Provincial museum needs some action

Published by The Guardian on September 13, 2011

 Editor:

Now is the time to seek a commitment to establish a provincial museum in the capital city.
During the last provincial election campaign, a promise was made to begin planning for a provincial museum, but no decision has been made. I believe very strongly that the museum should be established and have long advocated it should be located in Charlottetown. I am very disappointed that the city has not pursued this matter with the provincial government.
The city administration has an important role to play in ensuring the museum is located in Charlottetown, but I see no evidence that it has committed to the project.

As the provincial capital, as the Birthplace of Canada and as a city noted for its heritage and culture, Charlottetown is the only logical choice for a project that would have provincewide benefits. The establishment of a provincial museum should be a priority for all Islanders, and I hope this issue will be addressed during the current provincial election campaign.

During my campaign for mayor in 2010, I pledged to work with the provincial government to establish the museum in Charlottetown because of the economic and educational benefits it would provide to Islanders and visitors. We have a distinctive history and culture in this province, and we need to tell our stories. Now is the time to make a decision and move forward for the benefit of present and future generations.

Philip Brown,
Charlottetown

PE: Communities still vying for provincial museum

City of Summerside

As published on July 29, 2011 by The Journal Pioneer

by Mike Carson

Deputy Mayor Bruce MacDougall said Summerside made its presentation to the Province last year promoting the city as the logical location for a provincial museum.

In the 2010 throne speech, the Prince Edward Island government promised a celebration that would reach out to all Canadians and develop a legacy for the future.

That legacy is expected to be a provincial museum.

Since that announcement communities across the province, including the City of Summerside have been vying to be the home of the provincial museum.

Deputy Mayor Bruce MacDougall said the city made its presentation to the Province last year promoting Summerside as the logical location for a provincial museum.

"If there's going to be a new provincial museum on P.E.I. we'd like to see it located in Summerside," MacDougall said. "We haven't heard anything... concerning the new museum."

There has been some suggestion that the Province break up the museum and have regional facilities reflecting that area's culture and heritage.

"We're looking for the whole thing," added MacDougall.

After the plan was announced, the Province did send out for proposals for the new museum but the projected costs were high, in excess of $50 million.

Harry Holman, director of culture, heritage and libraries with the Department of Tourism and Culture, said the plan is still in place.

"We're still looking," he said. "We did have a very productive meeting with the City of Summerside last year, but there's been no decisions or advances from where we were at that time.

"We're considering the approach. The Province remains committed to a provincial museum, but it has to fit in with the other plans and priorities of the province."

The Province is looking at putting forward a proposal to the federal government to make the provincial museum part of the legacy for the 150th anniversary of the Confederation Conference.

"That's certainly a possibility as the planning for the 150th moves forward that is one of the areas where there will be some discussion," Holman said. "David MacKenzie has just been appointed, but the role that he's playing is with the activities rather than the legacy.

MacKenzie, the outgoing CEO of the Confederation Centre of the Arts, will begin his new assignment on the anniversary celebration in early August. His early priorities will be to work closely with various levels of government to draft a vision framework and business plan for the 150th celebrations.

David MacKenzie to lead 2014 celebrations

David MacKenzie, right, outgoing CEO of the Confederation Centre of the Arts, with Wayne Hambley, chairman of the board of the Confederation Centre of the Arts. MacKenzie will be heading 2014 celebrations for the province. His new post starts in August. Guardian file photo

July 18, 201

As published by The Guardian -

The man who has been at the helm of the Confederation Centre of the Arts for the past 10 years has a new role leading celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the historic meeting of the Fathers of Confederation.

David MacKenzie, the outgoing CEO of the Confederation Centre, will begin his new assignment in early August. His early priorities will be to work closely with various levels of government to draft a vision framework and business plan for the 150th celebrations.

“We need to ensure 2014 fits into a broader national celebration leading to 2017 and to hear from Islanders about a shared plan for this celebration,” MacKenzie said.

In the 2010 throne speech, the Prince Edward Island government promised a celebration that will reach out to all Canadians, and develop a legacy for the future.

That legacy is expected to be a provincial museum.

“We are delighted that a person of David’s background and skills has agreed to take on this important role,” said Premier Robert Ghiz.

“We believe that 2014 will be an important and special year not only for Islanders, but Canadians alike as we build towards 2017 which will mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of Canada.”

MacKenzie has served as the CEO of the Confederation Centre for the past 10 years. Prior to that he served as the founding executive director of the P.E.I. Capital Commission, which focused on developing and celebrating the Birthplace theme. He also managed Atlantic Canada House at the recent 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

“We need to ensure 2014 fits into a broader national celebration leading to 2017 and to hear from Islanders about a shared plan for this celebration,”- David MacKenzie

He has been an industry leader having served on the P.E.I. Tourism Advisory Council, the City of Charlottetown’s task force on arts and culture, the Canadian Arts Summit and the board of directors for Tourism Charlottetown.

MacKenzie’s gig with the province is a full-time, paid position. He’ll stay on with the province through to 2014.

Following work with federal partners, the provincial government will begin an extensive public engagement in the planning of the 2014 celebrations.

“To have a successful 150th celebration requires planning, vision and execution,” Ghiz added.

“It also requires being able to mobilize all of the key partners including the federal government, the community and industry to work together towards this goal. I look forward to working with others to make 2014 a special year as a lead up to 2017.”

Provincial Museum in Top Twelve Policy Resolutions

When the Provincial Liberal Party of PEI met for their annual general meeting on Saturday - it was a chance for policy initiatives to come forward and the goal of working to establish the Provincial Museum made it to the list.

