The Alberta Branded store on the legislature grounds will close at the end of March, after a last-ditch effort to delay the closure was voted down Monday by a committee of MLAs.
The Legislative Assembly Office (LAO) runs Alberta Branded, which has operated on the first floor of the Federal Building since 2015.
Speaker Nathan Cooper, who is responsible for the LAO budget, said his office has a mandate to provide parliamentary programming and education.
“Consultations were not required during the process, as it is clear that the art gallery supported by the LAO was outside of the scope of the LAO’s mandate and not an appropriate use of LAO resources,” Cooper told the special standing committee for members’ services.
Nicole Goehring, the NDP MLA for Edmonton-Manning, put an amendment on the floor to delay the closure and talk to artists about a plan to save the store. The United Conservative majority on the committee voted against considering it.
The dozen artists who watched the proceedings from the visitors’ gallery were visibly disappointed as they left the committee room.
Brenda Philp, a textile artist who sold her work at Alberta Branded, said she was disappointed the committee didn’t approve Goehring’s motion to delay the closure.
“We’re entitled to a voice and that’s been taken away from us,” she said.
Operates at a loss
The Alberta Branded store has operated at a loss since it opened in 2015. In the most recent full year of operations, the store sold $300,941 worth of merchandise, while it cost $610,000 to operate the shop. Cooper told the committee the original sales targets were $450,000 a year.
The pending closure of the store was announced by Cooper at the last committee meeting in late November. Artists complained the decision was made without any consultation with the arts community.
There are plans to open a small kiosk in the lobby of the Federal Building that would sell more traditional legislature-branded souvenirs.
The closure of Alberta Branded is part of an effort to trim five per cent from the LAO budget for 2020-21.
Other savings include a one-time deferral of equipment maintenance, elimination of one staff training session, the reduction of one full-time and one part-time position in the legislature library due to retirement, and a reduction in winter hours for visitors’ services.
