'Rigorous' cost management needed as $5B Centre Block renovation proceeds: AG report
'Rigorous' cost management needed as $5B Centre Block renovation proceeds: AG report
Despite delayed decision-making by parliamentarians, Canada's massive renovation of Parliament Hill's Centre Block is being effectively managed so far, according to a new audit.
However, "rigorous" cost management will be needed as the work proceeds, cautions auditor general Karen Hogan in her performance report on Public Services and Procurement Canada's (PSPC) rehabilitation of the crown jewel of Canadian democracy.
Tabled in Parliament on Monday, Hogan issued her assessment of the work done up until last summer on the effort that is estimated to take until at least 2030-31 and cost between $4.5 billion and $5 billion to complete.
The ongoing major construction is the most comprehensive update to the building since it was completed in 1927.
"Public Services and Procurement Canada used flexible approaches to effectively manage the planning, design, and early construction phases," Hogan said in a release accompanying the audit.
"Given the size and complexity of this undertaking, a streamlined decision-making process will be required to continue effectively managing the costs and timelines of the rehabilitation program, as construction work accelerates," she said.
At the time, a third-party assessment found a "high level of confidence" in the federal government's cost and timing estimates, "provided no major functional program changes occur or extreme rates of escalation are not experienced."
Digging into whether PSPC has effectively managed the cost, schedule, and scope, Hogan found that spending has so far been under the approved amounts, and the lead department has plans in place to mitigate the risks of costs increasing, while noting the bulk of the expenditures is still to come.
According to the audit, as of the end of July 2022 PSPS had spent a total of $880.7 million on rehabilitating the Centre Block and expanding the Parliament Welcome Centre.
Offering examples of how delayed decision-making by MPs, senators, the Library of Parliament and the Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS) have impacted what's been called the "most complex heritage rehabilitation ever seen in Canada," the audit pointed to foot-dragging on how to use the east courtyard.
That decision was required by spring 2020, but a final design was not agreed to until March 2022.
Another instance of parliamentary indecision that remains outstanding, Hogan found, is what Centre Block's security requirements will be.
Hogan pointed to these instances as examples of a "fragmented" governance framework, a shortcoming her office first raised attention to in a 2010 audit.
"As the program moves more into the construction phase, where making changes to elements that are built or in the process of being built becomes more difficult, the impact of delayed decisions on costs and timelines will be greater," reads the report.
Speaking to reporters about her audit on Monday afternoon, Hogan said up until now that project has largely been about design and site preparation, but as it becomes a more full-on construction effort any delays could result in increased costs.
"I could give you a great example: if you have ever renovated your kitchen, imagine if you had to not only get consensus of everyone that you live with, but all the neighbours on your street as well before you could pick out the cabinetry," Hogan said.
The assessment of PSPC's work to date also looked into whether the federal department responsible for the project has balanced the need to maintain the heritage integrity of the building, with the requirements of other stakeholders such as MPs and senators, and found that through considerable consultation this has been accomplished.
"This included consultations to understand requirements, such as the number of offices, the size of the lobbies, and the technical requirements of committee rooms," the report reads.
The extensive project includes taking out, restoring, and reinstalling integral historic features of the building, while layering in modern updates, including new multimedia, accessibility, and security features. It has also been promised that the upgrades will transform the largest energy consumer within PSPC’s portfolio of federal buildings, into a carbon-neutral facility.
Hogan's audit commended PSPC for taking a "flexible" approach to keep the project moving along, including during COVID-19 shutdowns and while awaiting input from certain stakeholders, but has offered three recommendations on how to stay on track:
Conduct a gender-based analysis plus assessment for the Centre Block Rehabilitation Program, to "ensure that the public spaces are inclusive and represent the diversity of all Canada’s peoples."
Submit progress reports on the renovation to the Speaker of the House and Speaker of the Senate that outlines the foreseen bumps in the road ahead, clear deadlines for upcoming decisions that require parliamentary input, and any needs for adjustments to the initial plan and the impacts of these issues on the cost, scope, and schedule.
And, make public its long-term vision and plan annual reports within the year so that Canadians can see for themselves how the project is going and what they can expect the reimagined Centre Block to look.
PSPC has agreed to these recommendations, vowing to provide semi-annual updates to Parliament on the project's "emerging risks, significant changes and key decisions required," starting this year.
