An artist’s rendering of the proposed home of the portrait gallery on Wellington Street.
Building a national Portrait Gallery in Ottawa should be part of a modern-day “New Deal” to stimulate a sinking Canadian economy with infrastructure spending, says Liberal Senator Jerry Grafstein.
“It’ll be a revenue generator,” Grafstein says. “This will create jobs for industry and will also create tourism jobs.”
When Parliament reconvenes Jan. 26, Grafstein will reintroduce his bill to have the Portrait Gallery of Canada opened at 100 Wellington St., across from Parliament Hill. He says the idea has bipartisan support, and he will ask for it to be fast-tracked in the Senate.
The federal government has asked Canadian municipalities to compile a list of public works projects ready for investment, in order to help sustain the economy.
David Cole, an Ottawa architect who worked on the original plans for the gallery in 2003, says the project could be restarted in a matter of weeks once new contractors are found.
“Most of the design work and drawings are complete,” Cole says.
Work has already started on the building, in keeping with plans announced in 2001 by the former Liberal government under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
That work cost $11 million. The entire construction budget is about $23 million, says Cole.
“It’s actually quite an inexpensive museum compared to other museums built in Ottawa.”
Last November, a Canada-wide competition to house the national collection of paintings and photographs was cancelled by the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Heritage Minister James Moore said in a statement at the time that with Canada’s economic situation, the government had to “manage its own affairs prudently and pragmatically.”
But Grafstein says cultural investments can be good for the economy.
“If you recall, in the midst of the Depression, in the United States Franklin Roosevelt started schools and public projects.”
Keeping the Wellington building empty is costing taxpayers money, says Grafstein. The Department of Public Works, which owns the building, pays more than $200,000 a year to maintain the site. Library and Archives Canada also spends money to maintain the portrait collection elsewhere.
Lilly Koltun, director general of the Portrait Gallery, declined to comment on whether she had seen the designs, or if any of the proposals – including Grafstein’s – meet the gallery’s needs.
“The question of the building really is in the hands of the minister’s office,” she said.