P.E.I. government earmarks $6M for Province House restoration

The P.E.I. government has earmarked $6 million in capital spending over the next three years for improvements to Province House, which government says will allow the provincial legislature to move back in.

The legislative assembly moved out of the building in late 2014 to make way for a complete restoration.

The budget for that work has grown from $10 million to the current estimate of $61 million.

Parks Canada has been responsible for all the funding so far and says the current tally doesn't include costs for the third and final phase of restoration, which have yet to be determined.

Parks Canada said its work will restore the building to the state it was in before work began, and any improvements beyond that are the responsibility of the P.E.I. government.

Alan Maynard from the P.E.I. Department of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy says the province's $6 million will go to better accessibility and security of the building.

Improved tunnel, elevator

The elevator in Province House will be extended so it reaches the basement and a tunnel connecting to the Coles Building next door will be made more accessible, Maynard said.

He also said the money will pay for "improvements for screening, improvements to the CCTV system so security can be upgraded."

The work the province is funding will be managed by Public Services and Procurement Canada as part of the ongoing work at Province House, he added. 

But the Clerk of the P.E.I. Legislative Assembly, Charles MacKay, raised concerns that the spending plan was developed without the knowledge of the province's Legislative Management Committee, which under the rules of the legislative assembly is responsible for the buildings used by the assembly and for their security.

MacKay told CBC News in fact the committee wasn't even made aware the province was putting forward a budget to make the changes.

Plan for 'legislative precinct' unfinished

MacKay said the committee has been working with the Department of Transportation on a plan for the series of buildings housing the legislative assembly, committee chambers and offices for MLAs and assembly staff, also known as the province's "legislative precinct."

"The $6 million provincial capital budget for Province House was unexpected given that there is still work to be done on that plan," MacKay told CBC News in an email.

He said the Legislative Management Committee "will need to be comfortable that budget and specific renovation plans are warranted and will result in a workable, fully functional, legislative precinct."

In the past MacKay has questioned whether Province House could continue to function as the home of a modern legislative assembly.

But Maynard said the province is proceeding on the expectation MLAs will move back to Province House, and he said government will consult with the committee once it has finalized plans for the improvements included in the capital budget commitment.

"Once these options are developed … we very much feel that there's no reason the legislative assembly can't be back in Province House."

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