Museum finally admits it needs to raise more money priovately.

"We know the original intent was for the CMHR to be a Holocaust museum
(one of only many similar museums already in existence) some right here
in Canada."

heh.. someone needs to tell Gail because just recently she was saying.. oh no.. that was never the plan.

Every City where more than 5 Jewish people live have an area where the Holocaust is remembered.

The Asper Jewish Centre here in Wpg was paying thousands of dollars every year to bus Winnipeg children to a trip to Washington's Museum. I believe that it was Gail Asper who asked her Dad, why don't we have a proper Museum here so we don't have to go on this long bus trip.

I am sure that I read that was the start of the Museum and became a project that Izzy worked on for many years.

I think the building is really remarkeable. There is nothing like it anywhere in Winnipeg and as far west as Beausejour!

"A feather in the city's cap".... how about a dagger into the taxpayers heart/pocketbook?

Drama much... I wonder if it was a museum that you personally were interested in would the same argument be had?

If it draws people to the city/province, is it not a positive thing?

Stonekiller wrote:

"A feather in the city's cap".... how about a dagger into the taxpayers heart/pocketbook?

Drama much... I wonder if it was a museum that you personally were interested in would the same argument be had?

If it draws people to the city/province, is it not a positive thing?

A bit melodramatic i agree (my bad). I have no issue with the museum itself nor it's content, whatever that ends up being. I will make a visit once it's open.

The financial boondoggle it's become is what irks me. Lying to the Senate about cost over-runs. The huge salaries the employees already receive. I had no idea working in a museum meant a 6 figure salary.

Will it draw people to the city/province? Maybe, but no nearly to degree we've been led to believe.
250K visitors a year? Excluding the thousands upon thousands of school children who will be forced to visit...... 250K a year is all but impossible. Not due so much to the museum but for Winnipeg's relative isolation from all major cities. I'm sure if it was built in Ottawa they'd likely get 250K +.

With real proper planning the museum could (and should) have been built on time and budget.

I recall there is (was) a program in Winnipeg that took dozens (hundreds?) of Winnipeg children to a Washington area museum annually. It may have been the Holocaust museum. I don't recall.

Should we proclaim those children were "forced" to go?

That's the problem I have when I read that statement. It's scare-mongering and disingenuous. Surely there are enough things about this evil museum that people can poop on without resorting to those tactics.

justmythoughts wrote:

Stonekiller wrote:

"A feather in the city's cap".... how about a dagger into the taxpayers heart/pocketbook?

Drama much... I wonder if it was a museum that you personally were interested in would the same argument be had?

If it draws people to the city/province, is it not a positive thing?

A bit melodramatic i agree (my bad). I have no issue with the museum itself nor it's content, whatever that ends up being. I will make a visit once it's open.

The financial boondoggle it's become is what irks me. Lying to the Senate about cost over-runs. The huge salaries the employees already receive. I had no idea working in a museum meant a 6 figure salary.

Will it draw people to the city/province? Maybe, but no nearly to degree we've been led to believe.
250K visitors a year? Excluding the thousands upon thousands of school children who will be forced to visit...... 250K a year is all but impossible. Not due so much to the museum but for Winnipeg's relative isolation from all major cities. I'm sure if it was built in Ottawa they'd likely get 250K +.

With real proper planning the museum could (and should) have been built on time and budget.

This I can agree with, I think the idea was a bit too ambitious but at this point in time. It just needs to be finished. It is a federal museum, the feds should either take over the project, or offer to lend the money to the museum with some severe non-payment clauses that will ensure that the government money gets paid back.

grumpy old man wrote:I recall there is (was) a program in Winnipeg that took dozens (hundreds?) of Winnipeg children to a Washington area museum annually. It may have been the Holocaust museum. I don't recall.

Should we proclaim those children were "forced" to go?

That's the problem I have when I read that statement. It's scare-mongering and disingenuous. Surely there are enough things about this evil museum that people can poop on without resorting to those tactics.

that program still exists. check the WSD1 meeting minutes for funding information

further Izzy used to take kids there too.


BUT...regardless of what you are doing when you get there... as a school aged kid would you really turn down the chance for a trip to Washington?

Are you sayin' that Winnipeg would not be as attractive a destination as the Capital City of the most powerful nation on earth?

Pish posh.

smithsonian cough smithsonian

What Smithsonian? It's just another museum! It is my understanding people should not build museums. There is infrastructure to do something with...

Stonekiller wrote:...or offer to lend the money to the museum with some severe non-payment clauses that will ensure that the government money gets paid back.

What's are these? Lending money on this scale will lead to turning it into a donation.

Will they really put their personal assets up as collateral?

grumpy old man wrote:What Smithsonian? It's just another museum! It is my understanding people should not build museums. There is infrastructure to do something with...

go check out the smithsonian funding

grumpy old man wrote:What Smithsonian? It's just another museum! It is my understanding people should not build museums. There is infrastructure to do something with...

I love this post!! yes fix potholes etc with the money from the museum (as if we would have seen that money here anyway)

In case anyone missed..... The Sun permitted David Asper to write an editorial admonishing the masses for the putting the blame on the museum boondoggle to his poor misunderstood sister.

He's blamed the Feds entirely including for the massive cost over-runs. The Blackrod quickly set Mr. Asper straight in his most recent post.

Meanwhile the Freep posted another feel good article stating the basic outside construction of the museum should be complete by the end of the year. The "shell" will completed "right on schedule by the end of the 2012".

Will cost 65M to complete the interior but currently no funds exist to begin this work.

I'm assuming they currently have $$$ for another 7 months and unless the taxpayer is forced to fund completion or the private donations skyrocket.... everything stops in 7 months.

Any bets that Selinger's budget will include the $$$$ to finish this bad boy?

Probably.... It will be a simple "loan" that will be payed back of course... wink wink nudge nudge... you know just like the Football club will somehow be able to pay back its loan.

did everyone pay their property taxes a couple weeks ago? I know I did.

The CMHR owes 453K for this year which it hasn't paid. The new fundraising chairperson who was hired late last year has quietly resigned.

Seems they haven't raised ANY money over the past 7 months, or at the very least haven't disclosed how much they've raised.

and the "completion date" is now 2015.

How much longer does this go on?

http://blackrod.blogspot.ca/

It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to pull the wool over "intelligent" people's eyes.

aren't we spending 200 million on the new police station without much public outcry? Obviously police station and museum are different buildings but what the hell? I wonder what my contribution to two buildings is?

I have it on good authority that it is the Aspers leadership that has caused the extra charges on the Police station.

There has to be a minimum of $50,000,000 in the estimates being too low.

This is also the problem that both the U.S. and Canada are having with the #35 jet plane . There was an article in the New York Times outlining the problem that the manufacturer is having.

i hope they have free water.

that should be a human right.

and a place to pee.

Wonder if the old Sals restaurant will be given to the museum now that the City did not renew the lease with Sals. Too bad as Sals is a famous Winnipeg restaurant loved by many.

The Sals would have made a great location for this museum. About the right size to for a museum that will be all electronic and have everything available on the web.

tick wrote:i hope they have free water.

that should be a human right.

and a place to pee.

I'm sure there will be several places that will be peed upon.

I agree about free clean water should be a human right.