Thank you, Chair, for the opportunity to appear before this committee to discuss the rehabilitation of the parliamentary buildings. I am Pierre-Marc Mongeau, assistant deputy minister of the parliamentary precinct branch. With me is Rob Wright, director general of major crown projects for the parliamentary precinct, and also Tom Ring, the assistant deputy minister for acquisitions with Jacques Leclerc.
We are both here today because there is a distinct separation of responsibilities between us, Tom and I, on the tendering, awarding, and managing of contracts to carry out the restoration of the parliamentary buildings. I'm responsible for establishing the technical requirements and Mr. Ring is responsible for managing the procurement processes. This separation ensures there are appropriate checks and balances in the system.
Today I will focus my brief opening remarks on the following three elements. First I will give you a brief overview of Public Works' mandate on the Hill; second, I will speak about the context in which the contract of the restoration of the West Block was awarded to LM Sauvé; and thirdly, I will provide you with an overview of the procurement process used by Public Works to award this project and the management of the project.
Let me begin by outlining Public Works' mandate with respect to Parliament Hill, which we carry out in partnership with our parliamentary partners, the Senate, the House of Commons, and the Library of Parliament. Public Works and Government Services Canada is the official custodian of heritage buildings and grounds on Parliament Hill. Quite simply, it is our job to make sure that the parliamentary buildings are properly managed, maintained, and restored. This involves managing a day-to-day operation, maintenance, and renovation of approximately 143,000 square metres of heritage space here on Parliament Hill as well as the buildings located on the north side of Sparks Street between Elgin and Bank.
To ensure that Public Works focuses its energy on this important mandate, in 2007 the deputy minister created a stand-alone branch within Public Works led by an assistant deputy minister. As you know, Public Works is undertaking a long-term multi-phase redevelopment plan for Parliament Hill. This plan, which was approved in 2007, has been recognized as an award-winning urban plan.
A good plan, however, is only a good start. Making it happen on time and on budget requires sound management. Just six months ago, in her spring 2010 report, the Auditor General of Canada gave an assessment of the project management approach being used by Public Works in the projects to rehabilitate the parliamentary buildings. This included an assessment of Public Works' methodologies for costing, capturing lessons learned, sustainability, and heritage restoration.
The Auditor General gave Public Works high marks and made no recommendation to improve the management of this major project. So it should be emphasized that this audit examined the management of the West Block in particular. We are proud of this recognition and will continue to build on these strengths.
Key to the management framework guiding the rehabilitation project is an implementation strategy built on rolling five-year plans that enhance accountability for projects, schedule, and budget. This framework also focuses on managing each five-year plan as an interdependent program of work rather than a series of individual projects. We have developed a robust approach to ensure we can actively manage the project costs and schedules. For example, on a monthly basis, we work with both public and private sector experts to develop new cost estimates and schedules for the entire program.
There's a graphic in front of you that illustrates the interdependency that exists between the different projects. Efforts over the past three years have been focused on completing the project to relocate MPs, senators, and a number of other parliamentary functions off the Hill so that the restoration of the main parliamentary buildings can begin. These projects are being delivered on time and on budget.
In fact, 15 major relocation projects have been completed during this time, including a new committee room facility located at 1 Wellington Street, and we are just now putting the finishing touches on La Promenade facility, where MPs will be relocated from the West Block.
Our recent accomplishments include the award-winning Library of Parliament, completed in 2006.
In a few moments, my colleague, Mr. Ring, will describe how Public Works conducts its procurement processes. However, I would first like to describe the context in which the contract was awarded to LM Sauvé to restore the West Block's north towers.
The West Block's masonry is in a state of extreme deterioration and is facing a risk of total failure in the next few years. This has been confirmed by several independent experts. So it is critical to restore the building as quickly as possible.
The Southeast Tower project served as a template for the North Towers project. It was completed in September 2008 and just recently won a major award from the Canadian Association of Professional Conservators. The evaluation criteria which were developed in 2005 for the tendering of the Southeast Tower project were the same used in 2007 for the North Towers project.
These two pilot projects were designed to increase Public Works and Government Services Canada's knowledge of the West Block's stone and structural condition, and to develop best practice approaches to the building's restoration.
As you can see, we take these projects seriously and apply a rigorous management methodology. We take the same rigorous approach when we procure expert services from architectural and engineering firms and construction companies.
In front of me are the tender documents for the North Towers project. As you can see, these documents are substantial. The intent of these detailed documents is to express our specific requirements to industry as clearly as possible and in a public manner to ensure that the process is fair and transparent. These documents guide industry's technical and bid price submissions.
Later, my colleague will explain the two-stage competitive process used for the North Towers project. You will then be able to better understand our approach, the same approach that was also used for the Southeast Tower project.
The North Towers contract was awarded after an open, fair and transparent process and the project itself was and continues to be managed fairly according to the contractual terms. The contract was awarded to LM Sauvé on May 30, 2008 and the results were publicly posted. Public servants working in separate sectors managed this process from beginning to end.
PWGSC awarded the contract for the restoration of the North Tower to LM Sauvé because it submitted the lowest compliant bid. As with every project we embark on, PWGSC made every effort to make the project a success with LM Sauvé as the general contractor. However, due to continuing and unresolved performance issues and schedule delays, PWGSC took the necessary step of removing the work from LM Sauvé's hands on April 20, 2009 to ensure that the contractual terms would be respected and that value for money would be achieved.
As part of the original tendering process, PWGSC had required that the project be bonded to provide insurance against these rare situations where the contractual obligations are not being fulfilled. This meant that PWGSC was properly insured and was able to transfer responsibilities for completing the project under the original terms of the contract to the bonding company: L'UNIQUE Assurances Générales.
The bonding company is now directly accountable for completing the project under the original contractual terms. PWGSC has no contractual relationship with any of the subcontractors. The bonding company and not Public Works and Government Services Canada is responsible for managing relationships with subcontractors and for resolving any disputes that arise.
In closing, I would like to underline that this project and other projects being delivered on your and all Canadians' behalf are managed by a group of proud professionals who are dedicated to restoring these magnificent buildings on Parliament Hill, and to doing it in a way that meets the highest ethical standards.
I will now turn it over to my colleague, Mr. Ring, to explain the procurement processes.
Thanks, Mr. Chair.