We Can’t Miss This Opportunity

Letters to the Editor (The Guardian)

Published on November 29, 2012

Editor:
I was very interested to read a brief item in The Guardian on Nov. 23 in which city councillor Rob Lantz says it's time to rethink the future of Founders' Hall, as part of a new waterfront master plan that will focus on creating a waterfront district that is vibrant and active year-round for residents and visitors alike. "I think Founders' Hall has a huge role to play in that goal and it’s time to rethink the use of that very important building," Lantz said.

That item brought back memories for me: when plans were first underway for construction of the building and I (and others) wrote letters to then-premier Pat Binns urging him to have it designated as a provincial museum.

Obviously that did not happen. Are we now being given the opportunity to rethink that decision? My image for Founders' Hall is to have it not only as a repository for Island artifacts, but as a ‘learning place’ where Island students could be bused to the building to explore some of the Island history and university students could conduct research; that would fit the above goal to make it "vibrant and active year-round for residents and visitors alike."

What an ideal project for 2014. Let’s not miss out on it again.
Laura Mair,
Charlottetown

Let's petition for a museum

As published in The Guardian - August 8, 2012

Editor:
In response to the story 'New MLA office building being proposed' (The Guardian, Aug. 2, 2012), we need a legacy for all Islanders to enjoy, not just a few politicians and judges.

Let's support a real museum for all to see. There is a tremendous collection of P.E.I. artifacts stored, but not shown. Some Islanders don't even know they even exist, especially the younger generation.

Could you imagine the stories our grandparents could tell about an artifact that they used on the farm or in their businesses? Politicians tell stories - some true, some not - but live artifacts tell real stories about real life. Now that's a legacy.

The anniversary of P.E.I. is coming in 2014 to celebrate the past. Show it in a museum. My suggestion is to spend the so-called dollars to purchase the old experimental farm property and construct a museum that all can enjoy all year round. Set up field trips for our school children, bus tours for visitors and all. Maybe even our politicians would learn a thing or two. Come on, Islanders, petition for a museum, not another building full of hot air.

Frank Murphy,
Charlottetown

Provincial Museum Tops City's 2014 Wish List

Dave Stewart

Published on August 15, 2012 in The Guardian

The City of Charlottetown is in the process of putting together its wish list for the 2014 celebrations.

Right at the top of the list is going to be a provincial museum even though Premier Robert Ghiz shot down the idea earlier this month.

"I can tell you that number one on our list is a provincial museum in the city of Charlottetown,'' Mayor Clifford Lee says. "I know the province has said we're not going to get a provincial museum, (that) nobody is but we weren't going to let that sit aside and then discover some other municipality was given a provincial museum because Charlottetown didn't indicate (the request) on its wish list.''

Government is leaning towards building a new legislative office. It's believed it would cost $12 million to $15 million.

Ghiz said the proposed new building would be a lot less expensive than a provincial museum, which many believed would be the legacy project for the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown conference in 1864.

"This is not a project, from my understanding, that's in the $50 million range — what a provincial museum would be under — but it's something that, if it can prove to be worthwhile, is something that will be explored and if it's good for the province I'm sure it will get its due consideration,'' Ghiz said.

The city will be submitting its list, which is now being called a working document, to P.E.I. 2014 Inc., the agency handling planning for the 2014 celebrations.

Lee said there's a reason why there's been so much talk surrounding a museum.

"Quite honestly, it seems to make sense to me that the province needs to have a provincial museum,'' the mayor said.

As for other items on the city's wish list, it will only say they are of cultural and historic significance, such as festivals, that will have impact on residents and visitors alike

Lee acknowledges the money may not be there for a big-ticket item.

"I think what the province is saying is that they can't afford a provincial museum and if that's the case then that's the case. At the same time, I think we need to ask the question, is there going to be a legacy?''

In 1964, for example, to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the 1864 conference, Queen Elizabeth II helped open the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Lee doubts Islanders will support a new office building for MLAs as the big gift in 2014.

"That's not a legacy for the citizens of Charlottetown or for the citizens of P.E.I. That's a legacy for MLAs. I'm not sure that's what 2014 is all about.''

