B.C. government defending almost billion-dollar Royal BC Museum investment
Posted May 25, 2022 7:10 am.
Last Updated May 26, 2022 9:12 am.
UPDATE: The province has shared a breakdown of where the $789 million will be spent.
The provincial government is set to explain why spending close to a billion dollars on a new Royal BC Museum is a good idea Wednesday afternoon.
About two weeks ago, the B.C. government said it will spend about $789-million to bring the museum into the 21st century by building it in a seismically safer, more inclusive, accessible and modern structure.
Since the investment was announced, it has triggered widespread criticism because of the hefty price tag.
Critics like recently-elected B.C. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon called Premier John Horgan “out of touch” and took aim at the museum rebuild at a time when the province is seeing a skyrocketing cost of living.
The opposition leader repeatedly called the renovation a “vanity” project in the premier’s backyard, adding that if elected next year, he’d cancel it.
“Why on earth is the premier so tone-deaf to be spending over $1 billion on a museum project instead of helping British Columbians get access to a family doctor and some relief when they’re trying to fill up their cars?” He asked in the legislature, referring to record-high gas prices on the Lower Mainland and across the province in recent weeks.
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B.C.’s premier has come under fire for the approach his government is doing – and not doing — to address the high cost of filling up, as inflation also increases.
On Thursday, he admitted the announcement was “not characterized appropriately” and said he regrets how the new museum plans appeared “tone-deaf.”
“I know full well the impact of high gas prices on the stress of meeting family budgets, the challenges of inflation right across the board,” he said.
However, he said criticism may have steamed from a in how the province’s budgets operate and are used in comparison to capital budgets.
Horgan said he has no intention of cancelling the plan, despite the “surprising” negative reaction.
Museum executives have been appealing to the B.C. government for improvements to the building since 2006, when assessments identified the need for major seismic and structural upgrades. The announcement of the new museum came after five years of reviewing various proposals. The COVID-19 pandemic had delayed the process.
Melanie Mark, B.C.’s minister of tourism and the only First Nations woman to serve in cabinet, said the museum will update its exhibits through consultations with residents, including Indigenous communities.
Mark says though the changes are long overdue, she considers it to be “reconciliation in action.”
“Now more than ever we must see the value of museums and … our shared stories and to see the canvas of where we’ve come and where we’re going,” she said.
The new museum is expected to open in 2030.
With files from Liza Yuzda and Victoria Mann
