John Legris talks about restoration work being done to the fabric roof of the House of Commons during a tour of Centre block on Nov. 14, in Ottawa.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
The multibillion-dollar renovation of Parliament’s Centre Block in Ottawa is on track to be completed, as scheduled, within about six years and at a projected budget of up to $5-billion despite various pressures, says a senior project leader.
Siavash Mohajer provided the update Thursday as journalists were taken on the annual tour of the massive construction site in a complex that houses the iconic Peace Tower, but has been cleared of parliamentarians and staff to allow for work to proceed.
Inflation, issues around excavating the complex to allow for construction and design issues as the project proceeds are among the pressures as the renovation proceeds, Mr. Mohajer said.
“But we planned for it to some extent,” he said
“So far, when we put together all these pressures and what we can see in the future, we’re still tracking within that $4.5- and$5-billion,” he said.
The project is still scheduled to be done by about 2030 or 2031, with an additional year required after that to allow for moving parliamentarians and staff back into the complex.
Mr. Mohajer said the design of the project is continuing while construction is under way because there are some design elements that are not now required so are still being developed.
Centre Block, which opened in 1920 as the home for members of Parliament and senators, has been closed since 2019, and its insides stripped to the walls as part of the project under the Public Services and Procurement department.
About 500 construction workers are on site each working day to upgrade a complex that had fallen into disrepair with such liabilities as crumbling mortar and an outdated electrical system.
Once completed, the site will be more accessible to the disabled, and its historic fixtures and features will be cleaned and polished. Overall, it is to have a modern IT system and the complex will be able to better resist an earthquake of up to 6.5 magnitude – a necessity given the nation’s capital is an active seismic zone.
The renewal project also includes a major new, underground welcome centre, expected to better process visitors, while offering its own programming.
Kate Westbury, the heritage management officer for the project, said that, unlike previous work on the Centre Block, workers do not have to work around MPs and senators.
MPs have moved into the nearby West Block building, which includes a temporary House of Commons chamber, and Senate business is now being done in the city’s former downtown railway station a few blocks away.
During Thursday’s tour, the Senate and House of Commons chambers were unrecognizable, cleared of familiar seats, desks and pretty much everything else.
Darrell de Grandmont, director for the Centre Block Rehabilitation Program, said overall seating for visitors, members of the public, in Commons chambers will be reduced by about 100 seats to about 400 seats to accommodate accessibility designs for the complex.
Mr. de Grandmont, interviewed in the emptied Commons chamber, said some thought has been given to using benches in public galleries, instead of individual seats, because benches can accommodate more people.
He said that option has been discussed with parliamentarians. “They have agreed to making a reduction of seats for the galleries to incorporate accessibility, which has been very important to our parliamentarians,” he said.
Overall, Mr. Mohajer said the goal is to create a modern building for parliamentary functions.
“And when I say modern, I don’t just mean for today but I mean for today and the next hundred years,” he said.
