24 Sussex Drive should be torn down, says Maureen McTeer
'An old, crumbling building with asbestos' does not reflect who we are as Canadians, ex PM's wife says
A one-time resident of 24 Sussex Drive says the prime minister's officialresidence is in such a state of disrepair that itshould be torn down and replaced with a new structure that will make Canadians proud.
"This residence is much more than just a house or even a place where prime ministers live while they're in office it should representan idea of Canada," MaureenMcTeer, the wife of former prime minister Joe Clark,said in an interview withRitaCellion CBC Radio'sOntario Today.
"That's why an old, crumblingbuilding with asbestos, which we know ispoison, really is so lacking ofvision, if you will, and [does not reflect]who we are as Canadians."
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McTeer, anauthor of a book on Canada's official residences,saidthe building is "completely lacking" inarchitectural value, and not worth saving.
She pointed to the last majorrenovation of the residence,in 1951,which stripped the building down to its studs, removing most items of historical significance. The chandeliers are among the only fixtures that date back to1868, the year the home was built for a prominentlogging baron.
"The original home looked totally different than the one we were left with after 1950," McTeer said, "I find it quite fascinating that somehow people think it's a heritage building."
While the home itself dates back to the Confederation era, the first prime minister to live in the building was Louis St-Laurent, who moved in after the house was converted from a private residence in the early 1950s.
Asked if she would be sad to see a bulldozer raze the house, McTeer said it might not even require that sort of effort.
"It's coming down on its own, one could argue, just wait long enough," McTeer said, noting that the building was in need of basic repairs even when she lived there more than 30 years ago.
Margaret Trudeauechoed those same concerns in an interview with CBC Radio last week.
"24 Sussex is in need has been in need since I was there 40 years ago of major infrastructure repair, and it simply hasn't been done," Trudeau said.
Home needs tens of millions in fixes
The home repairs havebeen all but ignored by previous residents for fear of political reprisal.
Stephen Harper was warned by the then-auditor general Sheila Fraser in a 2008 report that the home needed more than $10 million in repairs just to make it safe to inhabit. The work was estimated to take 12 to 18 months.
Harper and his family chose to continue living in the residence, and delay any major retrofits.
The $10-million repair bill does not include funds to improve the building's interior design, orbeautify the home tomake it the centrepiece of our country's collection of official residences, McTeer said.
What's wrong with residence? A litany of things including the windows, which are cracked, loose in their tracksand difficult to close. The auditor general said in her report that thiscauses severe heat loss, and has raised heating bills to astronomical levels.
The air-conditioning units installed in the windows were nearing the end of their useful lives in 2008. They are noisy and inefficient, and a major energy suck.
The house was wired for electricity using the old "knob and tube" wiring more than 50 years ago, and the electrical system has been operating at near maximum capacity for decades, a potential fire hazard.
The ceilings and interior walls need to be opened up to replace thewiring, but also to add new air ducts for ventilation,install a sprinkler system for fire protectionand to remove toxic materials, such as asbestos.
Service areas of the home, such as the kitchen and the basement laundry, are simply not functional.
A number of people who called in toOntario Today'sprogram suggested the home could be a model of environmental sustainability, and a source of inspiration for other Canadians to retrofit their homes or use alternative energy sources such as solar and geothermal power technologies.
The Sierra Club of Canada has also floated that idea.
A home to make Canadians proud
McTeer suggests making the new residence anational project in advance of Canada's150thanniversary.
"I would very much like to see a house built which is worthy, if you will, of all that is best in Canada. Our best people putting it together, our best architects, our best designers, our best furniture makers, and make it a project for Canada2017,"McTeersaid.
Thehome should be built on the sametwo-hectareplot of land on Sussex Drive, McTeer said, because the current vantage point is one worthkeeping in public hands because of itsstunning vistas of theGatineauHills.
But regardless of what transpires, Canadians should be widely consulted on future plans for the residence, she said.
"The time has passed when bureaucrats behind closed doors make important decisions like this one of national significance," McTeer said, adding Canadians are increasingly demanding a more open government, so they know how their money is being spent.
The National Capital Commission, which maintains the country's official residences, would not provide a comment on its plans for the residence adding that it has not yet properlybriefed prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau.
In the meantime, Trudeau and hisfamily have chosen to forego living at 24 Sussex,taking up residence in Rideau Cottage on the grounds of the Governor General's residence.
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