Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Dec. 11th, 2018

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I have to go.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

That's too bad.

We have Mr. Simms, and then Mr. Graham.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Actually, I think Mr. Graham and I had the same question.

Can I ask?

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I can go after anyway.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

It's just that I have a stupid comment to begin with, for our architectural team.

You're from the U.K., is that right?

[Duncan Broyd]

Thank you for the question.

I was born in the U.K.. I actually have lived in Canada for the last six years and my walk to work is 10 minutes. The accent might be a bit of a giveaway.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

I was just wondering. I was going to ask when Big Ben is coming back, since we're talking about all this—

[Duncan Broyd]

Larry may be able to help you with that.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Actually for bragging rights.... They shut down Big Ben, but we're not shutting ours. You can say that.

The Memorial Chamber is very special. People are literally blown away by the Memorial Chamber. A lot of people who don't know that it exists go there and are absolutely stunned by its honour, and just by the emotional aspect of it as well. Can you comment on what we're doing with the Memorial Chamber?

[Susan Kulba]

It will be closed as part of the renovations. Acknowledging that it's such an important space for what it represents, we engaged with Veterans Affairs, which are the actual owners of the Books of Remembrance in the House of Commons. We've decided that it was very important to keep the books on the Hill. As such, Centrus has designed a new, temporary space in the visitor welcome centre for those books during the closure of Centre Block.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Will it be treated as it was before? People can go in and out in an orderly fashion over at the visitors centre?

[Susan Kulba]

Yes.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Thank you.

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

I have couple of quick questions. They all are.

First of all, I want to make sure that you're taking as many good pictures of these renovations as you received from the last one.

Is that a yes? Okay.

For the Memorial Chamber, if you're standing in the Peace Tower today and you look at West Block, there's a tower on West Block. It has a glass floor at the same level of the Peace Tower's observation deck. Is that going to be open to the public? Is there any plan for that? Is it possible for it to be an alternative to the Peace Tower for the next 25 years?

[Rob Wright]

Thank you for the question.

I think you're referring to the MacKenzie Tower.

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Yes.

[Rob Wright]

When we started the West Block project, there was an assessment of whether the MacKenzie Tower could be turned into occupiable space. There was no feasible way to meet the modern building code in the MacKenzie Tower. Although the Prime Minister's office is at the base and there's a family room space above that, there's really no functional space within the full height of the tower proper.

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

Is there anyone else?

I guess it goes without saying that—you probably don't even have to answer—all of the ornate carvings and woodwork in some of the offices, stone carvings, bullet holes and everything will remain as part of history in the renovation.

[Larry Malcic]

Yes, it is certainly our intention to, as much as possible, maintain, restore and keep the heritage of the building and all of the main heritage spaces, which have already been identified. We recognize the value that the building has, in terms of its history and symbolism and the quality it conveys. It was built one hundred years ago, and it reflects the values, traditions and really the aspirations of the Canadian people. We want to preserve that.

In the extension of the visitor welcome centre, phase two, we want, as much as possible, to convey contemporary Canada as well, within that building. What you see will be restored and retained.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

Mr. Reid.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

I think these are questions that are probably not really for the architects. They're more things I would like to get on the record for policy-makers, more in our normal role, as things we're trying to get those who are in higher decision-making bodies than ourselves to take into account.

I would like to go on the record as saying that I believe we ought to preserve unhidden the bullet holes from the tragic events of October 2014, so that they can be seen by any visitor.

Of course I'm referring not merely to the bullet holes around the plaque in honour of Alpheus Todd. There are also two bullet holes in the desk in the library, and there's one in the door of the opposition room. I'm not sure you want to keep those doors in place. There might be other reasons for getting rid of them.

These are records of something important that happened here. We strive to make this the peaceable kingdom, as the moniker has it. The fact that we haven't always succeeded doesn't mean we should cover up those aspects of our past. I realize that you aren't the folks making the decision, but those are my own views on that.

I don't want to ask about the Memorial Chamber, but I think the word that was being sought was “beautiful”. People are struck by how beautiful it is. That's what it is. It's a very spiritual place.

I want to ask about the memorial books themselves. I assume they're being moved, and that they will be in a separate spot and will continue to be treated in the same manner and available to the public during the renovation period. Is that correct?

[Susan Kulba]

That's correct.

The new space that Centrus has designed in the visitor welcome centre will be where they are moved to. The altars that they are currently on, which were created a number of years ago, will be physically moved over with the books. It will be open to the public as it is currently in Centre Block.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Okay. People will see that after they go through security, I assume, as opposed to before.

[Susan Kulba]

Yes.