Ontario legislature eyes full shutdown for major renovations; Likely to spend over $1B | globalnews.ca

Toronto — at age 130, legislature of ontario Showing his age.

There are lead pipes and asbestos running through the walls, mountains of old cables and wires piled on top of new ones, an inefficient steam heating system that fails frequently and a fire protection system in need of upgrading. .

The “dangerous and severely deficient” infrastructure has legislators and officials eyeing a full shutdown of the building for massive repairs and relocating governing business elsewhere for about eight years .

It’s similar to the project underway at Parliament’s Center Block in Ottawa, and members of an Ontario legislative committee were scheduled to visit that city on Thursday to hear any lessons or best practices from officials there. Can go

Legislative Affairs Minister Paul Calandra said a report was underway to determine exactly what work was needed, but it was clear it would not be cheap.

“It’s certainly not going to cost less than a billion dollars,” he said in an interview.

The massive scale of repairs and upgrades to the stately old legislature known as Queen’s Park has been discussed on an increasingly urgent basis over the past several decades, with options such as closing it off block by block for construction work.

It doesn’t seem like an option anymore, Calandra said.

“We have to rush and (have) a full restoration, and it can’t just be in one piece and still have a functioning assembly at the same time, given the scale of what has to happen here,” he said. They said .

Speaker Ted Arnott said that moving the assembly out of the building would ultimately be less disruptive and less expensive than doing it bit by bit.

“The longer we delay, the more likely there will be a catastrophic failure of one of our systems, whether it’s plumbing or electrical, or ventilation,” he said in an interview.

“We just can’t let the building crumble around us.”

Calandra is involved in the search for a new location for the assembly and hopes that when the next provincial parliament convenes after the 2026 election, it will be in a different — relatively close — location.

“There’s a recognition that four or five, maybe six years at most, clearly … that’s when we basically reach the end of the building’s lifespan, and it becomes very challenging to maintain Yes,” Calandra said.

“It’s going to happen sooner than later.”

The legislature has so far been tasked with repairs, but a report from 10 years ago concluded that a “complete replacement of all major systems” was needed, including better fire protection, as well as electrical, IT, plumbing and heating. Are. and cooling system.

“Upgrades of this scale and complexity are further complicated by specified substances that are present throughout the building, including asbestos, lead and PCBs,” said Jelena Bajcetic, director of campus properties, during a November hearing on the legislative committee studying the issue. told.

“These issues present significant challenges for us in staying ahead of the maintenance curve … As we continue to maintain the system, it does not change the fact that the infrastructure as a whole is at risk and critically underutilized.” “

The Standing Committee on Procedure and Home Affairs is set to hear on Thursday from the deputy clerk for administration, chief information officer and director of real estate services for the House of Commons.

Jennifer French, the New Democrat who chairs the committee, said she’s looking forward to hearing from federal officials about what the province needs to take into account in starting the project and how to make these big decisions.

“It’s not uncharted territory, but it’s new to Queen’s Park,” she said in an interview. “Obviously, this is a building that is very important to many people, and we want to make sure it can continue to serve Ontarians.”

Deputy Clerk Trevor Day said the work that needed to be done would not benefit the current crop of politicians, but it was for future parliaments. That’s why it’s important to get all parties on board, he told the committee in November.

“We need to make it bigger than the current government,” he said.

“It’s going to take some time. It’s going to cost a lot of money. There may very well be a time when the public is not happy with how the money is being spent. I see a benefit to the people of Ontario, But it is not tangible … We want to prove to you that it is needed and we want to prove to you that it is worth the money.

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