architecture

Saturday December 15, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday December 15, 2018

See you later, Centre Block

Massive home renovations can test even the best of relationships.

April 9, 2009

So it could be a bit of a democratic-relationship experiment to see who and what gets tested when a very long renovation gets under way soon in the home that belongs to all Canadians — Parliament Hill’s Centre Block.

Canadians who don’t work in the shadow of the Peace Tower may only be vaguely aware — or not aware at all — that the building that most symbolizes federal power in this country is in the midst of shutting down for at least 10 or as many as 20 years.

Members of Parliament and senators going home at the end of this week for the long holiday break will return to entirely new workplaces at the end of January. The Commons will shift its operations to what’s known as West Block on Parliament Hill; the Senate moves to a former train station down the road, just across from the Chateau Laurier hotel.

November 19, 2008

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who bade a formal farewell to the building in the Commons on Wednesday, could be a senior citizen by the time Centre Block reopens. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, who has served as Commons speaker, also spoke of Centre Block as “more than a building.”

Politicians can be overly quick to describe moments as historic, but it’s fair to say that this shutdown feels well and truly historic to denizens of Parliament Hill and political junkies. The corridors have been crowded with people doing their own goodbye tours, taking in all the history of the soon-to-be-shuttered building.

June 24, 2005

It’s been a chance for everyone to learn a little more about this institution that rose out of the ashes of the great Parliament Hill fire of 1916. It’s only recently, for instance, that I’ve learned more about the architect of the building, John Pearson, thanks to House of Commons curator Johanna Mizgala (who unabashedly describes her feelings about the architect as an “intellectual crush”).

Pearson’s hand can also be seen in some fine architecture in Toronto — the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, Convocation Hall and the Sanford Fleming and Sigmund Samuel buildings — as well as some of the grander old Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce branches around the city.

Much of Pearson’s artistry will be preserved or enhanced during the renovations, but the shutdown of Centre Block has prompted some reflection about renewal for the 21st century, too. In an important piece for Policy Options, editor-in-chief Jennifer Ditchburn asked why we haven’t been talking more about new ways of organizing the Commons while it’s under renovation. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

Friday April 10, 2015

Friday April 10, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday April 10, 2015

“Inexcusable” Pan Am Stadium delays continue

The city has cancelled community events booked for its new $145 million stadium this month as construction — and damage repairs — continues on the long-delayed project.

City Pan Am committee chair Lloyd Ferguson said Thursday the 22,500 seat stadium is “very, very close” to being done, more than nine months after it was supposed to be completed.

Ferguson said a critical building inspection walk-through is scheduled for Monday and an occupancy permit could be granted within a couple of weeks.

Pan Am Stadium Chronology

Pan Am Stadium Chronology

But he added contractor Ontario Sports Solutions has also been busy fixing water damage caused by faulty water seals in the east stands on top of finishing touches to the new stadium.

Last summer, the beleaguered contractor also had to repair $25,000 in damages from a fire that broke out in a ventilation room just before the Labour Day Classic Ticat game.

Infrastructure Ontario and the contractor can’t hand over the stadium to the city until it achieves “substantial completion,” a contractual threshold that will also trigger more than $80 million in withheld building payments.

Four requests from the contractor for substantial completion have so far been rejected by IO’s independent certifier, according to city staff.

The ongoing delays have forced the city to cancel an unspecified number of community bookings for the stadium and May is currently on hold.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger called that “inexcusable.”

“We’ve been held up for how many months now?” he asked at the committee. “I want to have assurances we’re not going to continue to hold up … community events.” (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Thursday April 2, 2015

Thursday April 2, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 2, 2015

At least 40 current, former senators asked to account for questionable expense claims

At least 40 current and former senators have received confidential letters from Auditor General Michael Ferguson about questionable expense claims, and one of them has been asked to account for more than $100,000, sources have told CTV News.

The senators were tight-lipped Tuesday when asked about the letters — and whether they’ve been asked to pay back any money.

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Other senators have quietly repaid the money.

“If a senator is found with a … simple mistake, a good-faith mistake, it’s his decision to reimburse or not,” said Conservative Sen. Claude Carignan, the government Senate leader.

Insiders said Conservative Sen. Dan Lang gave back money after auditors questioned a flight that appeared to be unrelated to Senate business, but he would not confirm that to CTV News.

“No I will answer for my audit when the audit is completed, just like I made a commitment to the auditor general,” he said.

Sources said Liberal Sen. Serge Joyal also had a suspicious expense claim, but Joyal refused to discuss the matter with CTV News.

“Well I think this is a decision that takes place between the auditor general and ourselves individually,” he said.

He repeated that comment when asked whether he had paid any money back.

Auditors are matching travel and expense claims with phone records. They’ve been combing through the expenses of 117 current and former senators who sat in the red chamber from April 2001 to March 2013. (Source: CTV News)

Published on National Newswatch, The Winnipeg Free Press, Edmonton Journal, and Nanaimo Daily News

 

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Thursday, May 30, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday, May 30, 2013

In the Senate, Duffy and Wallin are sticking together

Walking through the front door of the Senate placed the PEI Senator between the two sides of the Red Chamber. Mike Duffy arrived midway through last Wednesday’s Question Period, where the topic – as it was all week – was him.

It was the first time he had stepped foot in the chamber since his resignation from the Conservative caucus the week before. Though he was in Ottawa, he did not attend a debate the previous night that saw his expenses sent back to a committee for further review. He also missed a failed attempt by the Liberals to have his expenses sent straight to the police.

Mr. Duffy moved to his new seat in the back row on the opposition side. Already in her new seat in the same area was Pamela Wallin, another former CTV journalist who had also just resigned from the Conservative caucus over expenses.

Mr. Duffy leaned over and whispered something into her ear, then took his seat to her left. Later Mr. Duffy spoke to Ms. Wallin at length and she appeared to take notes. Then they chatted briefly with Mac Harb, another Senator under fire over expenses.

The cameras did not capture any of this, because cameras are not allowed in the Senate. No video cameras. No still cameras. Two reporters were detained by Senate security earlier this year because they were falsely accused of snapping cellphone pics in the chamber. The reporters received an apology.

The recent attention on the Red Chamber over the expenses scandal serves as a reminder that the Senate is a very strange place. Unlike the 308 seat House of Commons, the Senate is a much smaller place. There are only 105 seats. Three are currently vacant and full attendance rarely happens. (Source: Globe & Mail)

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Wednesday January 23, 2013

Wednesday January 23, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 23, 2013

Connaught owners aim for condos by 2015

The Royal Connaught will be ready to reinhabit as early as 2015, according to the hotel’s owners.

Ted Valeri and Rudi Spallacci say the first part of their proposed 700-unit condominium development is expected to be built and ready for occupants within the next three years.

The initial phase of the project is expected to include 135 units constructed behind the original façade of the two existing Connaught buildings. The one- and two-bedroom suites will start “in the high $100,000s” and range in size from 530 to 1,190 square feet.

“We’re Hamiltonians,” Valeri said in an interview Monday. “We’re proud of Hamilton and we grew up with the Royal Connaught. We want to bring her back.”

But first, they’ll have to see if she can sell — which could be easier said than done in a market where annual condo sales are going down (around 8 per cent in the region last year), and a slew of competing developments are going up.

Valeri and Spallacci say they plan to open a presentation centre in the hotel’s three-storey lobby this summer. The contemporary space will feature a glass staircase and mezzanine, a grand piano and a coffee bar, and will later transition into the building’s main lobby and reception area.

A sales-oriented website (source: www.royalconnaught.com), has also gone live. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)