For immediate release
Quebec City, November 30, 2006 — The Honourable Michael M Fortier, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, today announced the launch of an information gathering process aimed at consolidating federal services in a new building in downtown Quebec City by the spring of 2010. Federal employees working in Quebec City will be relocated to a newly built or existing building.
“The process announced today represents a major commitment toward the City of Québec,” Minister Fortier said. “This relocation project will enable us to find the best solution for accommodating some 700 public servants and is in line with the commitment of Canada’s new government to ensuring that government buildings across the country, including those in Quebec City, are built or renovated to be energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.”
Minister Fortier again stressed the new Conservative government’s commitment to increasing its presence in the Quebec City area while pursuing the greening of government buildings. The Government of Canada is managing taxpayers’ money with care while applying the principles of sustainable development.
The target of the Request for Information will be a green building in downtown Quebec City that meets the Government of Canada’s environmental standards. The project will take into account the current and future operational requirements of the affected departments. The goal is to consolidate federal employees currently working at the Champlain Harbour Station and 1141 Route de l’Église (Sainte-Foy sector) in Quebec City.
A Request for Information concerning the availability of space will appear as a public notice in the Saturday edition of the daily newspapers. The purpose of this notice will be to gather information from the real estate sector on the availability of space inside a perimeter corresponding to downtown Quebec City. The building must meet the Government of Canada’s environmental standards.
The information gathered via the Request for Information will provide Public Works and Government Services Canada with a representative list of potential sites that could meet the space requirements of the federal departments. During the process, the proponents must provide us with a series of documents clearly demonstrating their ability to meet our requirements. Once this information has been reviewed, a decision will be made as to the best strategy to adopt concerning this building in downtown Quebec City.
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For further information, media may contact:
Jean-Luc Benoît
Director of Communications
Office of Minister Fortier
819-997-5421
Frédéric Baril
Press Secretary
Office of Minister Fortier
613-868-1128
Media Relations
Public Works and Government Services Canada
819-956-2315
Ce texte est également disponible en français.
PWGSC news releases are also available on our Internet site at www.pwgsc.gc.ca/text/generic/media-e.html.
BACKGROUNDER
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING THE CONSOLIDATION OF FEDERAL SERVICES IN DOWNTOWN QUEBEC CITY
Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) is currently planning to relocate a number of federal public service employees who work in the downtown core of Quebec City to a single building.
The lease for the land on which the Champlain Harbour Station (CHS) is located expires on March 31, 2009. The Port of Québec is taking back the land, and we need to relocate the building’s occupants. We are considering the possibility of extending occupancy of the CHS by one year.
In addition, the building at 1141 Route de l’Église in Sainte-Foy requires major, unjustifiable investments, and the occupants will be relocated with the CHS occupants.
A PWGSC project team has been formed to conduct preliminary analyses to identify accommodation options (Crown, lease-purchase, build-lease, etc.).
On Saturday, December 2, 2006, PWGSC will be issuing a Request for Information with a view to identifying potential sites in an existing building or in a building to be constructed in downtown Quebec City. The building will need to have an area of at least 18,000 m2.
This project is among the recommendations of PWGSC’s Community-Based Investment Strategy (CBIS) for Quebec City.
We are seeking to maximize the energy efficiency of the proposed building in keeping with our approach to green government buildings and apply sustainable development principles.
In accordance with the federal government’s Good Neighbour Policy, this project will be carried out in consultation with municipal authorities.
The information gathered via the Request for Information will provide Public Works and Government Services Canada with a representative list of potential sites that could meet the space requirements of the federal departments. During the process, the proponents must provide us with a series of documents clearly demonstrating their ability to meet our requirements. Once this information has been reviewed, a decision will be made as to the best strategy to adopt concerning this building in downtown Quebec City.
