Hear that?
>Beep, beep beep beep beep<
It鈥檚 the sound of the excavator moving to knock flat the official residence of the prime minister, 24 Sussex Drive. Or at least, it should be.
You know, I used to run excavators. I鈥檇 be willing to do it for a very reasonable price. That would probably be the only reasonable price one might get in the whole debacle.
A CBC story on July 22 noted that a National Capital Commission report of April 2018 said, 鈥淭he building's replacement value is $38.46 million. At the same time, it determined the cost of maintaining the structure at nearly what it's worth: $34.53 million. That figure did not include necessary upgrades to security and grounds maintenance, nor repairs to the nearby pool building, which the NCC described as 鈥榬otting.鈥欌��
Now, that may be some bureaucrat鈥檚 report, but consider the opinions of people who lived there. The same story said, 鈥淔ormer Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin has argued 24 Sussex is a historical landmark that merits preservation. Kim Campbell, who was prime minister for four months in 1993, has suggested it be knocked down.
鈥淪o has former Prime Minister Joe Clark's wife, Maureen McTeer. She argued in 2015 the building lacks architectural value and should be bulldozed and replaced with a building that could show off Canada's best architects and designers.鈥�
Current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lived there as a child, and when he got the top job, he decided not to move in this time around. They鈥檙e using the kitchen to cook his meals and deliver them across the road to Rideau Cottage, where he鈥檚 living. But nothing in the last four years has been done to rehabilitate 24 Sussex Drive. If that isn鈥檛 a metaphor for the current government鈥檚 actions, I don鈥檛 know what is.
Although that might be unfair to Trudeau. Stephen Harper lived in the drafty, asbestos-laden, poorly wired dump for ten years, and refused to do anything significant to improve the place. Trudeau, Harper, and those before them all recognized that spending any money on their home, despite it belonging to the people of Canada, is incredibly toxic to their brand. Remember 鈥済old-plated pensions?鈥� Fixing up 24 Sussex would make that pale in comparison.
The reality is that nations have official residences for a reason. It鈥檚 not about the occupant. It鈥檚 about the office, representing the nation as a whole. There鈥檚 always a London Bobby standing beside the door of 10 Downing Street. The White House is the very symbol of Washington, and to a greater extent, America. In Paris, it鈥檚 脡lys茅e Palace.
It鈥檚 not just a place to lay your head, at least for these other nations. It鈥檚 the office of the executive. In Canada, we do things a little differently, in that the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office, located in the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council Building (formerly the Langevin Block), is where he does most of his work. Maybe that鈥檚 more of a function of our parliamentary rather than presidential system, with an office close to the Commons.
But it doesn鈥檛 mean that his home isn鈥檛 that important.
One thing we, as Canadians, seem to forget is that a nation鈥檚 leader needs access to secure communications at all times. We might not have intercontinental ballistic missiles to fire back at the bad guys, but we are a G7 nation, a member of NATO and NORAD. Yet 24 Sussex鈥檚 wiring is so bad, who knows if plugging in a few more iPad chargers will blow a fuse?
We also living in an era of terror attacks in major capitals, not the least of which was a lone wolf gunman who made it right into the centre of Parliament before he was shot, just on the other side of the door of the Conservative and Liberal caucuses while they were meeting. Security is a paramount concern for the official residence. It may be the paramount concern today.
It is time to start fresh. Why can鈥檛 we, as a nation, build something new for once? Something that reflects not the 19th century, but the 21st? A modern building that is not stuck in the past, but reflects the greatest architecture we can build today? Maybe it鈥檒l have a roof made of solar panels (which I would advise against, because it鈥檚 doubtful they鈥檒l be good for the next 100 years). Maybe it鈥檒l be a showcase of energy efficiency and building design? Future proof it, with conduits for new and future technologies.
Maybe even give the prime minister鈥檚 en suite a composting toilet, since we know they are full of crap anyhow? Then they can find out if their crap doesn鈥檛 stink?
Whatever you do, if you鈥檙e going to spend $40 million, and likely much more, at least get something new for that money.聽
There鈥檚 been a subgenre of movies about attacks on the White House; White House Down and Olympus has Fallen.
Canada doesn鈥檛 need to spend much to make its own contribution to the genre. 24 Sussex Has Fallen Down is going to be real life in short order. Get the movie cameras ready.
