Key takeaways:
- The plan flashed criticism over surplus government spending.
- Premier John Horgan revealed Wednesday the region is suspending its project to reconstruct the Royal B.C. Museum.
The region stops the controversial $789-million project to overhaul the Royal B.C. Museum, Premier John Horgan declared Wednesday.
Horgan said the expensive project was the “wrong decision at the incorrect time,” The government heard opposition from British Columbians “loud and clear.”
“I made the bad call,” the premier stated. “I made a call when British Columbians were thinking regarding other problems.”
Horgan clarified that British Columbians were forced to take the project’s $800-million price tag. At the same time, the region meets a doctor shortage, an increasing cost of living, and other critical problems coming out of the outbreak.
Also read: The 2026 World Cup is arriving in Vancouver
A poll released by the Angus Reid Institute the previous week saw that 69 percent of British Columbians oppose the plan.
The museum upgrade declared in May, has plans to demolish and reconstruct the museum in Victoria over about a decade.
The premier said the region is now going “back to the drawing board,” and the museum will stay open indefinitely. He reported that an extensive consultation process would start to assure that British Columbians have an option to provide input on how the Royal B.C. Museum should be upgraded. Horgan stated he does not back a renovation and still firmly believes the building needs to be rebuilt.
Tourism Minister Melanie Mark has supported the rebuild and defined the museum in its present state as “not functional.” She said it requires seismic advancements, is filled with unsafe materials like asbestos and lead, is inaccessible to people with disabilities, and is structurally inadequate to maintain its current collection or host significant exhibits.
Source – cbc.ca
