Real Property

March 23, 2007

• Portfolio
• Green Lease Initiatives
• Heritage Conservation
• Parliamentary Precinct
• Office Accommodation
• Accessibility
• Payments in Lieu of Taxes
• Alternative Forms of Delivery

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 105 federal departments and agencies on a city, regional or national scale.

Portfolio

• Stewardship of $7B worth of holdings, including national treasures
• 6.8M square metres of space (57% owned/43% leased)
• 2,000 leases at a cost of around $800M
• 380 Government of Canada buildings
• Accommodation of about 241,000 public servants and parliamentarians in 1,796 locations across Canada

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. PWGSC developed a Green Lease Standard, which has been available since April 2004. Over 70 new or lease renewals have applied the new green lease provisions since then.

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.

Office Accommodation

The department has adopted a whole of government, standards driven approach to planning office space for departmental clients. This includes the application of sustainable design principles to ensure adequate individual workspace and to provide common support functions.

This approach allows the department to make more efficient use of limited resources and deliver office accommodation in a more timely and consistent way. It also provides client facilities personnel with greater predictability and a more manageable and responsive office environment. The ultimate result for the office worker is a healthier, more equitable and more satisfying work place.

Accessibility

The federal government has clearly taken a leadership role on accessibility since the mid 1900s and aims to become world leaders in accessibility of our buildings. Canadian government standards are more stringent than any provincial or territorial building code. The standards, updated in 2004, are applied to any new property under construction or undergoing major retrofit since October 2004. These standards also apply to new leases. We are serious about ensuring that our buildings are fully accessible to each and every employee.

Payments in Lieu of Taxes

Through our Payments in Lieu of Taxes program, we distribute more than $460 million to some 1,300 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

PWGSC has successfully outsourced property management services and project delivery services in most of its office portfolio since 1998. PWGSC retains full accountability for service standards and performance while the contractor delivers the services.

In 2003/2004 PWGSC undertook a rigorous and comprehensive tender process and awarded eight new contracts to SNC-Lavalin ProFac Inc., effective April 1, 2005. The contracts included a more rigorous regime of performance indicators and the implementation of ISO-certified quality management systems.

In addition to the provision of property management services and project delivery services, the department has also secured options for a variety of other services, including facilities management, project delivery for work valued between $200,000 and $1 million, lease administration and commercial leasing.