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Posted Jan 19, 2008, 2:32 AM
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National Capital Region
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Eastern Ontario
Posts: 9,253
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Quote:
Portrait Gallery of Canada an embarrassment
Jake Rupert - The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, January 18, 2008
One of Canada's leading cultural experts calls the Harper government's plan for the Portrait Gallery of Canada "a national embarrassment that makes us look like peasants on the international scene."
Former director of the National Gallery of Canada Shirley Thomson said the requirement that only private sector development firms can bid to build the gallery is an affront to all Canadians.
She said the she can't think of another country where such an important federal institution, such at the gallery, has been turned over to a private developer.
"It's a public cultural asset highlighting a rich public national history, and it should be a public building because its the responsibility of the state to safe guard our history and culture," she said.
"This is totally embarrassing for Canada. I'm appalled."
She feels the people of Canada should build, own and operate the gallery and by mandating that it be privately developed, the government is inviting unseemly or demeaning results, like the gallery playing second-banana to an office tower or condo project.
Others also dread a possible corporate naming.
"It's like saying our national institutions are up for sale, and it's wrong," said Capital Councillor Clive Doucet in a recent debate on the issue.
The gallery, which has been in the works for six years, was supposed to go into the former United States embassy building across the street from Parliament Hill, but the government cancelled that project last year, citing escalating costs.
Then last fall, it announced a competition to determine where the gallery will be located. The request for proposals is open ended. It describes the space needed and that it must be designed to suit a gallery. It states only privately owned or controlled development firms are allowed to bid on the project. However, a recent revision allows municipalities to also bid, but with Canada's major cities all experiencing financial woes, it's doubtful they can.
Control of the artifacts, displays and the gallery itself will remain with the Library and Archives of Canada of which it's part of.
Ottawa is competing with Vancouver, Halifax, Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary for the right to have the gallery.
The move has drawn criticism for pitting cities and regions against each other, and City of Ottawa officials feel that it's obvious that the gallery should located here along with the bulk of national institutions.
Josée Verner, Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages responded by saying the government is practicing "open federalism.
"The argument that we cause an injustice to our historic portrait collection by even considering cities outside of Ottawa and Gatineau is ridiculous," she said in a statement.
Her spokesman, Andrew House, said yesterday the requirement for private sector bids is designed to save money.
"The process is designed to get maximum impact for every tax dollar spent by taking advantage of private sector support and experience," Mr. House said.
He said it would be an error to call the project a public-private partnership. He said the final agreement could see the government owning the building outright, leasing it, leasing it then buying it or a myriad of other arrangements.
The deadline for getting bids into the government was initially Feb. 16, but to give more time for suitors to prepare, it was recently extended to April 16. The government also decided that municipalities themselves could submit a proposal as developer for the gallery. The same conditions would apply to a city as with other prospective developers.
Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien requested the extension in a letter to government officials in order to allow a rumoured five Ottawa bids to be pulled together with city support.
Yesterday, his spokesman, Pat Uguccioni, said the mayor is pleased the deadline has been extended, but that the mayor maintains locating the gallery outside Ottawa is going cost tax payers $50 million extra over the course of 50 years.
In the letter, Mr. O'Brien said this on top of the $11 million already spent to get the former embassy ready to host the gallery.
"(The numbers) would seem to not only negate any potential savings through a public-private partnership in another city but also to significantly increase the cost for the taxpayers of Canada," the mayor said.
In the letter, he urged the federal government to open up the competition to federally owned downtown sites and buildings in Ottawa and Gatineau.
Jerry Grey, an artist and member of Friends of the Gallery, said she thinks there is a big role for the private sector to play in the gallery through endowments and donations but that having a private developers owning the building the gallery is in is not advisable.
"Federal institutions should wholly owned by everybody," she said. "I think the government made a mistake, and we are getting stuck with it."
Deborah Morrison, president of Canada's National History Society, said it would be better to have the gallery remain wholly public, but she said the government is not putting up the kind of funding need to keep historical and cultural institutions public.
Under the circumstances, she said she "thinks there's a role for the private sector to play as long as the preservation of history remains at the forefront of any project."
Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger said he has requested several times for an explanation behind the approach the government is taking to the gallery, he has received no response, and he suspects it's because there is no explanation.
"This is a collection that shows the history of this country and Canadians who played roles in that history, and they are proposing to have a private developers deeply involved in what happens to this collection," he said.
"It's the privatization of our heritage, and I think people who feel embarrassed about this are right to feel that way."
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008
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