By Canadian Press

Bullet holes from 2014 attack on Parliament Hill to be left untouched in renovations

Dec 2, 2020 | 2:09 PM

OTTAWA — The civil servant leading the most extensive renovations on Centre Block in more than a century says the repairs will not erase the scars from the 2014 attack on Parliament Hill.

That includes a series of bullet holes in the Hall of Honour from a gunfight between security and RCMP officers and Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, an Islamic State group sympathizer, on Oct. 22, 2014.

Zehaf-Bibeau, who stormed Parliament Hill minutes after fatally shooting Cpl. Nathan Cirillo in front of the National War Memorial, was killed in the shootout.

While parliamentarians were divided in the aftermath over whether to keep the bullet holes, Rob Wright, assistant deputy minister for Public Services and Procurement Canada, says they ultimately decided to keep them.

The bullet holes aren’t the only elements of Centre Block that workers are planning to preserve as they try to retain the heritage and style of the building that is home to the House of Commons and Senate, while also updating it for the 21st century.

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Wright is hoping the final design as well as the cost and schedule for finishing the renovations will all be approved early next year, after extensive consultations with MPs, senators as well as the public.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2020.

The Canadian Press