Cancelling artifactory a mistake: Binns

Opposition leader Pat Binns calls the Liberal government's decision to cancel a new artifact storage facility planned for Murray River "a huge mistake."

Binns told CBC News Friday the money was secured for the facility and the project would have revitalized the community. He believes the decision to cancel the artifact storage building in his home district was politically motivated. What's worse, he said, is that thousands of artifacts are now being left at risk.

"We have an opportunity to remove the artifacts, 70,000 thousand artifacts, from being at risk," he said.

"Right now the federal money is there; the provincial money was there. That is sort of being thrown to the wind right now. I just hope that something will cause the government to relook at this situation."

The Liberals announced the cancellation of the project Thursday. They say they'll invest $75,000 into renovating the current facility in Charlottetown's West Royalty Industrial Park to ensure the artifacts aren't damaged, and start work on a new plan for heritage in the province.

Binns said he's worried the Liberals plan to build a central provincial museum, which he said would threaten the seven provincial museums spread across the island, from the Shipbuilding Museum in Green Park to the Elmira Railway Museum.

The decision to cancel thefacility could be one of many to come that will slowly strangle rural Prince Edward Island, said Binns.