As the common service provider for real property and
office accommodation for the Government of Canada, the
Real Property Branch provides strategic management of
one of Canada's largest portfolios. The Branch coordinates
the office accommodation needs of approximately 100
federal departments and agencies on a city, regional
or national scale.
Portfolio
- Stewardship of $7B worth of holdings, including
national treasures
- 6.7M square metres of space (51.6% owned/48.4% leased)
- 2,100 leases at a cost of around $800M
- 254 Government of Canada buildings
- Accommodation of about 210,000 public servants and
parliamentarians in 1,840 locations across Canada
Sustainable Buildings
We use industry-developed and approved environmental
assessment tools in the design, construction and management
of our buildings.
Our inventory is now 34 percent more energy efficient
and 24 per cent more greenhouse gas efficient than we
were in 1990 -- and that saves taxpayers about $19.2M
per year.
We are committed to meeting the Leadership in Environmental
and Energy Design (LEED) silver standard but will strive
for gold standard for all new buildings, and have been
recognized as a green leader for a number of assets
within our existing portfolio, for example, in Vancouver,
Toronto, and Montreal.
Green Lease Initiatives
Our new "Green Leases" address key environmental
standards such as: proper management of wastewater,
indoor air quality, recycling, energy efficient lighting
fixtures and greenhouse gas reduction.
Cleaning Up Contaminated
Sites
We also look for ways to reintegrate contaminated and
under-used properties into communities.
PWGSC works extensively with other departments to help
them design effective plans to clean up their contaminated
sites. Working in cooperation with the Province of Nova
Scotia, we are now the federal lead on the project to
clean up the Sydney Tar Ponds.
Heritage Conservation
Our expertise in the restoration of heritage assets
has been recognized through Canada's most treasured
structures, from the Parliamentary Precinct in Ottawa
to the Canadian war memorials in Europe.
Parliamentary
Precinct
In 2001, Cabinet and Treasury Board approved the Long
Term Vision and Plan (LTVP) for the Parliamentary Precinct,
a detailed blueprint for the renovations and new construction
over the next 25 years that will meet accommodation
requirements identified by the Senate, the House of
Commons and the Library of Parliament.
Good Neigbours
As Canada's largest landlord, PWGSC affects communities
across the country, with our Good Neighbour Policy emphasizing
our goal of being a positive presence. When choosing
locations for government offices, we consider such factors
as access to public transit, infrastructure needs, and
conserving or re-using buildings.
Payments
in Lieu of Taxes
Through our Payments in Lieu of Taxes program, we distribute
more than $400 million to some 500 municipalities and
other real property taxing authorities each year. These
statutory payments recognize the services the Government
of Canada receives, and contributes to covering the
cost of local government.
Alternative
Forms of Delivery
Under the Alternative Forms of Delivery (AFD), PWGSC
contracts out some property and project delivery management
services using competitive processes. This allows us
to focus on providing strategic real property advice
and service management, while retaining custodial responsibility
for buildings and direct accountability to customer
departments. The reprocurement of this initiative is
currently underway.
As part of its effort to maximize efficiencies, Real
Property is currently undertaking a major renewal program
that will modernize the way it conducts business and
model itself after the "best in class" real
property organizations in the world.
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