According to The Guardian,

The resolutions focused on 12 areas, including agriculture, education, economic development, health care and energy, although it was not the party’s official policy booklet and some may change before the election.

Some of the resolutions included continuing to work on a poverty reduction strategy, working to establish a provincial museum and taking measures to preserve the inshore fishing fleet.

While this topic has been of keen interest across the Island, it is good news that the party policy mechanism that generates policy initiatives from a grass roots level has also recognized that the establishment of a provincial museum is worth of action.

Provincial museum talk just that so far

Editorial Published on February 16, 2011 by The Guardian

Let's hope Islanders hear more than vague promises during the fall election campaign

Any discussion among heritage-minded Islanders on the topic of a provincial museum always ends the same way - on a down note.

The idea of building an Island museum has been around for years. And it's an idea that everyone appears to support.

But in spite of all the support, not only have we not finished the project, we haven't even gotten to the start line.

One of the main stumbling blocks, one common throughout the province's history, is finding the money to build a museum. Some estimates say it will cost in the range of $40 million or more.

Tapping an adequate source of money is important because if there is another thing everyone agrees on, it's the fact the museum must be built properly the first time around. We'll get one shot at it, unlike a tricky chowder recipe that can be tried over and over again until it tastes just right. In culinary terms, the museum needs to taste and look right as soon as it comes off the stove.

The topic of a provincial museum came up recently in Summerside. Mayor Basil Stewart, always on the hunt for positive additions to his city, would like to see the museum located there.

Harry Holman, director of culture, heritage and libraries with the provincial Department of Tourism and Culture, says while the museum project is very much alive, it hasn't moved to a decision-making stage.

He added it's not just Summerside that is pining for the museum, a number of other communities are as well.

Speaking on May 25, 2007, Liberal Leader Robert Ghiz said if elected he would begin "a comprehensive planning process dedicated to creating a new Prince Edward Island museum worthy of our beautiful province."

He promised a Liberal government would consult with Islanders to explore options for a museum. To be fair to the Liberals, they have consulted, in the sense the government commissioned a museumreport that outlined a number of options. All the options would carry a heavy price tag.

And that's where things now stand. Everyone is waiting for the other shoe to drop. It might be an infusion of federal money to help the province celebrate the150th anniversary of the historic 1864 Fathers of Confederation meeting or, better still, it might be a firm commitment and timeline from a provincial government.

Islanders can expect to hear lots of talk about an Island museum during this fall's provincial election campaign. When the topic comes up, Islanders should push for more than rhetoric. The Liberal promise four years ago was vague and so have been its actions on the issue.

In today's world it is as easy to communicate with someone on the other side of the world as it is someone in this province. In fact, in some instances it is easier.

It's also easy for our younger generations to become disconnected with Prince Edward Island's past, caught up as they are in everyone else's history and news. A vibrant museum dedicated to celebrating our proud and colourful past would go a long way towards fighting that disconnect.

Design of provincial museum still being discussed

Published on February 8, 2011

The Journal Pioneer

SUMMERSIDE – The idea of a provincial museum is still being discussed but when it will be built, where it will be built and what it will look like, has yet to be determined.

Harry Holman, director of culture, heritage and libraries with the Department of Tourism and Culture, said there is still much interest in the project that was proposed two years ago.

“The whole project is very much still alive but it hasn’t moved to a decision-making stage at this point,” Holman said. “There have been a number of communities who have expressed an interest.”

Summerside was one of those communities that made its proposal to the Province last year and Summerside Mayor Basil Stewart said the city’s position has not changed.

“We presented our situation to the minister and I think he understands that we are very interested in having it here in Summerside,” Stewart said. “Our oar’s in the water and we’ll just have to wait and see.”

That wait could be another six years before a provincial museum comes about.

“We haven’t put a formal proposal to the federal government so we don’t know whether they’re interested or not,” said Holman. “They are going to be involved in some sort of legacy for the 150th anniversary of the Confederation Conference and this is one of the options that hold some possibilities (for an injection of federal government funding).”

He added, “Summerside has made its pitch and the city put forward a good case.”

The cost of the project has been at the centre of the discussions.

The initial proposal came back with an extremely high price tag, in excess of $50 million. Government representatives believed it was “somewhat larger than the community had anticipated such a facility would cost,” Holman said.

Other options are now being examined.

“What we were asked to do is look at a couple of different options and possibilities to see where there were alternatives and where we would still end up with the three essential pillars. One is the exhibition space, which is what most people think of when they think of the museum, but that’s really only the tip of the iceberg. The whole collection storage piece is an extremely important part of that and the ability to do programming in association with the museum.”

Charting a Course: The Study of Heritage on P.E.I.

The study conducted for the Province of PEI recently called Charting a Course: The Study of Heritage on P.E.I. is posted on-line. One can only hope that the important recommendations that it makes will not languish in cyberspace for too much longer.

Clearly this is the time for action on things like the Natural History mandate of our provincial museum system. The consultants put the issue into perspective when they wrote:

Related to the lack of a lead facility, and again recognized by most of the museum consultants, has been the neglect of the ‘natural heritage’ part of the provincial museum’s mandate. In response to Dr. Lemieux’s recommendation for the creation of a natural history museum, in 1987 Barbara MacDonald and the Natural History Museum Advisory Committee made fourteen recommendations on the subject to the PEIMHF. None was realized, and today the state of our natural heritage remains a major concern.