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Martin has advocated for a single authority for the physical infrastructure on the parliamentary precinct, modelled after the Architect of the Capitol, which has been the builder and steward of the American capital’s landmark buildings and monuments since 1793.

“I think we have the most beautiful Parliament buildings in the world and I’ve seen a lot of them,” Martin said.

And while he and other MPs on his Commons committee generally approve of the esthetics of the renovated buildings, one feature has some rolling their eyes: a glass roof over the new House of Commons being built now in the West Block.

“The glass roof is a fatuous architectural flight of fancy, in my view,” Martin said.

“At least you get better light,” said Mathieu Ravignat, the NDP MP for the West Quebec riding of Pontiac.

“It doesn’t change the face of the buildings per se but the glass roof is a little worrying, said Ravignat. “But certainly, esthetically speaking, I don’t have a problem with it.”

It cost more than a regular roof, Martin said, and, at one point, the type of glass had to be changed – at yet more expense – to accommodate lighting requirements for the television cameras that will broadcast the proceedings in the new House of Commons.

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The West Block was shut down in 2011 after chunks of masonry from the 148-old Gothic Revival-style structure were reported to have fallen on tourists. When it re-opens in 2017, the House of Commons will meet there and the Senate will meet in the to-be-renovated Government Conference Centre across from the Chateau Laurier while Centre Block gets its multi-year refit.