By Bill Curry
Heritage Minister Sheila Copps says she has never discussed the creation of a Canadian portrait gallery in downtown Ottawa with her cabinet colleagues.
Copps said stories suggesting that she has already raised the subject in cabinet meetings are “completely false.”
“I have made no presentation to cabinet,” she said in an exclusive interview.
The creation of a national portrait gallery in the former embassy building on Wellington Street is only in the early discussion phase despite national media coverage reporting the issue as being near the approval stage.
If the plan goes ahead, the gallery would showcase paintings and photographs of Canadian and international figures.
The National Archives of Canada has a collection of 30,000 portraits and two million photographic portraits dating back to 1872. The National Archives have been campaigning for a gallery for several years.
The former U.S. Embassy on Wellington has been touted as an ideal location. The building is the size of a large private mansion and would offer high ceilings, wooden wall panels and large chandeliers, as well as a prime location directly across from Parliament.
Copps says she won’t look into the issue until the future of the Canadian War Museum on Sussex Drive has been resolved. The museum wants $58 million to build a new facility near the National Aviation Museum.
Copps’s press secretary, Catherine Gagnaire, explained that the minister must wait for a cabinet decision on the War Museum first, because the money would come from the same budget.
“The minister can’t carry two big issues at the same time,” she says, because the chance of her success in cabinet would be reduced.
“She has to resolve one at a time,” says Gagnaire.
It is unclear when cabinet will decide about the War Museum.
Melanie Kwong, museum spokesperson, says they are hoping to hear something any time between now and immediately before the release of the federal budget in February.
The expanded time line now allows for a more complete public debate on the merits of a Canadian portrait gallery in downtown Ottawa.
The decision to locate the museum in the old U.S. Embassy is also up in the air, though Copps hinted that it is her first choice.
“It will become a public building so we’ll have to find a use for it,” she said.
Louise Proulx, a spokesperson for Public Works, says no decision has been made on what to do with the building.
“We’re looking at our options but it’s too early to discuss them,” she says.
Public Works Minister Alfonso Gagliano has said the building might be useful as office space for public servants during upcoming construction on Parliament Hill.
Copps did not discuss the leaked Finance Department document which estimates the museum will cost $75 million over the next five years.
Kitchissippi ward Regional Coun. Linda Davis publicly criticized the $75-million estimate as “outrageous” when it was released.
However, she applauded the idea of a portrait gallery as a good tourist attraction.
Davis suggested the Ottawa Conference Centre across from the Chateau Laurier might also be a good location, especially if it includes a Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Depending on how large the Hall of Fame is, sharing the building with a portrait gallery could have its advantages.
“Then the guys could go on one side and the girls on the other. It would suit my family just fine,” said Davis.