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My colleague Jim Bagnall and I recently wrote a feature on the move by the Department of National Defence to the former Nortel campus in west end Ottawa. More than 8,000 military and civilian staff will make the move.

You can read the story here:

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or DND's Nortel move has varying costs depending on who is providing the information Back to video

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/the-rise-of-pentagon-north-how-ottawas-new-dnd-headquarters-will-change-this-city

One of the issues that emerged when we were researching and writing the article had to do with the various costs cited for the move.

The purchase of the Nortel campus cost the Canadian public $208 million; that is the one figure government officials seem to agreed upon. The other figures cited depend on who is providing the information.

In 2010 the DND estimated the renovation costs for the complex would be $623 million, which along with the $208 million pricetag for the campus, would bring the total project cost to $831 million. But department officials weren’t keen for taxpayers to find out the renovation/refit costs. “Media, parliamentarians and Canadians will be focused on the cost to taxpayers for the acquisition of the Campus and the subsequent retro-fit costs,” noted a DND strategy document at the time. Such concerns were solved when Robert Fonberg, then deputy minister at National Defence, stepped in. Fonberg’s assistant wrote that the deputy minister was concerned about telling the public about the price tag. According to an email, Fonberg asked, “Why are we using the $623m(illion) fit up cost? It is without context and will be a lightening rod!”