Records show the $8 million solar-powered warehouse at Rideau Hall includes almost $500,000 in architect fees, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “It is a two-level, zero-carbon facility that accommodates both working and storage functions for the operation and maintenance of the Rideau Hall site and grounds,” said cabinet in an inquiry of ministry tabled in the House of Commons. The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) has ordered an audit. The inquiry of ministry showed 86 separate contracts were issued over 10 years for construction of the warehouse. Contracts worth $8 million included $752,738 for excavators, $497,559 for architects, $196,390 for mechanical and electrical engineers, $62,400 for structural consultants, $22,365 for translators, $19,459 for landscapers, $5,752 for acoustics experts, $2,350 for roofers and $1,500 for surveyors.Figures were disclosed at the request of Conservative MP Chris Warkentin (Grande Prairie-Mackenzie, AB), who asked for the total expenditures related to replacing Rideau Hall’s barn. The 9,300-sq.-ft. barn included parking for landscape equipment, a freight elevator, a work room for 20 employees, tool storage lockers, one washroom and fibre optic cabling. The National Capital Commission (NCC) defended costs at a CPAC hearing in November. “Eight million dollars is a lot of money, and I have a responsibility to my board and to the taxpayers of this country to deliver the National Capital Commission budget as effectively and efficiently as possible,” said NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum. Conservative MP Jake Stewart (Miramichi-Grand Lake, NB) asked how spending $8 million for a barn that houses zero people and provides no economic benefit could be a proper use of taxpayers’ money. Additionally, Stewart said everyone involved failed to achieve value for money. “This Rideau property, it is literally just one big racket, the racket at Rideau,” said Stewart. “It should be a series of novels we’re going to write in due time.”Bloc Quebecois MP Julie Vignola (Beauport-Limoilou, QC) called it “really more of a garage.”“When I examine the cost and look at how the building turned out, I wonder,” said Vignola. “It looks like a 1960s garage.”The Canadian government admitted in October it spent $8 million to build a barn at Rideau Hall.READ MORE: Rideau Hall ‘barn’ costs taxpayers $8 millionThis barn is going to be used as a storage facility. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this construction project was managed by the NCC. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation found out through an access to information and privacy request the barn cost taxpayers $8 million.
Records show the $8 million solar-powered warehouse at Rideau Hall includes almost $500,000 in architect fees, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “It is a two-level, zero-carbon facility that accommodates both working and storage functions for the operation and maintenance of the Rideau Hall site and grounds,” said cabinet in an inquiry of ministry tabled in the House of Commons. The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) has ordered an audit. The inquiry of ministry showed 86 separate contracts were issued over 10 years for construction of the warehouse. Contracts worth $8 million included $752,738 for excavators, $497,559 for architects, $196,390 for mechanical and electrical engineers, $62,400 for structural consultants, $22,365 for translators, $19,459 for landscapers, $5,752 for acoustics experts, $2,350 for roofers and $1,500 for surveyors.Figures were disclosed at the request of Conservative MP Chris Warkentin (Grande Prairie-Mackenzie, AB), who asked for the total expenditures related to replacing Rideau Hall’s barn. The 9,300-sq.-ft. barn included parking for landscape equipment, a freight elevator, a work room for 20 employees, tool storage lockers, one washroom and fibre optic cabling. The National Capital Commission (NCC) defended costs at a CPAC hearing in November. “Eight million dollars is a lot of money, and I have a responsibility to my board and to the taxpayers of this country to deliver the National Capital Commission budget as effectively and efficiently as possible,” said NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum. Conservative MP Jake Stewart (Miramichi-Grand Lake, NB) asked how spending $8 million for a barn that houses zero people and provides no economic benefit could be a proper use of taxpayers’ money. Additionally, Stewart said everyone involved failed to achieve value for money. “This Rideau property, it is literally just one big racket, the racket at Rideau,” said Stewart. “It should be a series of novels we’re going to write in due time.”Bloc Quebecois MP Julie Vignola (Beauport-Limoilou, QC) called it “really more of a garage.”“When I examine the cost and look at how the building turned out, I wonder,” said Vignola. “It looks like a 1960s garage.”The Canadian government admitted in October it spent $8 million to build a barn at Rideau Hall.READ MORE: Rideau Hall ‘barn’ costs taxpayers $8 millionThis barn is going to be used as a storage facility. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this construction project was managed by the NCC. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation found out through an access to information and privacy request the barn cost taxpayers $8 million.