Public Services and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek thanked the auditor general for her work, while touting that the renovation project will create more than 70,000 jobs over the course of the project, with more than 90 per cent of the work being completed by small and medium-sized Canadian enterprises.
"While considerable efforts have been made to strengthen governance, some issues do remain," Jaczek said during a scrum with reporters in West Block. "I can tell you we're committed to implementing the auditor general's recommendation to further improve project governance."
MPs and senators moved out of Centre Block at the end of 2018, and into their new homes of West Block and the Government Conference Centre, respectively. Approximately $3 billion was spent preparing for Centre Block's closure, including the renovations to create the temporary House and Senate.
Hogan took on this performance review because "a significant amount of public funds have been allocated," for it, and "Canadians should know the progress so far and whether the program has been effectively managed."
A New Democrat MP is trying to convince his colleagues to change the rules that govern the House of Commons in a series of ways he says would instill 'democratic controls' on the prime minister's 'unfettered' powers.
Monday morning, the Public Service Alliance of Canada announced it had reached a 'tentative' agreement with the federal government for the 120,000 picketing Treasury Board workers who, since April 19, had been engaged in one of the largest strikes in Canadian history. Here's a rundown of the developments from Parliament Hill as they happened.
The House committee studying foreign election interference heard from top 2019 and 2021 Liberal and Conservative campaign directors on Tuesday, with party officials from both camps speaking about the need for politicians to come together to address any "legislative gaps" ahead of the next vote.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
U.S President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced updates on a number of cross-border issues, after a day of meetings on Parliament Hill.
Danielle Smith's win in the Alberta election hands her the most starkly divided province confronting any premier in Canada, writes commentator Don Martin.
Special rapporteur David Johnston didn't recommend public inquiry knowing it was a pathetically insufficient response for a foreign democratic assault of this magnitude, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
To frame a few new illustrations on pages tucked inside a passport as proof of a Liberal plot to purge the Canadian historical record seems like a severe stretch, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is a bright former federal prosecutor, who was destined to be a star in Justin Trudeau's cabinet. But in an opinion column on CTVNews.ca, Don Martin argues Mendicino has taken a stunning fall from grace, stumbling badly on important issues just 18 months into the job.
It's the most peculiar of elections with the frontrunner and her main opponent being the same person, writes columnist Don Martin. 'In the looming Alberta showdown, it's Premier Danielle Smith versus her mouth.'
Russia says it thwarted a large Ukrainian attack in the eastern province of Donetsk, though it's unclear if this was the start of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
France will be sending firefighters to aid Quebec as the province continues to battle massive forest fires, French President Emmanuel Macron announced.
Although remote work has cleared the way for workplace flexibility, allowing employees to work in various locations (and climates), a new study suggests it’s taking a serious toll on work-life balance.
The Nova Scotia government says it is investigating the theft of personal information stolen through a global privacy breach to a third-party file transfer system the province was using.
Quebec provincial police (SQ) have identified the adult victim of a fishing incident that claimed five lives over the weekend, most of them children. Keven Girard, 37, was among a group of 11 people swept up by the tide late Friday night while fishing along the shore in Portneuf-sur-Mer, a village about 550 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
A wildfire that tore through homes and businesses in the Halifax area is 100 per cent contained, but a historic fire in southwestern Nova Scotia remains out of control.
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the federal government is not ruling out finding ways to achieve net zero sooner than the existing 2050 goal, but would not say whether there would be a definitive commitment to move up the target.
Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumoured headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination.
Quebec provincial police (SQ) have identified the adult victim of a fishing incident that claimed five lives over the weekend, most of them children. Keven Girard, 37, was among a group of 11 people swept up by the tide late Friday night while fishing along the shore in Portneuf-sur-Mer, a village about 550 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
France will be sending firefighters to aid Quebec as the province continues to battle massive forest fires, French President Emmanuel Macron announced.
The Nova Scotia government says it is investigating the theft of personal information stolen through a global privacy breach to a third-party file transfer system the province was using.
Allowing new Canadians to take the oath of citizenship by clicking a box online is a disgusting idea that will cheapen the process and open the door to fraud -- or a forward-thinking notion that will help decrease a backlog of citizenship applications, depending on who you ask.
