Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Dec. 9th, 2025

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

On that note, with the “65% Canadian-sourced” steel alluded to on page 6, I was wondering if the project has had any communications with Interpro Pipe and Steel of Regina. They're a major steel manufacturer in Saskatchewan.

If we are sourcing steel from the United States and paying tariffs on top of it, I'm sure there are many steelworkers in Regina who would be very appreciative of the opportunity to work on such an exciting project. Can anyone comment on whether those communications have taken place?

[Jennifer Garrett]

The company is not ringing a bell for me personally. I will go back and check, but on this particular program, we have had many engagements with the steel manufacturing industry. They could have been part of those engagements.

Let me take that back. We are happy to provide that answer. We're also happy to make any connections between these companies and our construction manager so they better understand their capabilities and are prepared to bid on our jobs.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Very good. You'll be hearing from me, for sure.

I should clarify that I was not on the tour today, but I did do the tour a few weeks ago. It looks like a very exciting and fascinating project. I was particularly interested in some of the reinforcements being made to protect the structure from earthquakes and seismic activities.

I understand that in 2010, there was a significant earthquake in the Ottawa area that reached five on the Richter scale. I'm wondering how powerful an earthquake the structure will be able to withstand once the project is complete.

Could someone comment on that?

[Jennifer Garrett]

I can happily talk about the structural reinforcement, but given that there are structural elements to it, the actual number we're designing to I'd like to provide to the committee off-line because there's a security-related element to it.

Let me just say that, surprisingly, Ottawa is in the second-highest seismic zone in the country and code requirements are very strict. We've gone through a deliberate exercise. It was early days in the program when we decided that because of this iconic heritage building, we had a choice to make. Do we strengthen the building from the top so it can withstand shaking of that type of magnitude? Code identifies the magnitude of earthquake we're required to design to and what the building must be survivable to after that event. That's the information we can provide off-line to the meeting.

We went through a very deliberate exercise, and we chose a base isolation methodology. It's new to the Ottawa area, but it's not a new innovation. It's used on the west coast and in the Pacific Rim in the earthquake zones.

The reason we pursued this is that base isolation will absorb the shock. We don't have to stiffen the building as much above, so we are protecting the heritage spaces. If we had chosen to stiffen the building to withstand the shock, it would have created a catastrophic impact on the high heritage spaces in the building.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Mr. Chair, do I have time for a quick question for Mr. Kmiec so you can cut him off? That might work well for—

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

You have five seconds, which you're eating into.

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Mr. Kmiec, do you have any comments?

[Tom Kmiec]

Is it on the earthquake-proofing, Chair?

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

Specifically, it's whether the seismic activity from question period will be withstood.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Tom Kmiec]

As I tell the other chair occupants, we are merely victims of all of your behaviours.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

Thank you so much.

We will now turn to Mr. Louis for five minutes, please.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Thank you to all of you, not only for being here today, but also for the opportunity to tour Centre Block. It was the first time for me to see the construction. I think that was very meaningful.

It's a significant and historical opportunity to modernize Parliament. I believe one of you mentioned that it's an investment in Canada. We're talking about a modern, secure, accessible and integrated.... This is a chance to reinvent.

Off the top, you mentioned thousands of jobs and 400 companies across Canada.

Ms. Garrett, you already mentioned that a majority of the steel we're using is Canadian, and that was before the world changed. You'll be sourcing and prioritizing Canadian steel now.

Can you explain how companies can get involved? It seems like both a source of pride and a source of jobs.

[Jennifer Garrett]

Centre Block and the work we've done in the precinct have always had a Canadian focus. It's been largely delivered by Canadian labour, and we have focused on Canadian materials and capabilities whenever we can. In the new environment we find ourselves in, we're doubling down on that effort, which is why we're pursuing steel and what steel opportunities there are.

I'll be honest: This was a learning exercise for us. We phoned up the steel manufacturing industry and the steel production industry and had a conversation. I think I'm safe to say that if you ask them, they'll say they were very pleased to receive that call.

We've done several engagements with them. That's allowed them to understand our requirements and for us to understand their capabilities. That's where we've come up with the idea...and we're briefing this more broadly than just the work we're doing in the precinct.

I'm sorry if I'm going too far into this. I'll share what I've learned. One of the capabilities we used to have in this country, which Canada has lost over the course of time, is the ability to produce seamless, wide flange steel. That's a big contributor to construction efforts. It's a capability that will take quite a bit of time and quite a bit of money to re-establish. That's a decision for the industry to make.

What we've been able to do in the meantime is determine that we can take Canadian-produced steel members and fabricate them into a wide flange unit. That, among other things, is how we got there. We got there by sharing our challenge and saying that we were interested in working with the industry to get there, fundamentally.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

I'm not sure who is best situated to answer this question. We got to go inside the building, right down to the basement, and looked around. Most people are only seeing things from the outside. What they see is a Parliament that looks relatively the same as it always has, except for some cranes.

