MPs Vote to Probe $8M Expenditure For Rideau Hall Barn

The Ceremonial Guard performs Sentry Duties at Rideau Hall, the official residence of the King of Canada (and in his absence, residence of the Governor General of Canada), in Ottawa on July 7, 2023. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

The House of Commons Public Accounts committee has voted unanimously to ask federal administrators to testify about an $8-million solar-powered barn constructed at Rideau Hall.

New Brunswick Conservative MP Jake Stewart put forward a motion on Oct. 24 to devote a future meeting to examining the “seemingly imprudent spending.”

“It is our obligation to ensure taxpayer dollars are wisely spent,” said Mr. Stewart, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter. “This includes reviewing who at the National Capital Commission and the Treasury Board approved $8 million for a barn at Rideau Hall.”

The committee, which voted 10-0 to approve Mr. Stewart’s motion, will invite National Capital Commission CEO Tobi Nussbaum to testify. Treasury Board and Department of Public Works officials will also be asked to speak to the matter. The committee will report back to the House after receiving the testimonies.

“The list of ridiculous spending keeps growing,” said Mr. Stewart. He called the barn “an egregious waste of taxpayers’ money.”

$8 Million Storage Facility

According to records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation (CTF), which were detailed in a recent article by The Epoch Times, the $8 million storage facility was built at the national historic site and the official residence and office of the governor general.

The barn, as it is dubbed, is the federal government’s “first zero-carbon building in the National Capital Region, and was constructed to meet Rideau Hall’s “operational service, maintenance, and storage needs,” according to the National Capital Commission (NCC) website.

The new two-level building design was approved in June 2019. Construction began in July 2020 and was finished during the winter of 2021. It has vehicle storage space, a washing bay, a repair garage working area, a tool and equipment storage area, and storage space.

“The building is semi-conditioned, with tempered indoor temperatures in winter, and no air conditioning in summer,” said the NCC website. “Preliminary data shows that the 70 solar panels installed on the Barn’s roof produce enough energy to fully offset the electrical demand of Stornoway, the official residence of the leader of the Official Opposition.”

The CTF called the facility a “pricey, pandemic-era construction project.”

“I don’t know much about farming, but I’m pretty sure my buddies in Brooks (Alberta) can build a barn for a lot less than eight million bucks,” CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano said in an Oct. 18 release. “It seems like the NCC goes out of its way to spend as much money as possible.”

The building was constructed “to address health and safety concerns presented by the previous structures which were at their end of life. The previous structures were removed in 2016,” NCC spokesperson Sofia Benjelloun told The Epoch Times on Oct. 19.

She said the total cost of $8.09 million includes “works from 2016 (abatement of hazardous materials, demolition of four buildings, excavation, and the removal of contaminated soil), as well as the new building’s design and construction.”

Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, arrives to Britain's King Charles' reception at Buckingham Palace in London on May 5, 2023. Henry Nicholls/Reuters

The committee vote to examine spending on the Rideau Hall barn follows an Oct. 4 report released by the Commons government operations committee, which criticized Gov.-Gen. Mary Simon’s travel expenses.

The report, “Travel Expenditures Related To The Office Of The Governor General’s Secretary Since 2014,” called for Rideau Hall to curb spending and to “publish an annual report on its activities on its website including its financial statements.”