Huge Building Program Currently Under W av In what is believed to be an i ment til-time record,' the government and FDC have a $67,377,299 building program currently under way In Ottawa. The program embraces 15 major projects in excess of $1,000,000, with the three largest buildings running over $7,000,000 each. As the buildings etc under this program are completed, between now and 19G1, the city will stand to get a considerably Increased annual grant .from the federal government in lieu of municipal and school taxes. The, govern- grant in lieu of taxes amounted to $3,600,000 for 1957 under what is known as the Harris Formula in 1955 when Hon. Walter Harris was minister of finance and Charlotte Whitton was mayor. The Harris Formula considerably liberalized the. earlier Abbott Formula (when Hon. D. C, Abbott was finance minister) so that now the city receives an annual government grant practically equal to the full amount of taxes the government would have to pay as an ordinary taxpayer. ASK ANDY T Andy sends cotivplet, lS-voIume of CompMwT Pictured Encyclopedia to Paula Farkaa, age 18, of New York, N.Y., for lies question: What is an ermine? This fellow rates high on the list of Best Dressed Animals. His fur is rather short, silky soft and snowy white. His tail Is also white and silky, except for an inch on the end, which is jet black. The ermine wears his exquisite coat as though he had a right to it, and so he has. After all, he belongs to a family of Best Dressed Animals. He is cousin to the mink, the martin, the sable and the otter. . Actually A Weasel The elegant ermine himself is actually a weasel in winter clothing. The weasels that live in the frozen north may wear white all year round. Those that live where winter snows cover the ground wear brown in summer and white in winter. The weasels of the warm southland wear brown all year round. However, whether he stays brown or changes to white, a weasel always dons a warmer, thicker coat in the fall and he always wears a black tip on his tail. In the north the weasel begins to change his brown summer coat Is highly strung and always alert. Fully grown, the American ermine is about eight inches long plus a three inch tail. He weighs only three to four ounces. Bloodthirsty Animal The character cf this elegant fellow, however, is another matter. H is the most bloodthirsty small uflircal that ever stalked the woods and fields. His diet is fresh killed meat. Most animals kill only to eat. Not so Mr. Ermine. He kills everything in sight. Once in a great while Mr. Ermine-Weasel raids a chicken coop, leaving a trail of blood and murder behnid him. This bad habit rates him as our enemy. But let's examine all the facts before we decide to get rid of him. The ermine, like all weasels, is a mortal enemy of rats, mice and other rodents that destroy crops. When he enters a rat hole he kills every rat, big or . little, before settling down to dine. He also kills a large quantity of unfriendly snakes. When we tot up all the good he does, perhaps we can forgive him for raiding the chicken coop once in a while. The current government-FDC construction program is certain to have many additions within the next one, two, or three years which are not as yet disclosed. Federal projects known definitely to be upcoming, quite a large list in itself, with a rough estimate of the cost involved in each case, are the following: Jackson Building rehabilitation after the October 25 explosion, possibly $750,000; Department of insurance, Riverside Drive, $500,000; Riverside Drive cafeteria for government staff in that area, $700,000; various smaller FDC projects, $100,000; Central Experimental Farm, animal research center annex buildings, $2,400,000; NRC communications center on Riverside Drive, $750,000; Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, headquarters building on Riverside Drive at the end of Dunbar Bridge, $2,000,000; National Library, Wellington Street, $10,000,000; national memorial for the veterans of all wars, Nepean Point, $1,000,000. The list of major government projects now under- way in Ottawa, with the name of the contractor, cost involved, and expected date of completion in DOUBLE-TAKE THE ?J DOUBLE im some cases, is as follows: Public Works Department, ad-ministration headquarters, Riverside Drive, B. Perini and Sojs (Canada) Ltd., $7,100,000, October, 1959; National Defence Medical Center, off Smyth Road, Thomas Fuller Construction Company Ltd., $7,890,336, No vember, ISXiO; Mines and Tech' meal Surveys Department, sur veys and mapping building, Booth Street, E. G. M. Cape and Company Ltd., $7,840,000, April, 1961; Trade and Commerce Depart ment, Wellington Street, E. G. M. Cape and Company Ltd $6,637,126, almost completed; Lome Building, for National Gallery, Elgin Street, Doran Construction Company Ltd., $4,986,237,,. July, 1959; Mines and Technical Surveys Department, geological surveys building, Booth Street, Thomas Fuller Construction Company Ltd., $6,330,765; Post Office Department, three buildings, Riverside Drive, George A. Crain and Sons Ltd., expected successful tenderer, $4,672,918; Agriculture Department, addition to science service building, Carling Avenue, B. Perini and Sons (Canada) Ltd., $3,910,000, October, 1958; Mines and Technical Surveys Department, radioactive ores building. Booth Street, Ross Meagher Ltd., $3,134,379; Riverside Drive development, central heating plant and system, Thomas Fuller Construction Company Ltd., $2,660,000, December, 1959; Northern Affairs and National Resources Department, forest products laboratory, Montreal Road, Thomas Fuller Construction Company Ltd., $2,221,-400; Mines and Technical Surveys Department, administration building, Booth Street, Thomas Fuller Construction Company Ltd., $2,398,594; Public Works Department testing laboratory, Riverside Drive, George A. Crain and Sons Ltd., i $1,376,355; Agriculture Depart ment, central heating plant and system at the Central Expert mental Farm, B. Perini and Sons (Canada) Ltd., $1,349,500, September, 1959; Riverside Drive development, mechanical and electrical distri bution system, Canadian Corn-stock Company Ltd., $746,000, June 30, 1959; Finance Depart ment, addition to No. 1 Finance Building. Tunney's Pasture, Shore and Horwitz Construction Company Ltd., $719,880, No vember, 1958; National Research Council, power and pilot plants, Thomas Fuller Construction Company Ltd., $597,989; Mines and Technical Surveys Department, fittings for radioactive ores laboratory, James H. Wilson; Montreal, $498,261, October, 1958; FDC, Gatineau Parkway construction in Pink Lake section, Northland Construction Company, Montreal, $546,000; Finance Department, addition to No. 2 Finance Building, Tunney's Pasture, Ron Engineering and Construction Company Ltd., $212,880, August, 1959. . FDC, Notch Road overpass, Gatineau Parkway, two tenders for different phases of project, totalling $91,394; Public Works Department, 400,000 - pound capacity universal testing machine for department testing laboratory, Peacock Brothers, Montreal, $63,001; RCMP, air branch administration building, Rock-cliffe, Sirotck Construction Ltd., $64,750; Commonwealth Air Force Memorial, Green Island, contract expected to be awarded to Malloff Ltd., $46,620, with $70,000 of FDC landscaping of area; Riverside Drive development Private Branch Exchange Building, J. E. Copeland Com pany Ltd., $32,300, Jauuary, 1959. As well there are a number of other smaller government pro jects in the range from $5,000 up to $25,000.
