Canada's Parliament buildings are in such disrepair - and renovation plans so disorganized - that the House of Commons and the Senate may have to shut down, the Auditor-General warns.
Water is creeping in between the grey stone facades, eroding mortar and rusting the steel support structures of Centre Block - home to the two chambers of Parliament and several key committee rooms.
The heating, cooling and electrical systems are at "critical risk" of failure in West Block and Centre Block will soon be in the same situation.
"If a system in these buildings were to fail, this could force their closure for an extended period of time while urgent repairs are carried out," Sheila Fraser says in her report. "In the meantime, Parliament may not be able to operate or might have to limit its operations."
The Auditor-General blames the problem on the fact that there is no clear line of responsibility for the long-term plan to renovate the Parliament buildings. The report also warns "there is no long-term funding commitment to implement long-term funding commitment to implement the long-term plan."
Ms. Fraser calls on Parliament, rather than Public Works, to be the main body responsible for the long-term project.
Parliament's Centre Block was built between 1916 and 1927, replacing the original building that was destroyed by fire in 1916. The attached Library of Parliament survived that fire. It was built between 1859 and 1976 and has been extensively renovated.
Work is currently underway to repair the West Block, built between 1859 and 1865, making it the same age as the East Block, which also needs repairs.
Uneven reporting on progress toward national electronic health records
The push to create a national system of electronic health records is a long way from meeting its 2010 target of covering 50 per cent of Canadians.
According to a review of previously-released federal and provincial audits, as of March 31 2009, only 17 per cent of Canadians were living in provinces where an Electronic Health Record is available.
The jointly-released overview report gives a positive review of federal efforts through the Canada Health Infoway, but warns provinces are not consistent in tracking their costs.
"Therefore, the total costs to date of the [Electronic Health Records]initiative are unknown," states the report. "Some experts have estimated the total cost of implementing EHRs Canada-wide at over $10-billion and the total annual benefits at $6-billion."
The report also urges the provinces to ensure their projects are similar to efforts taking place in other provinces.