I'll preface this with a comment. I come from a municipality that takes great pride in its heritage. In our city hall in Kingston, you can't put a nail in the wall to hang a picture without approval from a curator. From that perception of heritage, it's almost to the point where people don't want to have meetings in city hall anymore because of all of the heritage impacts and elements of that. It's easier to hold them somewhere else.
What I've always found remarkable about Centre Block, and what I've told people, is that it is just as much an opportunity for people to learn about Canadian heritage as it is a practical building that is utilized. Any given room can be a reception in the evening, and then the next morning it's a caucus room, and then later on it's a committee room. They're very practically used buildings. To the point that Mr. Duncan brought up about wires dangling everywhere, as much as that takes away from a bit of that historic element, it really provides the functionality of it.
That's what this building lacks. It's very functional. This building is top notch in terms of technology, but it misses the component of public engagement. When I was in Centre Block it always felt like a publicly open building, because as I walked through the hallways, I would see people walking along on a tour. This feels more like an office building. I understand the constraints that led to that; I'm not criticizing this building. But how do we ensure that when we develop and redo Centre Block, we keep those elements of the historic...telling Canada's story, welcoming visitors, welcoming Canadians, while at the same time providing for that level of functionality? Does it include—and I say this very cautiously—something, for example, like having more administration in this building, and utilizing that building more for parliamentary purposes?