PART I: CANADIAN MUSEUM FOR HUMAN IRONY

In a previous column, we explored the irony associated with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The project’s transparency gaps, the fact taxpayers have been forced to donate to it and the unfairness of private sector employees, with no pension plan, having to pay for the museum’s golden pension plan were just a few ironic examples chronicled.

Today, we’ll take a look at how the museum can become more taxpayer-friendly.

To begin, no more tax dollars should go towards the construction of the museum. Not a single cent.

Taxpayers have already put in $170 million towards construction of the project and are on the hook for $21.7 million in annual funding for the project to help it stay afloat once its doors are open. That’s more than enough involuntary donations from the masses.

As construction costs for the federal museum have ballooned from $265 million to over $357 million, it’s time for those who truly want the project to stand up and be held accountable. After all, the project is a partnership with a fundraising organization that pushed for construction of the museum – the Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Some will say the Friends have already done their part by fundraising over $100 million in donations for the museum. And it’s true that they have done a good job in raising donations for the museum – no other federal museum has raised so much in voluntary support.

However, one seriously can’t expect taxpayers to be forced to pay more in taxes for a museum. At the extreme – how can politicians expect the working poor in Canada, some who are struggling to put food on their plates right now, to pay more in taxes for a museum?

What museum proponents should do immediately is use any remaining funds to seal the outside of the structure to prevent the inside from weather damage. Once that is done, completion of the project should only proceed once the project’s backers raise enough voluntary donations.

To ensure the project doesn’t sit idle for years, the Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights could secure their own loan and repay it once they raise voluntary donations.

Fortunately, securing such a large loan shouldn’t be a difficult task. After all, many of the proponents have deep pockets. For example, according to information published on the federal government’s charity registry, the Asper Foundation has over $133 million in assets.

Certainly other proponents could also step in and use their own wealth and assets (eg. homes, businesses, etc.) as collateral to help secure a loan to pay for the remaining construction costs.

Finally, in terms of “fairness,” the museum should cancel the gold-plated pension plan for staff and switch over to the new pension plan the federal government is setting up for commoners without a workplace pension plan. If it’s good enough for the people paying for the human rights museum, isn’t it good enough for the people working there?

Going forward, the museum needs to be more transparent and accountable with taxpayers. If you can’t count on a ‘human rights’ museum to be transparent and up front with humans, who can you count on?