Of all government projects, shouldn’t a “human rights” museum be transparent and up front with humans? Shouldn’t a “human rights” museum also not force taxpayers to donate to it?
In both cases, the answer should be a resounding “yes,” but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights project. The museum project definitely needs to become more taxpayer friendly going forward.
The latest example of the museum being coy with taxpayers happened back in December when officials disclosed that the cost of construction had increased again; from $310 million to $351 million. And don’t forget, $310 million was up from the initial $265 million price tag when the project began.
Yet, thanks to a diligent journalist, the total cost, including some expenses left out by the museum, was discovered to actually be $357.5 million; $6.5 million higher than reported. It seems the museum felt it didn’t need to disclose to taxpayers a couple construction bills; the cost of building a theatre and temporary gallery.
When asked for our opinion about the real cost overrun figure, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, a non-profit taxpayers’ watchdog group, criticized the museum for dribbling out such details to the public. We noted that taxpayers deserved to know the total cost, not an incomplete figure.
Incredibly, the museum saw the comments in the media and responded with a terse letter. They complained about the criticism, claiming it was “irresponsible” and “unfounded” for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to make such statements. Ironically, it was museum staff who knew what the true total was, but didn’t disclose it to the public.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time the “human rights” museum pulled such a stunt. Consider that over two years ago the museum received a $5 million funding commitment from the Ontario governmentspread over ten years. To date, over $1 million has been transferred to the museum from their government, yet neither the museum, its fundraising arm nor the Ontario government have put out a news release to notify the media and public about the donation.
If that situation sounds familiar, recall what happened a few years ago when former Premier Gary Doer ‘encouraged’ Manitoba’s crown corporations to make a donation towards the project. Like obedient subordinates, the crowns obliged, donating a total of $4.5 million. The kicker was the fact the public only found because someone on the inside leaked the information.
As for the $160 million that the federal government, provincial government and city hall initially contributed towards the project, why couldn’t those dollars have been left in taxpayers’ pockets? Couldn’t taxpayers have decided for themselves if they wanted to donate to the project? Shouldn’t such a freedom be a human right? After all, we’re not talking about tax dollars for a necessary government service like policing.
Another ironic example would be the gold-plated, defined benefit pension plan enjoyed by museum staff. Yes, 75 per cent of private sector taxpayers have no pension plan whatsoever, but we’re forced to contribute annually, through our mandatory taxes – to the museum’s golden employee pension plan. The funds will come in part from $21.7 million in annual funding from the federal government.
Fortunately, there’s a solution to many of these problems. In next week’s column we’ll explore what to do to improve accountability at the museum.
Colin Craig is the Prairie Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
< PART 2 >
Making the Museum More Taxpayer-Friendly
In a previous column, we explored the irony associated with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
The project’s transparency gaps, the fact taxpayers have been forced to donate to it and the unfairness of private sector employees, with no pension plan, having to pay for the museum’s golden pension plan were just a few ironic examples chronicled.
Today, we’ll take a look at how the museum can become more taxpayer-friendly.
To begin, no more tax dollars should go towards the construction of the museum. Not a single cent.
Taxpayers have already put in $170 million towards construction of the project and are on the hook for $21.7 million in annual funding for the project to help it stay afloat once its doors are open. That’s more than enough involuntary donations from the masses.
As construction costs for the federal museum have ballooned from $265 million to over $357 million, it’s time for those who truly want the project to stand up and be held accountable. After all, the project is a partnership with a fundraising organization that pushed for construction of the museum – the Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Some will say the Friends have already done their part by fundraising over $100 million in donations for the museum. And it’s true that they have done a good job in raising donations for the museum – no other federal museum has raised so much in voluntary support.
However, one seriously can’t expect taxpayers to be forced to pay more in taxes for a museum. At the extreme – how can politicians expect the working poor in Canada, some who are struggling to put food on their plates right now, to pay more in taxes for a museum?
What museum proponents should do immediately is use any remaining funds to seal the outside of the structure to prevent the inside from weather damage. Once that is done, completion of the project should only proceed once the project’s backers raise enough voluntary donations.
To ensure the project doesn’t sit idle for years, the Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights could secure their own loan and repay it once they raise voluntary donations.
Fortunately, securing such a large loan shouldn’t be a difficult task. After all, many of the proponents have deep pockets. For example, according to information published on the federal government’s charity registry, the Asper Foundation has over $133 million in assets.
Certainly other proponents could also step in and use their own wealth and assets (eg. homes, businesses, etc.) as collateral to help secure a loan to pay for the remaining construction costs.
Finally, in terms of “fairness,” the museum should cancel the gold-plated pension plan for staff and switch over to the new pension plan the federal government is setting up for commoners without a workplace pension plan. If it’s good enough for the people paying for the human rights museum, isn’t it good enough for the people working there?
Going forward, the museum needs to be more transparent and accountable with taxpayers. If you can’t count on a ‘human rights’ museum to be transparent and up front with humans, who can you count on?
Colin Craig is the Prairie Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
