Government Operations committee  With respect to the contaminated sites funding that is being reprofiled, the total budget for 2012-13 was $48.3 million, so $15.8 million was spent. The $32.5 million is being reprofiled to 2013-14 and 2014-15. The amounts are $17.2 million for next fiscal year and $15.3 million in 2014-15.

Government Operations committee  On the Sydney tar ponds, the money is being reprofiled to the next fiscal year, and the majority of it will be used to ensure the close out. That is the final year of the project. The project is in fact eight months ahead of schedule. It is on scope, and it is on budget. Of that money being reprofiled, about $1.2 million of it is being held as contingency, so if that's not required, then we would be delivering it under budget.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question. There are seven projects distributed across the country on seven different assets that we will be spending that money on.

Government Operations committee  Sure. They are: Latchford Dam; Timiskaming Dam; the French River Dam, in particular, the Big Chaudière Dam portion of the French River Dam complex; Des Allumettes Bridge; Macdonald-Cartier Bridge; the Esquimalt Graving Dock; and the Alaska Highway.

Government Operations committee  It starts with detailed inspections which are carried out on a regular basis for all of our major assets, in particular for bridges and dams because of the nature of the structures. Through that we assess their condition and we prioritize the needs that are identified for them. Through that we set priorities for the funding which we seek.

Government Operations committee  Yes, we do, is the short answer. In my particular case as the assistant deputy minister for real property, it is our core mandate. It is what we do. Our entire business is a real property management framework, which includes an inventory, regular inspections, condition assessment, and setting priorities, moving those through our budget asks, and then prioritizing the funds that are available to move them.

Government Operations committee  It is just a question, I would say, in terms of machinery of government. The funds were identified in the budget. The department is required to seek government authority to access the funds. That is done through a Treasury Board submission. This is just a question of timing in terms of when the Treasury Board submission was heard, in terms of if it was in time to make which part of the estimates.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question. There isn't a specific line item dedicated to that in these estimates. It is included in the special purpose allotment that real property branch obtains to fund our buildings. It is reflected in things such as our rent payments. We have new buildings coming on line that are the result of new leases being signed that will be LEED gold.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the opportunity. We haven't identified a separate number in our reports; however, the savings that are realized from our greening operations are reflected in our annual ask for the operation of our inventory. As you know, part of our requests every year reflect changes in the costs of heating, cooling, and maintenance of our buildings, so each year it shows up more as something not asked—it is a cost avoidance.

Government Operations committee  I will ask the branch and the various sectors to pull together the numbers that we can provide with respect to savings from our initiatives.

Government Operations committee  Certainly, for us, it's a question of looking at the overall plan for our assets, and having a longer planning horizon would always allow us to do that better, so knowing the longevity of programs, knowing what plans are farther downstream, would allow us to take a stronger position with respect to our buildings.

Government Operations committee  I spoke with my colleague Pierre-Marc Mongeau, who is the assistant deputy minister for the parliamentary precinct, before appearing here today and I asked him what the plans are. He assures me that the rehabilitation of the blocks of Parliament will target BOMA BESt practice in terms of operations, and they are targeting Green Globe for the renovation of these buildings.

Government Operations committee  That was dealt with by Caroline. I wanted to answer your question on leadership. While we don't have a central agency function, as PWGSC we take our presence seriously in terms of the leadership we provide. The Jean Canfield Building that I referred to in Charlottetown, candidly, was a challenging tender.

Government Operations committee  If you look at the Treasury Board website, there is a long list of federal custodians. The top 14, as Caroline mentioned, which are part of the sustainable development strategy, cover the majority. I have a list here. It's available, as I said, on the web. Defence has 14,900 buildings in its inventory.

Government Operations committee  Not by my initiative.