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

Plans for P.E.I. museum gathering dust

Published by The Guardian Oct 27, 2011

Nancy MacPhee

Members of the board of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation listen to a question from the crowd during Tuesday night’s annual meeting. From left are chair, Harry Kielly, vice-chair, Jesse Francis, and executive director, Dr. David Keenlyside.

© Nancy MacPhee/Journal Pioneer

SUMMERSIDE – Plans for a provincial museum are at a standstill and the Province isn’t saying whether money for the project is in the upcoming capital budget.

The issue was at the forefront at Tuesday night’s annual meeting of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation, the group lobbying for a facility to house and showcase artifacts now stored at its collections facility in Charlottetown.

That facility, known as the artifactory, is bursting at the seams. The foundation has recently had to rent a 3,000-square-foot space at a cost of $27,000 a year.

Newly minted Tourism and Culture Minister Robert Henderson said his government is committed to the concept of a provincial museum.

“We’re struggling with trying to come up with the resources to try and make this a reality,” said Henderson following the meeting. “It is more than just displaying of the artifacts; it’s also the storage of artifacts.”

The foundation’s executive director, Dr. David Keenylside, said more than 80,000 artifacts are currently being stored at its collections facility and 20,000 are on loan to its seven sites throughout the province.

He admitted the artifactory has its limitations, space being the main one. In the past there’s also been minor flooding at the facility.

Keenlyside said the holding facility is only open to the public by appointment.

“You want it to be accessible but at the same time you want it to be secure and environmentally sound and well organized so you can find things.”

The ideal scenario would be to have one building to house artifacts and include a museum where collections could be displayed.

“Right now there is no place on the Island for kids or adults or visitors to go and see what the Island story is,” said Keenlyside. “They see it in bits and pieces. It’s something that really needs to be here.”

He said the foundation has come up with various options, including using existing space for the museum, and building a new facility, ranging in cost from $10 million to $55 million.

“We don’t know in the final analysis if we will get all, or some, or part.”

Henderson admitted that it all comes down to money and is hopeful his government can at least come up with a short-term solution.

“We’re hoping we can find some possible partners for the provincial museum concept,” he said. “It’s important to the preservation of a lot of our Island artifacts and history.

“We’re hoping to bring down a capital budget in the legislature this fall. At this point in time I can’t divulge if it is or isn’t going to be in it.”

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