precinct is home to one of the largest concentrations of heritage buildings in the entire country. Of the 34 crown-owned buildings in the precinct, 28 hold a federal heritage designation, of which 18 are recognized and 10 are classified. This includes, of course, the buildings on Parliament Hill, which rank among the world's best examples of Gothic revival architecture, as well as several other important heritage buildings along Sparks and Wellington Streets, including, of course, the building we're in today.
Public Services and Procurement Canada has a significant stewardship responsibility in conserving these iconic buildings, which belong to all Canadians. They are important historically and culturally, but they also play a critical role in the day-to-day operations of Parliament. Caring for them is therefore not only a cultural imperative but a business one, too. For Parliament to continue to fulfill its duties, these buildings must be restored and modernized to 21st-century building standards, which include provisions for sustainability, accessibility, and modern technology.
One of the key challenges in doing this type of work is balancing the integration of the new with the old. In meeting this challenge head-on, we put in a great deal of effort to know our buildings inside and out, and to develop a thorough understanding of the construction methods, materials, and craftsmanship that were used to build them in the first instance. With the help of heritage experts in and outside of government, such as the federal heritage building review office of Parks Canada, we perform detailed heritage recordings to identify heritage character defining elements in advance of all major work.
Together with independent building condition assessments and ongoing building screening, we use this information to make sound investment decisions and to plan work accordingly into three general streams.
The first is repair and maintenance. This is generally for routine work that aims to keep the buildings operating as part of performing regular assessments of building condition and the heritage character defining elements. Examples of repair work include stone repair, interior plaster repairs, sculpture repairs, and repairs to heritage stained glass.
The second stream is recapitalization, which is done to address health and safety issues in advance of major work. These critical interventions are undertaken on our most important heritage buildings while they remain occupied and operational. They include such things as stabilizing towers, chimneys, doorways, and windows. These are not stopgap measures, but rather permanent investments that help to reduce the cost and complexity of future work while protecting their intrinsic heritage value.
The third and final stream is rehabilitation, which is performed on buildings showing signs of significant and pervasive deterioration. These projects are stem to stern, and bring to the fore the challenging work of balancing heritage conservation, adaptive reuse, and modernization.
Completed and ongoing major rehabilitation projects within the precinct include the Library of Parliament, the Sir John A. Macdonald and Wellington buildings, Postal Station B, Canada's Four Corners Building, the Government Conference Centre, and the West Block.
The completion of the Government Conference Centre and the West Block next year will enable us to initiate what is arguably the most important project to date, the Centre Block.
In parallel with launching the Centre Block, we'll be working with the department of crown-indigenous relations and northern affairs, along with first nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation leadership, and of course, local stakeholders to develop the vision for a national space for indigenous peoples at 100 Wellington, the former American embassy.
It's a clear and flexible portfolio management plan that helps us to know where we're going over the long haul and what to execute next. Our work in the precinct is guided by the long-term vision and plan, a comprehensive strategy for the entire portfolio that aims to address the health and safety of these 19th-century Parliament Buildings, to modernize the buildings to suit the needs of a 21st-century Parliament, and of course, to preserve our built heritage.
This framework is critical in helping us establish clear priorities based on a thorough body of evidence that is reviewed and validated. This portfolio and priority-setting approach is essential to our work to restore and enhance the original character of these buildings while creating a safe, functional, and modern environment for everyone who uses them.
Also key is working with the right people, collaborating with the users of the buildings, and partnering to develop innovative solutions for upgrading the buildings without impacting their heritage character, and doing so efficiently and effectively.
We work hand in hand, of course, with our partners in the House of Commons, as well as with the Senate, the Library of Parliament, and the Parliamentary Protective Service to deliver the long-term vision and plan. We also leverage a broad array of experts in heritage, architecture, and engineering, as well as project management, to prepare, challenge, and validate designs, costs, and schedules.
We have also formed valuable partnerships with a number of universities that are helping us to overcome technical challenges and strengthen these 19th-century heritage buildings to meet 21st-century building codes by leveraging unique research capacity and expertise. This includes, for example, using 3-D imaging to improve the design, construction, and operations of Canada's Parliament Buildings.
Together, it's these relationships that are helping us in delivering the program effectively and in finding the right balance between heritage conservation and modernization.
The combination of a clear long-term plan, precise shorter-term priorities, and a broad network of experts are key in enabling us to execute this work successfully and in ensuring that we are conserving these iconic heritage structures while making them safer, more accessible, environmentally sustainable, and equipped with the latest in technology, to help Canadians across Canada connect with their Parliament.
Rehabilitating and modernizing Canada's Parliament Buildings, albeit challenging, is as historic a process as their original construction, and will pave the way for them to serve Canadians for the next 150 years.
Thank you. I'm happy to take questions.