Rights museum to get break from city

By: Jen Skerritt

WINNIPEG city council's executive policy committee has approved a plan to give the Canadian Museum for Human Rights a $3.6-million break to cover part of the project's $25-million budget shortfall.

On Wednesday, the EPC voted in favour of giving up $3.63 million worth of payments from the museum and redirecting it toward the construction of the $310-million building. Unlike private museums, national museums make payments in lieu of taxes to the municipality where they are located every year.

To date, Winnipeg has received $119,652 in payments from the federal government for the museum. The annual payments to the city are expected to increase as the project is completed.

Mayor Sam Katz said the additional funding is the right thing to do and the museum will be something Winnipeggers will take pride in.

The plan still needs to be approved by council.

The city's coffers will not collect payments from the museum for several years -- and possibly more than a decade -- since Winnipeg needs to first redirect the money to repay a loan from the province. Winnipeg previously took an $11-million loan from the province to give the human rights museum money Katz said it needed for its construction costs. He said Winnipeg didn't have the money, so the province gave them a loan.

Once the provincial loan is paid off, Katz said, the payments will be redirected back to the museum until they reach $3.6 million. After that, the museum's payments will be channelled into Winnipeg's general revenue.

"We'd pay back the province first because they advanced money on our behalf," Katz said. "After that it would go into general revenue and basically taking care of the needs of the city, just like any other revenue."

Some critics questioned why the city would forfeit money it needs.

"On one side the city's mouth it's saying it doesn't have any money for roads, and on the other side of its mouth, it's saying 'let's spend $3.6 million on a federal project.' It doesn't add up," said Colin Craig, Prairie director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.


(2011-4-21/winnipegfreepress)