There is asbestos and mold all over the walls. Dead rodents too. The plumbing is leaking and the electrical system is so old it could start a fire.
Are we talking about a hovel where an unfortunate tenant will end up on this big moving day? A house that is being renovated in the midst of a housing crisis?
At all !
Rather, it is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada who should be a powerful symbol of our democracy and a figurehead of our heritage.
The United States has the White House. France has the Élysée Palace. UK, 10 Downing Street. Canada has a building that is in such critical condition that it had to be officially decommissioned last November.
In this 1er July, Canada Day, let’s put it bluntly: 24 Sussex is a national disgrace. It’s a fiasco that says a lot about how our politicians run the country.
Built in 1867, 24 Sussex is chronically underfunded and has not seen any substantial renovations in 60 years.
No Prime Minister wants to do major work there, for fear that the population will reproach him for spending millions to live in luxury. However, the duration of the work means that the Prime Minister who would launch a major project would probably not be the one who would benefit from it.
Anyway, nothing moves.
In 2008, the commission which manages the official residences estimated the cost of essential works at 24 Sussex at 9.7 million. This did not move Stephen Harper. As for Justin Trudeau, he preferred to move into Rideau Cottage, the guest house of the Governor General, from where he was seen making his press briefings in the pandemic… while the mice ran on the balcony.
Result ? Maintenance deficit at 24 Sussex has quadrupled and now stands at 37 million1.
Infrastructure, defence, environment… When you think about it, there are many crucial files that our politicians, both Liberals and Conservatives, have left to rot like 24 Sussex.
For fear of short-term repercussions, they are unable to have a strategic vision that would allow them to make essential structural changes. The longer they wait, the worse the problems get. And the more it costs the taxpayers.
Think of the Champlain Bridge that the federal government had to replace in a hurry.
As early as 2006, the government had been advised that it would be better to replace the bridge than to continue repairing it. But instead of acting, Ottawa waited until 2011 to launch the project. And that delay cost Canadians more than half a billion dollars.
There is also procrastination at La Défense.
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, our successive politicians have slashed military spending, more concerned with balancing their budgets than dealing with a danger that seemed to have disappeared in the minds of the public reluctant to invest in armaments.
Add to that a nasty dose of partisanship and we end up with sagas like that of the CF-18s that the Harper government wanted to replace with F-35s in 2010. The botched acquisition process was demonized by Justin Trudeau, who tore up the contract when he took over in 2015.
Eight years later, the Liberal leader finally announced the purchase… of the F-35. All that for this ! And in the meantime, the government is forced to invest hundreds of millions to fly its old fighter planes.
The fight against climate change is another area where the reluctance of public opinion prevents politicians from implementing all the measures required to achieve the targets set (Ottawa has even bought a pipeline).
After a decade of effort, Canada’s GHG emissions are likely to rebound to record levels in 2022 and 2023, National Bank economists predict, to be 75% above the 2030 target.
The longer we delay reversing the trend, the more the consequences will be costly in money… and in lives. Remember the extreme heat dome in British Columbia that caused 526 deaths in 2021.
Yet when politicians work together, they can deliver critical long-term reforms, even if they require short-term effort. The enhancement of our retirement plans (QPP/CPP) is a fine example: the increase in contributions will improve the financial security of future generations.
At 24 Sussex, it’s time to leave the politics in the locker room… and act.
Should we demolish or renovate? Should we bring the Prime Minister back there or change the vocation of the residence? To do what ? A museum ? An embassy ?
Whatever the solution, the Prime Minister of Canada must have an official residence worthy of a G7 leader.
This residence is much more than just a house. It is the reflection of Canada in the eyes of the population and its visitors, whether they are simple tourists or high dignitaries. It is a mirror that reflects the image of our country back to us. But for now, all you can see is a crumbling old mansion that says nothing good about Canada and its leaders.
No more procrastination. It’s time to move on.