Evidence of meeting #23 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was gatineau.
A video is available from Parliament.
1:05 p.m.
Liberal
Yasir Naqvi Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON
That's great. Thank you.
For Mr. Plamondon, through you, Madam Chair, a lot of the ideas we've been talking about and your great vision around nation building seem to be a little long term in nature. Wellington Street is closed at the moment. What would you suggest could happen right now, immediately, to make Wellington Street more dynamic and more attractive for people to come to, especially as summer is upon us and we are soon to celebrate Canada Day?
1:05 p.m.
Supporters of the Loop
Through you, Madam Chair, this was the subject of an op-ed that I wrote in the Ottawa Citizen about bringing Wellington Street to life this current summer. To me, for those who are coming to the national capital, instead of the cement blocks to mark the areas where traffic is not allowed, they can be replaced with planters. There should be signs that say, “Welcome to the Parliamentary Precinct.” We should be welcoming Canadians back to this particular space.
I heard earlier in testimony about an idea of even hosting a ball hockey tournament on Wellington Street. We could be having little pop-up bistros, as the National Capital Commission does at various places in the national capital region, at Remic Rapids and Patterson Creek. Imagine having a nice dinner at the foot of Parliament Hill and how attractive that would be.
For Canada's 150th, there was a grand dinner hosted on Wellington Street, at the foot of Parliament Hill. When tickets went on sale for that, it was sold out within an hour. This is a place where people want to come. We can animate the space and make it welcoming and not treat it as a no-go zone. Treat it as a place where Canadians are welcome to stroll and a great place to take pictures from, for Parliament Hill and elsewhere.
1:05 p.m.
Liberal
Yasir Naqvi Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON
Perhaps, Madam Chair, if we can arrange for that article by Mr. Plamondon to be circulated to the committee as well, I think that would be very helpful. Maybe Mr. Plamondon and I can go for a run on Wellington Street soon as well, since we are both runners. If I have time, through you, I'd like to ask Mr. McRobie a question as well.
You've been talking about block two, or PP2, as you've referred to it, which is an exciting opportunity. Most recently, the design competition chose a winner. What steps do you think we have to take to ensure that at least the part of Wellington Street in front of that particular block is incorporated in some sort of pedestrian mall or “parliamentary square”, as some people have referred to it?
1:05 p.m.
Architect, As an Individual
I would say that in terms of the planning, it's important that there be breathing space for this project. That means not just limiting the front or the attachment of that project to Wellington Street. That is part of what we need to do. We need to have more space in order to accommodate a project of that size. A multi-building new heritage component is involved and some significant space, some significant passageways that go through to Sparks Street.
I don't think there's an easy answer to say, fine, we'll just take the frontage of that and somehow widen it or reduce Wellington Street. There's only so much real estate, and trying to reduce Wellington Street for just the facade or the face of that project, I think, would be a great mistake. We have to think of the whole way that it interacts with Parliament Hill and the downtown.
1:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bardish Chagger
Excellent.
On behalf of all PROC committee members, I really want to thank our guests for joining us today. If anything else comes up, please do not hesitate to share that with us in writing. If you sent it to the clerk, we will make sure it's circulated and considered.
With that, I really appreciate the fruitful exchange and everyone's leniency in giving us the extra 10 minutes.
I hope everyone keeps well and safe until the next time.