Parliament building restoration

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Construction of four temporary meeting rooms for MPs in a federal building next to Parliament Hill in Ottawa cost over $24 million, CBC News has learned.

The rooms are being used for Commons committee meetings while other buildings on the Hill get a $5-billion, long-term restoration.

The House of Commons classifies the four $6-million rooms as "interim," meaning they may have to be renovated again for other uses after the committees move back to their original locations.

Kevin Gaudet, head of the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation, called the pricetag of the meeting rooms "crazy — you could build a whole new building for that."

The scheme to erect a new building on the Hill to house some senators and Commons committee rooms was axed by Paul Martin's Liberal government in 2005 after projected costs hit $325 million, an increase of almost 60 per cent in three years.

Senior government officials say internal discussions about constructing a new building are no longer about whether it will happen, but how soon.

Current restoration work on the Hill is focused on the West Block, which houses 50 MPs, seven committee rooms and the food production facility for the Hill.

Projected restoration costs for that one building are now over $1 billion, an increase of $349 million since 2005. The costs of creating alternative accommodations during West Block renovations have already passed $100 million.

The costs, including the $24 million for meeting rooms, are all part of the massive restoration project at the Hill, which was originally projected to cost $465 million in 1995 but has risen to over $5 billion .

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2 ... z13RHF2OaW