Ex-MP and longtime client Will Amos says the Victoria Barber Shop is a ‘working-class’ Hill institution that should be respected and accommodated in future plans.
The decision was reportedly made after an Indigenous Senator touring Centre Block raised questions about the decorative paintwork on the walls and ceiling of room 256-S.
The House Board of Internal Economy also recently gave a qualified thumbs up to a series of plans related to the new Block 2 complex being built south of Wellington Street.
Centre Block alone contributed almost $14.7-million to the bottom line in 2025, and scaffolding in and around the building has cost some $27.3-million overall since November 2022.
By this time next year—or early 2027, depending on how things progress—scaffolding is expected to cover the entirety of Centre Block’s iconic south façade.
The idea of more than half of the Senate’s share of future Block 2 offices being used by MPs while the Confederation Building is renovated is going over like a lead balloon with Senators.
The official change in sustainability plans may come as a surprise to Senators, as the Senate’s subcommittee on renovations indicated it has not yet given its approval.
PSPC encouraged contractors to prioritize Canadian sources of steel at the government’s expense. No premiums have yet been incurred.
Meanwhile, workers continue to haul bedrock out from under the historic Centre Block building as part of excavations that will reach 23 metres below ground.
Scaffolding is starting to go up along Centre Block’s iconic southern façade, and once erected, will be covered by a trompe-l’oeil tarp.
Spending on the Centre Block project, which includes construction of the new underground Parliament Welcome Centre, recently passed the billion-dollar mark.
For the second year in a row, PSPC hosted a large media tour of the Centre Block construction site on Nov. 14.
Plans for the Senate Chamber include installation of a new glass-enclosed viewing platform for visitors to peek in on proceedings.
When the tunnel network plan was first approved by parliamentarians in 2022, construction costs were estimated to total closer to $180-million.
Plus, Senators recently threw a wrench in efforts to revamp the approach to the future renovation of the Confederation Building, which houses MP offices.
Plus, Percy Mockler and Candice Bergen each receive FPAC’s Jim Carr award, Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith is heading to small-claims court, and the press gallery honours Lina Dib and Jean Brousseau.
Schematic design plans for Block 2’s overhaul aren’t expected to be complete until 2025, but look for early signs of construction activity outside around the site this fall.
Roughly 1,600 windows in Centre Block are set to be replaced with replicas or upgraded as part of renovations, and the process to award a contract for that work will get underway this spring.
Jennifer Garrett has been tapped to replace Rob Wright as the assistant deputy minister responsible for overseeing Hill renovations on an interim basis.
The MP working group has a busy month ahead, with seven sets of decisions to go through in December, which are now expected to be brought to the BOIE for final approval in January.
‘Although the project continues to track well, we have been taking on some water on the design side in decision-making,’ PSPC’s Rob Wright told the BOIE on Oct. 26.
Closed since the end of 2018, the massive renovation and work on Centre Block is set to continue through to 2031. On June 22, media got a chance to tour the stripped-back hallways of the historic building.
To install seismic upgrades and connect the underground Parliament Welcome Centre to the historic building, workers will be digging some 23-metres below most of Centre Block’s foundation.
