$41M Province House restoration to begin amid questions about costs

After years of planning and preparation, the federal government has issued a tender for phase one of a $41 million dollar project to restore Province House in Charlottetown.

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The 170-year-old building normally houses the province's legislature and is where Canada's founding fathers gathered in 1864 to initiate discussions which eventually led to the creation of Canada.

The building is in much worse condition than first expected. On a scale from 1 (good) to 5 (collapse ), Province House is a 3.5 to 4.0.— confidential Parks Canada memo

But even as the budget for the restoration has climbed from $10 million to $20 million to the current $41 million, there are lingering concerns that still may not be enough to safeguard the historic building for future generations.

"I think part of the problem here is that fixes that were done in the past were stop-gap, they didn't go far enough," said Island senator Diane Griffin.

The federal minister responsible for Parks Canada expressed concerns to Griffin last week the current budget may not be enough, she said. 

It's essential the restoration address the root problems that allowed things like water infiltration to damage the building, Griffin said.

"I think they're at the point now where they have to fix this properly, they don't have a lot of choice," she said.

Deterioration 'increasing exponentially'

A confidential Parks Canada memo from November 2015 obtained through Access to Information also raised concerns about inadequate funding, which at the time stood just over $20 million.

"Deterioration of the building is exponentially increasing with time and the consultants are now using the words 'saving the building as opposed to conserving it,'" the memo states.

"If we continue with the process, working with existing budget allotment, the direction the project takes will be very different from the direction to properly conserve the building," it continues.

It also said initial information from the consultant hired to evaluate Province House "indicated the building is in much worse condition than first expected. On a scale from 1 (good) to 5 (collapse), Province House is a 3.5 to 4.0."

Six months after the memo, funding was bumped up to the current $41 million. But even at that level, a federal government spokesperson this week said Parks Canada would be, "focusing on areas of highest priority to ensure that Province House National Historic site is properly conserved," while staying within the budget allocation for the project.

Detailed costing would not be available until after the tendering process was complete, the spokesperson said, adding Parks Canada, "is committed to ensuring that all infrastructure projects are cost efficient and make the best use of taxpayer money."

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