After 129 years, it’s makeover time for Queen’s Park.
Bringing Ontario’s legislature into the 21st century will be no small feat. That’s why the province now has a standalone minister in charge of renovating and upgrading the aging building. It’s a major logistical undertaking for which there is no clear cost or timeline — but the government says it’s key to democratic access.
Leaky pipes, exposed wiring, asbestos insulation, and an old-school steam heating system are just some of the problems facing the building, which first opened to MPPs in 1893.
Then there’s the technology side of parliament, which is also being brought up to modern code with an eye to boosting access. That’ll involve equipping all committee rooms with cameras so that proceedings can be televised and broadcast on the legislature’s website, allowing a big audience to tune in. Important law-making goes down at committee: public consultations allow stakeholders to weigh in on proposed legislation, and clause-by-clause consideration can see parts of a bill amended before getting sent back to the house for a final vote.
Political watchers have COVID-19 to thank for all of this.
“It sounds kind of hokey, but it’s all part of updating the legislature to being a more responsive type of place,” says Paul Calandra, government house leader and legislative affairs minister, who’s overseeing the efforts. “It reflects a better-operating legislature and the value of the work that members are doing.”
He added: “Is it part of COVID? Yeah, it struck me that we didn’t have the ability to properly show our committees — the technology just wasn’t there. It really got highlighted in COVID just how far behind we were on all of that.”
Major renovations are needed so that the building can function properly — and also so that MPPs, staff, journalists, and everyone else who works at the Pink Palace can do the same. That means creating larger spaces for committee meetings, downsizing the now-mostly-digitized Legislative Library in the north wing, and making space so that all 124 MPPs can have an office (many, including cabinet ministers and parliamentary assistants, are housed off-campus in their ministry offices, scattered across Toronto).
There are, though, serious logistical considerations. For instance, Queen’s Park sits on top of a TTC subway station, and that could create challenges related to electrical wiring or simply by virtue of the fact of doing a major renovation on top of a tunnel.
But before the work can begin, Calandra has to find space to relocate the legislature — something that may not happen for another five years. The space will have to hold a mock chamber for all 124 MPPs and office space for their staff and others who work at the Legislative Assembly, including reporters. Macdonald Block, where the public service and other government offices are housed, could have been an option, but it is already undergoing a major renovation, so the government will have to go back to the drawing board.
There’s also no price tag yet, although the renovation is expected to clock in at over $1 billion. For now, an expert is undertaking a review of the legislative precinct to ensure that its heritage features will be preserved.
“Look, there’s no sugar-coating that it’s going to be a pretty costly project, just given the age of the building and the deterioration of all the structures around,” Calandra says. “They’ve done a good job [maintaining it] but this is sorely needed.”
Oversight is another consideration. The Legislative Assembly of Ontario operates separately from the government of the day, but because Calandra is in charge of the renovation, partisan politics enters the equation. Calandra says an all-party committee will help oversee the project to ensure that MPPs of all political stripes will have a say in how their workplace operates: “Parliamentarians should have final decision-making authority on the nature of the renovations that are happening so that it’s not something that’s just led by government — it’s for the members.”