I have a few questions: Why is the Department of Public Works not involved in this project? I noticed that the term deconstruction is used. Will the furniture be auctioned off? After the British government took over Earnscliffe on 140 Sussex Drive they sold Sir John A. Macdonald's furniture and artifacts on the front lawn: The auction: Complete list of furniture, china and glassware, pictures, ornaments, etc. the property of the late Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald to be sold at Earnscliffe, Ottawa, May 15, 1982. (From: Earnscliffe Cultural Heritage Statement-City of Ottawa-Page 4/49, January 6, 2020.)
Now the British High Commission is constructing a bunker that will hide the residence of Canada's first prime minister, and they are building high security gates. No wonder Sussex Drive is called "The Mile of Security" and not "The Mile of History." Parks Canada and several Canadian prime ministers wanted the prime minister's home returned to the citizens of this country: "Earnscliffe should be considered a 'national shrine' and the government should 'investigate ways and means to acquire it for that purpose'". Parks Canada Record of National Historic Site Designation-Reference File-February 18, 2000.
Why does the government not have any control over the design of the Chateau Laurier Hotel addition? Before the Grand Trunk Railway built the hotel, they had to submit their plans to the federal government: House of Commons Ottawa July 6, 1908. Hon.William Pugsley (Minister of Public Works): "...Before giving a conveyance, we must have the plans submitted to us and approved by the government...The Governor in Council will not allow any departure from these plans unless, on the advice of our chief architect, we think they should be altered."
Why is the Department of Public Works inviting foreign entities to redevelop the Parliamentary Precinct? The I.M. Pei Company of New York City is on the short-list of contenders, they famously designed the Louvre pyramid in Paris:
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