The city didn't budget any money this year for 2014. Should it decide to do so in the future, it would require council's approval.

dstewart@theguardian.pe.ca

twitter.com/DveStewart

Community Forum Report

The Community Forum Report related to Prince Edward Island 2014 is now available - several key points under the category "Honour the Past Museums and Heritage" were:

• A commitment to creating a centralized museum was expressed by many, while others felt that more resources could be devoted to the existing museum network

• Committed programming, rather than the construction of new space, is key to the sustainability of such a large infrastructure project

Community Forum Report - Prince Edward Island 2014

The Community Forum Report is now public. Developed over the last year, the report looks at options for celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference leading to Canadian Confederation.

Still Hope for a Provincial Museum

Published on June 28, 2012 
Letters to the Editor (The Guardian)  

 It seems our ability to dream is caught up in an economic straitjacket."At one time there was no library system on the Island - no university or community college - all these ventures took vision and effort and now have been accepted as a part of the services a province provides for advancing knowledge. 

 
By Ian Scott
Commentary

The column by Gary MacDougall (May 19, 2012) on planning for 2014 activities, and the response by Senator Percy Downe on June 16 both indicated that conflicting views have emerged related to potential commemorative events for the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference. These camps seem to be polarized around whether the focus of the event should be 'big party' versus 'legacy project', amid the economic realities affecting all sides.

The case for a proper provincial museum to complete our decentralized museum system remains an important public policy issue as indicated by the number of letters and editorials of support published within this paper over the years, not to mention recent studies and reports. From an election promise made by the Liberal government when they first formed government in 2007 to the 2011 policy convention of the Liberal Party of P.E.I., we have been told that planning for provincial museum development is a priority, yet the provincial five-year capital plan has yet to show a provincial museum project included. The P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation is the designated Crown agency charged with fulfilling the role under the Museum Act with what provincial dollars are allocated annually, yet the provincial cabinet remains effectively in charge of any new developments that would allow for appropriate facilities to carry out that role.

The idea that 2014 would be an opportune time to advance the provincial museum project has been discussed for several years now; moving ahead with planning a central museum facility is essential before more of our historically significant objects are lost. We sometimes seem caught in a cycle - without a central museum facility we lack exposure to the role museums can play, which could be producing a lack of commitment to planning for the future. We can hope that MacDougall's words are not ringing true, "The thought that today's generation has neither the interest nor the foresight to think of a lasting legacy for the 150th anniversary is disheartening. It seems our ability to dream is caught up in an economic straitjacket."
At one time there was no library system on the Island - no university or community college - all these ventures took vision and effort and now have been accepted as a part of the services a province provides for advancing knowledge. The same vision for improving the Island led our legislative assembly to create the P.E.I. Heritage Foundation in 1970 and in 1983 to grant it new powers as our provincial museum. Over the years, much has been achieved, but to realize the full mandate, which includes both human and natural history, much more needs to be done. Clearly the hope for a modest start on provincial museum development as the legacy project was heard loud and clear from the public at the consultation events I attended; one can only hope that the message has not fallen on deaf ears.

Ian Scott is president of the Natural History Society of P.E.I. In the 1980s, he served as executive director of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation.

A perfect legacy project

As published in The Guardian on June 16, 2012

Editor:
I refer to the article 'Legacy money looks scarce for 2014 celebration' (The Guardian, June 11, 2012).
The built legacy to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference in 1964 was the Confederation Centre of the Arts. Every province provided 15 cents per capita for the construction, matched by the ruling Liberal federal government under Lester Pearson. Interestingly, Prime Minister Pearson introduced the Canadian flag at around the same time.

The fact that it appears that, according to Mayor Clifford Lee, there will be no funding provincially or federally for a built legacy to commemorate the 150th anniversary is an indication as to how this country has changed its values over the years. A provincial museum is sorely lacking in this province and has been talked about for years while valuable historical artifacts are still evidently deteriorating in leaky storage (artifactory) at an old vehicle maintenance building in West Royalty.

What a perfect built legacy a permanent museum would be. The seat of Confederation needs a museum. Are we to wait another 50 years?

