Carolyn Bertram questions decision to locate artifactory in Murray River
BY RON RYDER THE GUARDIAN - Nov 22, 2006
A Liberal MLA is calling on government to build a provincial museum that would provide a starting point for the history of the Prince Edward Island.
Crapaud-Hazel Grove MLA Carolyn Bertram spent part of question period Tuesday asking Community and Cultural Affairs Minister Elmer MacFadyen about the province's decision to locate the artifactory in Murray River.
The $4-million project, 75 per cent funded by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, will replace the current West Royalty storage facility where some 80,000 artifacts and documents are at risk from a leaky roof. Bertram told reporters that she thinks the province should be doing more than building a storage facility when there is no central provincial museum.
"Eighty thousand artifacts. Why is this moiley being spent on just a warehouse when they could spend a bit more and build a place - to showcase them?" she said.
Government has said the project could bring an economic boost to
Murray River, but employment at the artifactory itself will be limited to three workers who are already employed at the West Royalty building.
The province hopes to see other business locate in the vicinity of the new project when it is complete.
MacFadyen said the province has looked at the possibility of a provincial facility before and went as far as to have member of his department sit in on a committee that was trying to bring a provincial museum to the capital area. He said he wouldn't be interested in a museum that would replace the government's present network of community-based specialty museums.
But he said the province doesn't have money or plans for a full-fledged provincial facility yet.
"There may be a display area at the artifactory where the staff that work there, might want to put some items they want to highlight," he said. "But this will not be a full-fledged museum."
rryder@theguardian.pe.ca
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