Union of National Defence Employees executive VP Mary Chamberlain. (Darren Brown, OBJ)

Plans to move the Department of National Defence's new command of domestic operations to office space in the east end of Ottawa may have hit a snag.

The union representing its civilian employees recently called the temporary office relocation site unacceptable, citing alleged building contamination.

Mary Chamberlain, executive vice-president for the Union of National Defence Employees (UNDE), says her organization is protesting a move of 200 to 400 civilian and military employees from DND's offices at 1600 Star Top Rd. to the West Memorial Building in the downtown core. She says the military expects to move these personnel, who currently occupy the third and fourth floors of the building, by mid to late November to make room for Canada Command.

This new Canadian Forces organization is part of the Chief of the Defence Staff's recent transformation of the military's command structure. According to DND, the creation of Canada Command means that for the first time, a unified and integrated chain of command at the national and regional levels will have immediate authority to deploy maritime, land and air assets in support of domestic operations.

In the past, these operations would have been located at National Defence Headquarters on Colonel By Drive. This transformation of the Canadian Forces' command and control structure adds another facet to the speculation about DND's plans to consolidate some of its offices and move its headquarters to the west or east end of the city.

However, Ms. Chamberlain says she is worried the aggressive timeline the military is using for this relocation is overshadowing their concerns.

"We have serious health and safety issues about the (West Memorial) building," she says. "We have a report dated March 31, 2000 which alleges asbestos and lead in the building and arsenic in the drinking water to the point where bottled water must be brought in. There are also concerns about building access with ramps, a lack of smoke detectors because currently it has a hard-wired fire alarm system and the standards of the bathrooms are also below our requirements."

UNDE has produced its own nine-page document listing the deficiencies of the office space compiled by an independent member of the organization at the beginning of September.

Ms. Chamberlain says she believes DND is fast-tracking this move because she was told that along with locating Canada Command at the Star Top location, two other new organizations will also be moving there.

They include the Canadian Expeditionary Forces Command, which is responsible for all military international operations and the Special Operations Group, which is responsible for responding to terrorism and threats to Canadians at home and abroad. Both are also a part of the new Canadian Forces transformation and DND says it expects to have all three commands reach operating capability by spring 2006.

Ms. Chamberlain says the union has already met with DND and Public Works representatives about their concerns in August and again last week. UNDE is one of the largest components of the Public Service Alliance of Canada and represents more than 14,000 civilian employees.

"Management has assured us that this will be a temporary move for 12 to 18 months, based on the availability of alternate properties in Ottawa, but they also don't have plans to do any renovations," she says. "Based on the health and safety issues we have, we think they should postpone the move and stop pushing this ahead."

Ms. Chamberlain says she would prefer to see the West Memorial Building brought up to acceptable standards and made a permanent location.

The West Memorial Building was built in 1962 and is located on Wellington Street. It was most recently home to personnel of Library and Archives Canada and is linked by a memorial arch to the East Memorial Building. Ms. Chamberlain says she has heard reports that both buildings have similar health and safety concerns.

In contrast, the four-storey office building at 1600 Star Top Rd. was completed in 2004 and pre-leased by DND. It has 18,500 square feet of office space and can accommodate 1,100 employees.

Ms. Chamberlain says she doesn't understand why DND and Public Works can't find a more suitable and permanent location.

"DND usually puts a lot of money into renovations when they move people, even if it's temporary," she says. "The colonel we spoke with about the building said even the wiring for the computer systems and phone lines would be hanging out of the walls. The Star Top Road building is beautiful and brand new, so I understand why our people don't want to move from such a great building to what's been described as a 'hell hole'."

However, a representative for Public Works says the West Memorial building is safe and meets standard health and safety requirements.

"The West Memorial building is a temporary short-term situation for a specific requirement," says Pierre Téotonio, senior media relations advisor. "We expect that the employees will remain in that building for a year or so. This will give us the time to acquire the new space, either through tender call or our inventory, prepare it and move people into it."

He admits the building does contain asbestos in two areas, but he says because it isn't airborne the building isn't and has never been condemned due to this substance or any other issues.

Mr. Téotonio says the building is also on a rehabilitation priority list, but renovations plans are currently on hold until a real estate study on Crown-owned buildings is completed. In the meantime, Public Works continues to do any necessary maintenance work to ensure the building remains safe to its occupants.

Despite these assurances, Ms. Chamberlain remains concerned about the building's many shortcomings.

"I think this move is unacceptable, regardless of whether its military or civilian people going into that building," she says. "Unfortunately, for the military people, they don't have the same rights as we have, so I feel that we're fighting for them as well. We have other options and we don't have to cooperate with this move. We can go to Canada Labour and under the labour code work to rule."

Ms. Chamberlain says Public Works and the Canadian Forces Support Unit have been listening to their concerns and indicated that the permanent location for the employees could be announced by December. The duration of temporary move may also be shortened and UNDE is waiting for a written response from Public Works about their health and safety concerns.

By Kristin Harold

kristin.harold@transcontinental.ca