The present Harper government is in so many ways destroying traditional Canadian values, this issue being a prime example. Harper's dictatorial 'divide and conquer' policy is taking its toll in no uncertain terms. A once-proud country has fragmented into a lack of unity across the provinces.

In conclusion, shame on Minister Gail Shea for not negotiating on behalf of P.E.I. in her position as minister of national revenue in the Harper regime. Maybe she could 'loosen the purse strings' a bit.

John R. Shakespeare,
Charlottetown

How much anniversary funding can we expect from Ottawa?

By Percy Downe
Commentary as published in The Guardian June 16, 2012

For the last number of decades, the Government of Canada has financed major events across our country that have significant historical importance. The current Conservative government has continued this initiative by financially supporting the anniversary of the War of 1812 ($28 million), the 400th anniversary of the founding of Cupids in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2010 (amounting to a per capita contribution of $5,400 for a community of 790 people) and the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City ($120 million).

Given the significant financial support that these other events have received - particularly the Anniversary of Quebec City - I was surprised by the response of Heritage Minister James Moore to a report in The Guardian that P.E.I.'s anticipation of $30 million for the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference might be an ambitious figure.

Given the historical significance of the Charlottetown Conference, it is not unreasonable to expect that the federal funding level for the 150th anniversary will be closer by comparison to the $120 million received by Quebec for its anniversary celebration than the $28 million allotted for the War of 1812 bicentennial. For the heritage minister to suggest otherwise is, above all, an insult to a milestone of such importance in Canadian history. For the heritage minister to suggest otherwise in the name of fiscal restraint is, given the lavish expense for other celebrations at a time of government austerity, an insult to Islanders. If the federal government has been so generous in commemorating other events, why would the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference be any less deserving?

As Canadians prepare to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference in 2014, Prince Edward Islanders should not assume that a financial contribution comparable to what was received by Quebec City of over $100 million from the Government of Canada is unrealistic.

Canadians may question the appropriateness of spending such large amounts of money on anniversaries in the current economic climate, but when these funds are spent on infrastructure, they create jobs and leave a permanent benefit for residents. Canadians still use the parks and other facilities built in honour of Canada's Centennial in 1967, and continue to flock to the Confederation Centre of the Arts that was built to mark the 100th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference. Far beyond concerts or fireworks displays, such funding provides a lasting legacy to communities that will serve as a tangible reminder of our Canadian heritage.

For example, in the case of Cupids, the community invested in building The Cupids Legacy Centre, an interactive museum that pays tribute to Cupids' place in history as the oldest continuously occupied English settlement in Canada. The centre also contains multi-purpose space that can be used for events and celebrations and has proven to be of great benefit to the entire community.

The fundamental importance of the Charlottetown Conference in Canadian history cannot be overstated. Intended as a venue to discuss Maritime union, the conference instead became more ambitious, bringing in Upper and Lower Canada, leading to the formation of our country and earning Prince Edward Island the title 'Cradle of Confederation'. To celebrate the accomplishment that was Confederation, one has to recognize the key role played by the Charlottetown Conference, and as we approach its 150th anniversary, we need to reflect and discuss how we are to commemorate it in a manner befitting its importance.

Recently in his column, the managing editor of The Guardian, Gary MacDougall, wrote:

"The question needs to be asked, is 2014 just a golden sentimental opportunity to hawk the province and its charms to tourists; to make a big fuss and ensure a banner tourism season, like the ones we used to enjoy? Or is it a special moment in time, an opportunity to mark one of this country's most historic moments and P.E.I.'s place in it? ...The thought that today's generation has neither the interest nor the foresight to think of a lasting legacy for the 150th anniversary is disheartening. It seems our ability to dream is caught up in an economic straitjacket."

Good question - and to date - no answer.

Whatever the level of federal funding allocated to celebrate the Charlottetown Conference - there being no question that millions of dollars in federal funding will be budgeted for this purpose - I hope that this information can inspire imaginative discussions over how we can utilize the funding to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference in a way that has a lasting and positive impact on our community, for both the benefit of current and future generations of Islanders and Canadians alike.

