Yesterday was the final day that Centre Block was officially in operation. As of today, the big move starts happening, starting with the House of Commons chamber, and will be followed by the other major offices, like the Speaker, the prime minister and leader of the opposition, with the heritage furniture that will continue to be in use. And once that’s done and the building is empty, they can start to open up walls and ceilings to figure out the state of the building, and determine what needs to be done in terms of renovations and restorations, and from that point determine a price tag and timeline. At present, everything is just a guess, so we’ll have to stay tuned. (Here’s a photo gallery of the current House of Commons and Senate, and the new Commons).
They start moving these desks to the new Chamber as to tomorrow. Not a moment to lose, as it’ll be a big job getting everything in place before MPs return. https://t.co/iNPG5Vsjqn
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) December 14, 2018
The Senate, however, is a different story. Recent testing of the new chamber brought to light the fact that there are acoustic problems related to sound leakage that were first identified two years ago, and despite assurances from Public Works, it wasn’t addressed. That means they have to install new sound baffles which will delay the move by several weeks, which means that there will be even fewer weeks for the Senate to address its full Order Paper in the New Year. Committees can still meet in the meantime, but it seems the Conservatives have decided to engage in some gamesmanship over Bill C-69, which has the Independent senators are complaining about stall tactics.
Meanwhile, here is a lengthy thread looking at the new Senate building, and six facts about the building, its history, and the new renovations.
Today, we are marking the handover of the beautifully restored Government Conference Centre to the Senate and announcing its renaming as the Senate of Canada Building. https://t.co/reC3X0Er1J @SenateCA @GeorgeFureyNL pic.twitter.com/3wVnOJKKQA
— Carla Qualtrough (@CQualtro) December 13, 2018
A peek inside the new @SenateCA building which will be home for Senators during the refurbishment of Centre Block. (The desks in the current chamber will be moved over to replace these temporary ones) pic.twitter.com/oNp1ZGulpE
— Bruce Campion-Smith (@yowflier) December 13, 2018
Two throne chairs in the interim were gifted by the Queen, to mark Canada 150 and for use in this space for the first time. Some wood used came from Great Windsor Park. Chairs from Center Block to be restored. pic.twitter.com/FbnO0bjsm2
— Laura Ryckewaert (@LRyck) December 13, 2018