Evidence of meeting #145 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was project.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON
We don't know about the geology down there, whether we have to do blasting and that sort of thing.
Deputy Clerk, Administration, House of Commons
We know it's Canadian bedrock, so we know there's going to be blasting.
Conservative
Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON
Do we know if there would be as much blasting as there was for phase one? It was quite intrusive.
Senior Director and Executive Architect, Real Property Directorate, House of Commons
I would expect at least that much, yes.
Conservative
Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON
From looking at the 2006 development plan, which gives us a bit of an idea of an anticipated footprint, I get the impression that it is larger. I could be wrong, but it looks like it is larger than phase one was in terms of the volume of space.
Senior Director and Executive Architect, Real Property Directorate, House of Commons
I would say yes to that. It's not determined 100% yet, because we haven't firmed up all the requirements. All the requirements to support Parliament that can't fit in the Centre Block as is are going to spill out into that underground visitor welcome facility, so that final footprint has yet to be decided exactly because we don't have all of the requirements that feed into it.
Conservative
Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON
One thing I heard from one person who had been involved in this process was that there was talk of putting a museum of parliamentary history into that space. Have you heard anything about that?
Senior Director and Executive Architect, Real Property Directorate, House of Commons
No, I'm not aware of that. There will be visitor services in that space, which may include potentially some interpretation services, but there has certainly been no mention of museums.
Deputy Clerk, Administration, House of Commons
For example, I know that the Library of Parliament is thinking of maybe having some interpretation services in that facility, but I've never heard anything about the museum.
Conservative
Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON
When I heard that, I meant to raise it eventually.
To make what seems to me to be an obvious observation, we should be trying to minimize to the extent we can, in a way that is compatible with the other objectives we have to achieve, the amount of bedrock we have to blast and remove. If there's anything that can be done elsewhere rather than there, then it should be moved there.
I offer the fact that at number 1 Wellington, we have a series of underused committee rooms in what used to be a railway tunnel. If, for example, there were a desire to display some of the artifacts associated with Parliament's history to interested visitors, it would be reasonable to use that space once the Senate has returned to the Centre Block rather than try to create space in what is now solid bedrock, both because that would be very expensive and also because it would be more intrusive.
If you're blasting further out, you've got to come further out, and you take up more of the Hill, and that blasting really is intrusive. When we were sitting through the House of Commons and committee meetings, I think we'd all agree when the blasting was under way it was genuinely intrusive.
Conservative
Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON
Yes, that's right.
Even when it wasn't, explosions would shake the foundation and so on... I don't want to exaggerate the importance of that, but I could see how it could intrude on a number of things.
There was one last question on that theme. What has been done so far with phase two of the visitor welcome centre, I suspect, must have had no input from the new process you've suggested. But is the intention to allow that process to kick in for any further decisions made on phase two of the visitor centre?
Conservative
John Nater Conservative Perth—Wellington, ON
I have one very brief question. It's about this building.
Up on the fourth floor within the Mackenzie Tower is a wonderful room. It's currently used as a spousal lounge, but it's not accessible. I find that concerning. My mother-in-law uses a wheelchair. My wife and I have three young children, so we often use a stroller to get all three of them there. They're at the age of four and under. That room's not accessible. I find it a little bit concerning that we've spent $800 million plus, yet we have a wonderful room that looks lovely on the inside and is not accessible. I hope that we can have some thoughts on why that might be.
Senior Director and Executive Architect, Real Property Directorate, House of Commons
Yes, it was a challenge to find a use for that room. I have to say that you start going through a list of priorities and knowing that it wasn't going to be accessible.... There was space across the hall provided for activities that would require accessibility for some of the people participating in those activities. No matter what space we would have assigned there, to put a lift in was just not feasible.
Conservative
Senior Director and Executive Architect, Real Property Directorate, House of Commons
At this point, no.
Senior Director and Executive Architect, Real Property Directorate, House of Commons
We do have space across there for some activities, but in working with that particular user group, they preferred to have both spaces.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
Given the connection, as you said, between the various authorities, including the relevant ministers, would it make sense to have a bit more formal connection between the relevant ministers and the Board of Internal Economy on this particular project, just so they're not working in isolation?
Deputy Clerk, Administration, House of Commons
I would suggest that the government is also represented on the board with the ministers who are on the board. Without getting into their own internal way of functioning, I would suggest that there are members of cabinet on the board.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
I think there is only one member, and it's not the minister responsible for Public Works, or whoever does have a responsibility related to the Hill.