Percy Downe is a senator from Charlottetown.

Legacy money looks scarce for 2014 celebration

as published by The Guardian on June 11, 2012 

Dave Stewart

Mayor says province, Ottawa clear there will be no built legacy for anniversary.

It still doesn’t look like Charlottetown is getting a dime from Ottawa to build a lasting legacy as part of the 2014 celebrations.

The city will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference where the Fathers of Confederation met to set the groundwork that led to the birth of Canada as a nation.

There’s been loads of speculation about what the 2014 celebrations will entail, with most of the media attention focusing on big-ticket items like a provincial museum and/or a new multi-purpose arena.

Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee says even though the federal government has just announced it will create a new Build Canada Fund infrastructure program — the last one was $33 billion for cities and towns — he isn’t getting any indication there will be truckloads of money coming down to pay for anything lasting for 2014.

“My understanding, at this point in time, is that the federal and provincial governments have clearly indicated that there will be no built legacy constructed to commemorate the 2014 celebrations,’’ Lee said.
“As discussions move forward, the federal government may loosen the purse strings but the position today of the governments are that there will be no built legacy.’’

The Confederation Centre of the Arts, for example, was a built legacy project, constructed in 1964 to celebrate the 100th anniversary.

Lee was hoping 2014 might bring something similar.

“I certainly was hoping in 2014 that we could quite possibly look at a provincial museum in the capital city (but) no other level of government has an interest in that and certainly it isn’t a project the city would even consider (paying for) on our own.’’

A local committee has been set up to lead the 2014 celebrations but specifics on what the celebrations will feature hasn’t been divulged yet although there are public consultations ongoing.

“I am proceeding with 2014 celebrations assuming there is no built legacy.’’

Lee recently travelled to Quebec City to meet with Mayor Regis Labeaume to begin dialogue between both cities, discussing ways and opportunities in which they can work together to recognize and commemorate then 1864 conferences.

In September 1864, Charlottetown hosted the first of three conferences which led to the creation of Canada. The second conference took place in Quebec City in October 1864 while the final meeting was held in London, England.

Commendable but puzzling comments on 2014

 Editorial published in The Guardian on June 12, 2012 

Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee's recent comments expressing a desire to work with Quebec City to celebrate the historic Charlottetown and Quebec City Conferences were commendable, but also puzzling. Is this the same mayor who said plainly three months ago his city wouldn't be budgeting anything this year for the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference in 2014?

When the capital city brought down its budget for the new fiscal year in March, Mayor Lee lamented that with federal and provincial cutbacks, the city wouldn't be putting aside any cash this year for the 2014 celebrations. That was disappointing, and at the time we mildly challenged the mayor's party-pooper outlook.

So it was pleasantly surprising last week when Mayor Lee expressed enthusiasm for working together with Quebec City to "explore opportunities for our cities to work together, as both (conferences) are important events for Canadians to share in and be proud of." The mayor had recently travelled to Quebec City to meet with Mayor Regis Labeaume to discuss how the two cities could celebrate the 1864 conferences and the anniversary of Canada in 2017.

Then on the heels of that announcement, Charlottetown residents learned that the 2014 celebrations are not likely to include a tangible legacy project. The mayor said quite candidly that federal and provincial funding would be needed for such a project, and that he hasn't seen any indication that such funding is headed this way.

The Confederation Centre of the Arts was the acknowledged legacy project left here by the celebrations in 1964 marking the 100th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference. The centre remains a visible reminder of what took place here in 1864, and has had a profound and lasting impact not only on the city and the province, but on the development of the performing arts in Canada. A similar legacy project marking the 150th anniversary could offer the same potential. Perhaps the mayor needs to put more effort into making that point with Ottawa and the province. Let's not take no for an answer just yet.

Now is time for dreamers to step forward

Editorial as published by The Guardian on May 19, 2012
Gary MacDougall 

There are distinct fault lines in the debate over how the province should mark the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864. It is shaping up as a battle between economic realists, people who just want to have fun and dreamers. And so far the dreamers are missing in action.

