As part of an effort to save 24 Sussex Drive for future prime ministers, a group of heritage-minded construction industry figures has come forward with a plan to restore the dilapidated residence.
Historic Ottawa Development Inc. (HODI) — a non-profit organization that includes noted architects, conservationists and project managers with a track record of saving heritage properties from demolition — says it can’t stomach the idea of the 150-year-old building being abandoned as the prime minister’s official residence.
HODI maintains the home has been at the centre of national political life for generations and shouldn’t be relegated to the dustbin of history.
Marc Denhez is the president of HODI and a past member of the official residences advisory committee at the National Capital Commission (NCC).
He said he believes reports of the home’s state of decay have been exaggerated and the suggested price tag to fix the place is out of step with industry norms for a renovation project of this scale.
“We have a number of experts at our disposal and all of them unanimously have said the $36.6 million figure is for the birds,” Denhez told CBC News.
A 2021 NCC report concluded the residence is in “critical” condition and estimated the cost to complete “deferred maintenance” at more than $36 million. The report set the home’s “current replacement value” at $40.1 million.
“It can be done for a lot less money if you know how to kick the tires. And we have people who know how to kick tires,” Denhez said.
The grounds at the Prime Minister’s residence at 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa. The National Capital Commission (NCC) has started to strip the property of asbestos and remove obsolete mechanical, heating and electrical systems — but the property’s future is still uncertain. (Tom Hanson/The Canadian Press)
He said the option of commandeering land in Ottawa’s Rockcliffe Park for a new home — floated by government sources in a Radio-Canada story earlier this week — would be more expensive than fixing up the current Gothic Revival-style home to modern standards.
“Don’t compare us to Jesus Christ. Compare us to the alternative and the alternative is kicking out park goers and putting a glass box in the middle of parkland,” Denhez said.
“There’s an apparent assumption that it’s going to be so much more economical to snatch up parkland and start from scratch. We don’t think that’s true.”
Trace Architectures’ proposal for 24 Sussex Dr. would preserve the existing home. (Supplied by Trace Architectures)
Denhez said it shouldn’t take millions of dollars to clear out dead rats and squirrels in the walls. Remediation work to remove asbestos and replace outdated electric systems is already underway, he added.
Denhez said the prime minister doesn’t require a lavish home with a designated space for large receptions.
He said that under Canada’s Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, it’s the King’s representative who has most of the official hosting duties and Rideau Hall is already well equipped to handle such events.
What the prime minister needs, Denhez said, is a respectable home worthy of a G7 leader with space for family and rooms to host smaller affairs of state.
A renovated 24 Sussex, at 12,000 square feet, would fit the bill, he said.
“It’s the Crown that has the responsibility for holding state events. In Britain, you don’t have a state banquet at No. 10 Downing St. The prime minister gets in his limo and drives over to Buckingham Palace,” he said.
“The same practice applies here in Canada. But you have some people in government who are saying, ‘Oh, 24 Sussex, it’s not presidential enough.'”
A spokesperson for the NCC declined to comment on the agency’s long-term plans for 24 Sussex.
The home was closed for “health and safety reasons” last fall, the spokesperson said.
Starting in September, construction workers will start “abatement of designated substances” while removing outdated mechanical and electrical systems, she said.
A spokesperson for Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the government is working closely with the NCC to “develop a plan for the future.”
A government source speaking to CBC News on background said Duclos will release the government’s plan for the residence “soon.”
“That’s the best I can tell you. The final plan will come soon. It’s at the top of the list for the minister,” the source said.
Trace Architectures’ proposal for 24 Sussex Dr. would add an ‘official wing’ to the residence for state functions. (Supplied by Trace Architectures)
Ken Grafton, a project manager at HODI, said the government shouldn’t be rushing into a decision to replace the home. He said HODI wants the opportunity to make its pitch to Duclos to save 24 Sussex.
He said the NCC has stymied HODI’s efforts to obtain detailed documents about the home’s condition and the figures that support the $36.6 million price tag to replace it.
“The historic value of the home is very high. Think of all the world leaders that have been through there. It’d be ridiculous to demolish that. The government can’t be that callous,” Grafton said.
“We’ve assembled a team that’s really bulletproof in terms of credibility on built heritage. We just want the chance to overturn the negative narrative that’s been surrounding 24 Sussex for too long. We want to be a resource for the government.”
24 Sussex may never house another prime minister
The official residence of the prime minister, 24 Sussex Drive, may never house another prime minister. The federal government is looking into options for a more modern and secure house for future prime ministers.
Mark Brandt is a senior conservation architect at Trace, an Ottawa firm that has worked on retrofits of prominent heritage buildings like Parliament Hill’s East Block and the Sir John A. Macdonald Building.
A past president of HODI who supports the non-profit’s current efforts to save the home, Brandt has drafted an unsolicited proposal to preserve 24 Sussex while also building a new “official wing” on the home’s expansive two-hectare grounds.
The existing residence would be returned to its original function as a single-family home while the new addition could be used for other official purposes, he said.
“All this talk of demolishing a historic building — it’s crazy. The residence can be saved and it can be rehabilitated. There’s no reason to lose the history or the gravitas of the place,” Brandt told CBC News.
An architect at Trace Architectures, a firm that has worked on other historic rehabilitations in Ottawa, says the home’s current location is secure. (Supplied by Trace Architectures)
“You can do a completely modern, super-secure, net-zero carbon emissions addition. It can be a friendly next-door neighbour to the existing building which, as part of our proposal, can be fully restored on this spectacular site.”
Security concerns are what’s motivating the government to consider other sites for the official residence.
The home’s location — atop a cliff and surrounded by water on three sides — is already ideal from a security standpoint, he said.
The existing perimeter fence and gate can be “hardened,” he added, and the road system reworked slightly to prevent unwanted vehicles from getting too close.
“The home’s neighbours, the French embassy and the governor general’s residence, seem to be quite happy with the security situation. Security is a challenge but I also think it’s a red herring. We have great minds who’ve dealt with this before and they can do it again,” he said.
Other official residences, like the White House in Washington, D.C., are arguably much more exposed to security risks than 24 Sussex, he said.
And other buildings frequented by Trudeau, including ones that Brandt’s firm helped design in the parliamentary precinct, are also in more vulnerable urban locations, he said.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
