I don't think public servants can work miracles when no money is allocated to building maintenance. Public servants do what they can with what they have. No money was invested, or virtually none. One need only walk through the buildings in Ottawa to see how pitiful it is. Go to National Defence headquarters on Colonel By Drive and walk through the upper corridors; walk down Booth Street and Tunney's Pasture, and you'll see that the state of federal buildings is shameful. Someone must take the bull by the horns and say these buildings belong to Canadians, that they have to be renovated and fixed up in order to restore their value.
On February 14th, 2008. See this statement in context.