A leaked memo says the organization promoting the 2014 celebrations wants to spend $75 million on a year-long party, with funding coming from the federal, provincial and municipal governments, as well as the private sector and sponsors.

Once the memo became public, the potential funding sources became shy suitors, all quick to say they think the dollar figure is far too optimistic, especially in today's tough economic times.

The mere mention of the dollar figure has had opposition politicians leaping from their seats in the legislature, aghast at the thought of such extravagance in light of government cutbacks and job layoffs.

So far some of the potential plans for 2014 include a mega concert, a ramped-up Canada Day celebration broadcast nationally, a bid on a nationally televised awards show such as the Junos or the Country Music Awards, and a Montreal vs. Toronto NHL hockey game. You can also add a scattering of community celebrations to that mix.

It's early but is this the best we can come up with? Such events seem designed to fill campgrounds, concert sites, hotels, restaurants and bars, but certainly do nothing to satisfy our intellectual needs when it comes to history and culture.

The question needs to be asked, is 2014 just a golden sentimental opportunity to hawk the province and its charms to tourists; to make a big fuss and ensure a banner tourism season, like the ones we used to enjoy? Or is it a special moment in time, an opportunity to mark one of this country's most historic moments and P.E.I.'s place in it?

Missing so far in the discussions is any talk of a legacy project, which makes me yearn for 1964, which was the 100th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference. The crème de menthe of that anniversary was the opening of Confederation Centre of the Arts. And what a grand legacy it has been to the capital city and province with its stages and exhibition halls oozing culture for 50 years.

The thought that today's generation has neither the interest nor the foresight to think of a lasting legacy for the 150th anniversary is disheartening. It seems our ability to dream is caught up in an economic straitjacket.

Back in September of 1864, a circus competed for attention when the Fathers of Confederation were holding their historic deliberations. No one remembers the circus, but they do remember what the delegates to the conference started — the Confederation of Canada. One hundred years later we marked that historic meeting with the legacy that is Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Rather than have a return of the circus in 2014 in the form of concerts and other such tourism-driven initiatives, it is time for some serious thinking about a legacy project. A provincial museum would be a noble project or, if that's too costly, perhaps a rejuvenation of the precious heritage facilities that already exist in the province.

The people who benefit from 2014 should not be today's power brokers, it should be the generations that will follow. It's time for Prince Edward Islanders to get their thinking caps on.

Gary MacDougall is managing editor of The Guardian. He can be reached by telephone at (902) 629-6039 or by email at gmacdougall@theguardian.pe.ca.

PEI 2014 - Sesquicentennial Planning

Planning is underway -  in 2014 Prince Edward Island, and all of Canada will celebrate an important chapter in history, as we mark the 150th anniversary of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference. The report of the highlights from a forum that was held in December 2011 at the Confederation Centre of the Arts is available.  This forum involved over 100 invited representatives from all levels of government, high schools, PEI Museum and Heritage, Confederation Centre, regional tourism associations, etc.

Community forums were then held in Summerside, Charlottetown, North Rustico, Kinkora, Georgetown, Evangeline, Souris, O'Leary during the months of  February and March 2012.  The report from these community meetings will be out in mid-May

Three of the recommendations from the December forum included:

"Build a provincial museum that would include a mobile unit of roving exhibitions, displaying representations of Island people and culture."


"Focus on updating and maintaining our existing Memorial and Centennial infrastructure including libraries, schools, community centres, and theatres."


"A provincial museum should be built to serve the Island. Use technology to enhance and deliver content across the country. Incorporate a national centre for museum research that could support preservation efforts in other provinces."

As the website states - Honour the past. Celebrate the present. Plan a bold tomorrow.

What better way to ensure that a legacy is kept alive than strengthening and enhancing our cultural institutions with a central provincial museum.

Years Roll on By . . .

I recently came across a copy of the report of Public Consultations on the PEI Museum System conducted by the Institute of Island Studies at UPEI - and the date struck me. Is is really 5 years since the report was completed ? And are we no further ahead ?

