It is clear that, for the past few years, we have noted a significant deterioration of the Parliament buildings. We noted in the report that some systems in West Block were deemed to be in a critical state. There is a risk. If ever the systems no longer operated, Parliament would no longer be able to function.
The situation is becoming increasingly critical. Renovation work has to be carried out. To do this, we need plans. There are five-year plans, but we also need a plan with a longer-term view. I think that it is appropriate to prepare plans for a five-year period of time. We need to provide stable funding given that, over the years, projects have often been stopped and restarted owing to a lack of stable funding. We have also noted that the whole issue of governance has been problematic for 20 years. Furthermore, Public Works is somewhat caught between two bodies, namely the parliamentary partners who are expressing their requirements and the Treasury Board that approves funding. So the department has to try to satisfy all of these requirements.
We believe that responsibility for the buildings should be put back into the hands of Parliament. Parliament must be given greater responsibility for this work and the funding and it must be accountable with respect to the progress achieved.