Can someone explain what's about to happen to Centre Block's Peace Tower? It will be covered pretty soon. When will that happen, why is that happening and for how long? I ask so people who are walking past will know what's going on.

[Jennifer Garrett]

Just to situate this before I get to the steel—and I don't think you can see this from the Hill camera—if you venture up to the site and look through the side of the construction fence, you'll see that a very large hole, which is the future Parliament welcome centre, is filling in. We are now working on the second level, meaning we've already done the bottom level. We're actively pouring concrete on the second level. The hole is filling up.

Inside the building, we're actively working on structural reinforcements—people saw the rebar—and excavation underneath the building. That structural work is in hand throughout the building. On the exterior—because Parliament Hill is a major draw for visitors and a major economic driver for the tourism industry—we did a lot of work, before the project even stood up, to coordinate things like the changing of the guard, to make sure that could still happen, and putting lights on the building. You name it; we've done those engagements.

We deliberately started the masonry program, which is actively under way, on the rear parts of the building so that we maintained the front view of the facade for as long as possible. However, alas, we are at the point when we have to move the masonry program across the front facade and along the Peace Tower.

If you were looking through the Hill camera today, you would see on the east side of the building that scaffolding is starting to take shape. Over the course of the winter and spring, you're going to see that scaffolding come up across the front of the building, and that's so we can start the masonry rehabilitation along the front, do window restoration and replacement, etc.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

I have seconds left, but for all the children of all ages watching, how do we access this Hill camera?

[Jennifer Garrett]

Google “Parliament Hill cam” and it will come up. It's available on the PSPC website.

[The Chair, Liberal, Chris Bittle]

Thank you so much. That was an example of an actual five-second question.

Ms. Normandin, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Dicaire, you mentioned moving the interpreters and the control room. That was one of the questions I wanted to ask.

We know that the role of interpreters is to support the work of members of Parliament. As important as they are, they do not take up much space. I would like to hear your comments on the advantages and disadvantages of moving the interpreters and the control room, which I am less familiar with.

For example, when the remote interpretation program was set up, we had challenges with interpretation delays. Perhaps the interpreters had more difficulty, since they did not have direct access to what they were able to see before.

What considerations were behind the decision not to have on-site interpretation?

[Benoit Dicaire]

That's an excellent question.

We work in partnership with the translation bureau at every stage of developing the transformation of simultaneous interpretation. We did this during the pandemic, which led to remote interpretation, among other things. It was the first mandatory innovation based on the context we had to work with.

In the current context, it's really a question of space. The building's layout presents a certain challenge that is forcing us to move in this direction. Technology has developed enough that we can make this change while also offering a similar experience. We will potentially offer a better ergonomic environment for interpreters, a centralized environment with modern facilities that will meet the needs for the next 40 or 50 years.

It's a bit different for the control room. Right now, there is convergence in the industry. The industry used to be very traditional in terms of audiovisual technology and television. Now, there is real convergence in terms of technology. I am thinking about IP technology in particular, which is evolving. It is also a question of costs. This is a real opportunity to look at the economies of scale we can achieve so that we can offer the same level of quality.

A few years ago, we held committee meetings via audio. Now, all committee meetings are held via video. The quality of webcasting is increasingly approaching that of television production. Television production is more expensive and requires more staff. It's different in terms of technology, but thanks to technological advances, the quality is nearly the same.

We are moving in this direction to offer better services, while remaining mindful of resources and quality requirements.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

I would like to hear your comments on the number of conference rooms and offices for MPs in the old version of the Parliament compared to the number planned for the new version.

What needs have changed between the old version of the Parliament and the new one?

[Benoit Dicaire]

Members' offices have been given priority in the Centre Block. We learned a lesson for this building, which is to give priority to the offices of parliamentarians and House officials in strategic locations close to the chamber and the most frequently used committee meeting rooms. We have made this a priority.

So, there are fewer offices reserved for the House administration. There are fewer potential activities, which is forcing us to do things differently. We have less space for control rooms, and we are installing more offices for members of Parliament. We had to compromise on that.

There are heritage spaces in the Centre Block, such as the Prime Minister's office, the Leader of the Opposition's office, and so on. These are places that will not undergo major changes, but updated codes mean changes in accessibility. A parliamentary office therefore takes up a little more space, but it is similar to what you have seen in the Wellington Building today or in the Valour Building, two buildings that have been updated in recent years. You will see similarities, but priority is being given to a greater number of offices for members and conference rooms.

There will also be areas where an MP does not necessarily have an office, but where they can go to work with other people. Some areas are shared with Senators in the new Centre Block, which allows parliamentarians to interact in specific areas without having to travel to an MP's or Senator's office.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you.