Dear Editor:
Re: Waterfront Museum Plans are History, Jan. 27 front-page story
I agree totally with Coun. Pam Bookham’s assessment of city council’s rejection of plans for a museum at the Shipyards. It most certainly is, in her words, “A great failure of the imagination!” And, in my opinion, it is also another example of certain councillors putting money before our heritage.
Money, of course is always something to consider. But where our heritage is concerned it should never be the primary factor that determines if a project goes ahead or not. And heritage projects most certainly should not be judged in terms of a business case – especially when the business comparison used is flawed and a poor assessment to begin with, as Coun. Don Bell so rightly pointed out.
Where heritage is concerned, I ask council to ask themselves one question above all others: how much is not going ahead with a project going to cost us? Where council’s rejection of this project is concerned, the loss to the city is immeasurable.
Once again, council has squandered an opportunity to bequeath to future generations our heritage, on a site befitting our past. This is the second time that we in North Vancouver have lost an opportunity to do something special for future generations.
Though I don’t blame city council for the first. No, that lies entirely at the feet of the federal Conservatives, who pulled the rug out from under our feet when they refused to help fund the building of a maritime museum on this site. Had they honoured their commitment to support such a project, North Vancouver would now be home to a wonderful legacy for future generations and it would be the home for the St. Roch – which, in my humble opinion is where the St. Roch should be.
Perhaps it is now time to combine both projects together and show some imagination for a change. We now have a federal government that seems amenable to supporting such worthwhile projects. Let’s take advantage of this and redress two wrongs. We, as a city, deserve as much, and we deserve a council that has the foresight to see the value of our heritage as opposed to the cost of it.
Rick Harrison
North Vancouver
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