A Senate committee learned a Canadian government agency vowed to build an underground Senate parkade at a cost of $1 million per spot, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “The numbers presented to us is it would be a minimum of $1 million per parking space,” said Canadian Senators Group leader Scott Tannas in a hearing at the Senate Internal Economy Committee.“There would be inflation.” Tannas called it an outrageous expense from the same agency that built an $8 million solar-powered barn at Rideau Hall. The Canadian government confirmed on October 18 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 project was managed by the National Capital Commission (NCC), which takes care of Canada’s official residences.The Canadian Taxpayers Federation filed an access to information and privacy request and found out the barn cost $8 million. When testifying at the Senate Internal Economy Committee, Tannas said the NCC proposed to build the underground parking garage at an undisclosed location. He admitted he is unsure the NCC gave it any advice on where. With this project, he said the NCC “would like us to take a little less than half the parking stalls that were on Parliament Hill before and move the rest to a to-be-constructed underground parkade.” He added the cost is outrageous. “It’s not defensible,” he said. Conservative Senate leader Don Plett said the $1 million price tag will likely increase, as there would be predictable cost overruns on public works. “We know it would be $3 million a spot and not $1 million,” said Plett.The NCC declined to comment. It is under investigation by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee over the $8 million cost of constructing the Rideau Hall barn. MPs were told at a Commons Public Accounts Committee on October 31 the warehouse was equipped with solar panels, fibre optic telecommunication lines and an elevator. No auditor or independent budget officer scrutinized the expense buried in the NCC’s $191.7 million annual budget. Conservative MP Jake Stewart (Miramichi-Grand Lake, NB) said there is no accountability. “None of our storage sheds or barns cost $8 million,” said Stewart. “None of them have elevators, and none of them have fibre optics.”
