Assistant Deputy Ministers’ message: The Long Term Vision and Plan for the Parliamentary Precinct—Annual Report 2020 to 2021

We are pleased to present the Long Term Vision and Plan (LTVP) Annual Report for 2020 to 2021, which provides updates on key activities in support of the long-term strategy that is guiding the restoration and modernization of Canada’s Parliamentary Precinct.

2020 to 2021 was, of course, not a normal year. The work led by our team and partners to continue advancing our restoration and modernization efforts in the midst of the pandemic illustrated everyone’s commitment to advancing this important work on behalf of the Parliament and Canada. With the primary goal to keep people safe while the work continued, a tremendous amount of care was taken to ensure that industry-leading practices were put in place in both operational facilities and on construction sites.

Keeping health and safety a top priority was key in reaching a number of important milestones over the past year. The Centre Block, the main Parliament building and perhaps Canada’s most important public building, achieved a critical stage with the public unveiling of the schematic design and the project’s scope, budget and schedule. This long anticipated public announcement on the largest heritage restoration project in Canadian history also revealed the creation of a Parliament Welcome Centre. This will be key to the future operation of the Centre Block, not only supporting the needs of a modern parliamentary democracy, but also enabling more Canadians to engage with our country’s parliament.

A second important milestone was the launch of an international design competition for the redevelopment of Block 2, the city block directly across from the Centennial Flame and the Peace Tower. The redevelopment of Block 2 provides a unique architectural opportunity to fully integrate the existing parliament buildings in our nation’s capital. This redevelopment will initially provide swing space so that the East Block and the Confederation Building can be restored, and subsequently enable the consolidation of Parliament into a modern integrated campus.

In parallel, many other projects across the Parliamentary Precinct continued to advance, some in the planning and design stages and others in construction, such as the important work to recapitalize the East Block’s masonry and towers to address deteriorated elements and extend this important building’s lifespan. None of these accomplishments would be possible without the commitment and dedication of our trusted partners. These valued relationships are the cornerstone to our success in delivering projects that reflect design excellence and sound stewardship in preserving and modernizing these heritage icons so that they will serve Canada in the 21st century and beyond.

With gratitude to our team and partners who made it possible to achieve these significant accomplishments over the past year, we are pleased to invite you to read this report.