While 2014 has been held out as a hopeful year for a major "legacy project" to the commemoration of the  sesquicentennial marking the 150 years since the Charlottetown Conference led to Confederation of Canada colonies into a nation - there are still no clear plans to move ahead on museum development, and with the expectation that someone else will pay - there seems to be a limited vision which is restricting the effort to raise funds locally along with the provincial government committing itself to play their appropriate role in funding the operation on an ongoing basis.

The mandate has clearly been given in legislation in 1983 to the PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation to be the provincial museum system of the province - but how can they move beyond the role of managing a series of historic sites and theme museums (which they do very well) - to tackle the role of operating a full provincial museum system. The mandate is wide covering all of human and natural history, but without ever having hired curatorial staff in the broad areas of natural history the mandate remains dormant decades after it was granted to the organization,

Birthplace squabble sets tone for 2014

Second Opinion by Paul MacNeill, publisher West Prince Graphic
as posted at PEICanada.com

There is a battle brewing in Charlottetown that would make John A. MacDonald reach for his whiskey flask.
On paper it sounds much a do about nothing. What’s the Birthplace of Confederation? Oh come on you moan. Any Islander with half a brain can answer that in a nano second. Charlottetown is the Birthplace of Confederation, you say with a hint of intellectual superiority.

If you are an Islander that concept is fully engrained. We are taught that John A. MacDonald and his crew of fellow nation builders used the Charlottetown meetings of 1864 as a springboard to the creation of Canada in 1867.

Charlottetown takes great pride in its place in history - sometimes to an annoying level.

But history in the hands of modern politicians is often a fickle thing. No need to look at it in context or with an eye to accuracy, especially when history gets in the way of a political pot of gold.

Premier Robert Ghiz and PEI’s lady at the federal cabinet table, Gail Shea, have taken to a little historical revisionism. Charlottetown The Birthplace of Confederation has become Prince Edward Island the Birthplace of Confederation. It’s a subtle change but one that has the City of Charlottetown hopping mad, although city officials are hesitant to publicly criticize.
So what is the big deal you say?

Well a lot if there is potentially $100 million at stake. That is how much the provincial government is asking from Ottawa to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown meetings. PEI figures if the feds can funnel $400 million to Quebec for 400th anniversary celebrations, we deserve a quarter as much.

Charlottetown fears that the subtle but important shift to Prince Edward Island Birthplace of Confederation is a strategic attempt to see 2014 funding flow out of the city and across all of PEI. And the city doesn’t like that because it has big plans itself.

A few weeks ago Mayor Clifford Lee floated the idea of replacing the Civic Centre with a new arena/provincial museum combination. No one will argue with the need to demolish the Civic Centre. It is a terrible venue; too small with obstructed sight lines. The city, and the province, need an arena where spectators walk down to their seat rather than up.

Adding a provincial museum is a novel idea but one with little merit, other than it affords the opportunity to tap into a bigger pot of federal cash.

If a provincial museum is needed – and that has yet to be shown – the site should be very carefully selected, something often ignored by city officials. Take for example the convention centre. It is being built on the wrong site, wasting for decades a prime piece of waterfront that would be far better served by other uses, including potentially a provincial museum.

Charlottetown should not simply assume it has a divine right for a museum. If rural PEI is too far for museum elites to drive, as they have repeatedly said, what about Stratford? A modern building on the waterfront would create a dynamic welcoming to the greater city area, similar to the Musuem of Civilization in Hull, Quebec across the river from Ottawa.

The spoils of 2014 should be spread, at least to some extent, across the Island. PEI supplied five fathers of confederation and not all of them came from Charlottetown. It’s easy to envision, for instance, programming in Georgetown, home to one of those five, AA MacDonald.

What is galling is the blatant attempt by Island politicians to rewrite history. It’s silly. It’s petty. And it sends a terrible message to our kids about the crassness of manipulating history to achieve an advantage.

Charlottetown is the Birthplace of Confederation. That is history Robert Ghiz and Gail Shea simply cannot change. It’s a history Islanders accept. Let’s not leave greed and petty infighting as the legacy of 2014. The Fathers of Confederation would not be amused.

Paul MacNeill is Publisher of Island Press Limited. He can be contacted at paul@peicanada.com