A wildfire that tore through homes and businesses in the Halifax area is 100 per cent contained, but a historic fire in southwestern Nova Scotia remains out of control.
Wildfires in northwestern Quebec prompted thousands to evacuate the area over the weekend, as the number of blazes pushed past 150 and firefighters and the military poured into parts of the province to fight the encroaching flames -- even as that threat eased slightly Sunday on the North Shore.
The derailment in eastern India that killed 275 people and injured hundreds was caused by an error in the electronic signalling system that led a train to wrongly change tracks and crash into a freight train, officials said Sunday.
China tightened access to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on Sunday, the anniversary of the military suppression of 1989 pro-democracy protests that left a still unknown number of people dead and discussions and commemorations forbidden within the country.
A wayward and unresponsive business plane that flew over the U.S. capital Sunday afternoon caused the military to scramble a fighter jet before the plane crashed in Virginia, officials said. The fighter jet caused a loud sonic boom that was heard across the capital region.
Debate surrounding Florida's new restrictions on gender-affirming care focused largely on transgender children. But a new law that Republican presidential candidate and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last month also made it difficult -- even impossible -- for many transgender adults to get treatment.
China's defence minister defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the world's top defence officials in Singapore on Sunday that such so-called 'freedom of navigation' patrols are a provocation to China.
At least 15 people have died and another eight are missing after heavy rains unleased widespread flooding and several landslides across Haiti over the weekend, authorities said Sunday.
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the federal government is not ruling out finding ways to achieve net zero sooner than the existing 2050 goal, but would not say whether there would be a definitive commitment to move up the target.
Jenny Kwan has been outspoken against human-rights violations by the Chinese Communist Party and often advocates for the country's Uyghur Muslim minority. The Hong Kong-born member of Parliament said in an interview with The Canadian Press that that's what made her an 'evergreen' target of the Chinese government.
New study finds increase in antipsychotic drugs use in long-term care homes across Canada, despite no significant increase in behavioural symptoms – something that may expose a potential area of concern for quality of care, researchers say.
The number of people in Canada with inflammatory bowel disease is increasing rapidly and is expected to grow to 470,000 by 2035, according to a new report from Crohn's and Colitis Canada.
Racial bias built into a common medical test for lung function is likely leading to fewer Black patients getting care for breathing problems, a study published Thursday suggests.
Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumoured headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination.
The Nova Scotia government says it is investigating the theft of personal information stolen through a global privacy breach to a third-party file transfer system the province was using.
Constructed by a team at London, Ont.’s Western University, a tiny satellite — roughly the size of a Rubik’s cube — will ride aboard a SpaceX mission bound for the International Space Station.
'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' opened in U.S. and Canadian theatres with a massive US$120.5 million, more than tripling the debut of the 2018 animated original and showing the kind of movie-to-movie box-office growth that would be the envy of even the mightiest of Hollywood franchises.
Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumoured headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination.
Saudi Arabia will reduce how much oil it sends to the global economy, taking a unilateral step to prop up the sagging price of crude after two previous cuts to supply by major producing countries in the OPEC+ alliance failed to push oil higher.
A tanker transporting crude oil broke down in a single-lane part of Egypt's Suez Canal on Sunday, briefly disrupting traffic in the global waterway, Egyptian authorities said.
Constructed by a team at London, Ont.’s Western University, a tiny satellite — roughly the size of a Rubik’s cube — will ride aboard a SpaceX mission bound for the International Space Station.
Gabe Vincent scored 23 points, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each had 21 and the Miami Heat evened up the NBA Finals by overcoming a monster effort from Nikola Jokic to beat the Denver Nuggets 111-108 in Game 2 on Sunday night.
The joy Paul Maurice felt on the morning of the start of the Stanley Cup Final was also tinged with sadness. The veteran coach knew there were only at most seven more games left to play.
Karim Benzema converted his penalty kick and received a standing ovation from fans before being substituted at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, bringing an end to his memorable career with Real Madrid on Sunday.
America apparently needs more car seats. So, when Volkswagen unveiled the ID. Buzz, a retro-styled electric van, last year, it noted that the version for the North American market would be longer and would have three rows of seats.
Max Verstappen had warned that his Red Bull team was good enough to win every single race of the Formula One season. On Sunday he took one more step toward that ambitious sweep by easing to victory at the Spanish Grand Prix.
