Gail Asper's, the out-of-control spending on CMHR

[RedDog]

I don't want to spend more money to tell students about genocide in another part of the world that had nothing to do with me when these matters can and should be covered in schools, which I already pay for.

Enhance understanding? Buy a book.

[fourhorses]

CMHR deals with Holodomor group

Winnipeg Sun

First posted: Thursday, July 05, 2012 08:30 AM CDT | Updated: Thursday, July 05, 2012 08:46 AM CDT
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is partnering with a Ukrainian group to raise awareness of the Holodomor.

CEO Stuart Murray travelled to Kyiv to meet with the Memorial in Commemoration of Famines’ Victims in Ukraine, signing a collaboration deal with the Holodomor-focused museum yesterday.

"The Canadian Museum for Human Rights will strive to enhance understanding of human rights issues, not only in Canada, but internationally,” Murray said. “This partnership will help bring the story of the Holodomor to a wider audience, to the benefit of generations to come."

The groups plan to collaborate and share research.

The national museum is aiming to become an international research centre on famine, says CEO Victor Didenko. ..................http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/07/05/c ... omor-group

what a load of crap

CEO Murray gets a first class trip to Kyiv for an exhibit that won't exist (or perhaps temporarily in some basement gallery closet) - and then we get the raw raw bs that the museum will partner and do research here in Canada for a wider audience ....

ca-ching, ca-ching

if that research is so necessary, why doesn't the Ukrainian population of Canada do it and fund it through their own community groups?

why are we funding any foreign story - tragic as they may be
how far back do we go ?
Spanish inquisition and conquest of the Americas ?
Barbary pirates' capture and enslavement of whites for the Sultan's empire ?
The Roman domination and mis-treatment of the western world ?

[Julian]

CMHR deals with Holodomor group

Winnipeg Sun

First posted: Thursday, July 05, 2012 08:30 AM CDT | Updated: Thursday, July 05, 2012 08:46 AM CDT
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is partnering with a Ukrainian group to raise awareness of the Holodomor.

CEO Stuart Murray travelled to Kyiv to meet with the Memorial in Commemoration of Famines’ Victims in Ukraine, signing a collaboration deal with the Holodomor-focused museum yesterday.

"The Canadian Museum for Human Rights will strive to enhance understanding of human rights issues, not only in Canada, but internationally,” Murray said. “This partnership will help bring the story of the Holodomor to a wider audience, to the benefit of generations to come."

The groups plan to collaborate and share research.

The national museum is aiming to become an international research centre on famine, says CEO Victor Didenko. ..................http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/07/05/c ... omor-group

what a load of crap

CEO Murray gets a first class trip to Kyiv for an exhibit that won't exist (or perhaps temporarily in some basement gallery closet) - and then we get the raw raw bs that the museum will partner and do research here in Canada for a wider audience ....

ca-ching, ca-ching

if that research is so necessary, why doesn't the Ukrainian population of Canada do it and fund it through their own community groups?

why are we funding any foreign story - tragic as they may be
how far back do we go ?
Spanish inquisition and conquest of the Americas ?
Barbary pirates' capture and enslavement of whites for the Sultan's empire ?
The Roman domination and mis-treatment of the western world ?

I think going back to Cain and Abel should do. It covers family violence as well.

[fourhorses]

Cain & Able are good starting reference points

I think we should also have a permanent section for Death of a Salesman, which is a universal stream of consciousness regarding the American Dream and the relentless abuse the capitalistic narrative has had to endure

[styky]

Memo on Holodomor fails to quell concern
Ukrainians worry about museum space

By: Jenny Ford

Posted: 1:00 AM |

There have been handshakes and a memo of co-operation between Ukrainians and the human rights museum, but a Canadian-Ukrainian group remains skeptical about what it means for the museum's floor plan.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights signed a memorandum of understanding last week with the Memorial in Commemoration of Famines' Victims in Kyiv. The museum said the agreement would help them better understand the Holodomor, the 1932-33 forced starvation in Soviet Ukraine that killed millions.

"Ultimately, there will be more research and education," said Stuart Murray, the museum's president. "When you look back there's great history between Ukraine and Canada... When you look at the history of (the Holodomor), the first country to recognize this as a genocide was Canada."

However, the Ukrainian Civil Liberties Association isn't sure the agreement will result in more of the museum's square footage dedicated to the Holodomor.

"This is a positive thing, but the bottom line is 'Where is it going to go?'" said Lubomyr Luciuk, director of research for the association. "What's that actually going to mean in terms of square metres and number of exhibits?"

The association has criticized the museum, saying it will highlight the Holocaust above other atrocities, and says all genocides recognized by Canada should get equal prominence in the museum. "A publicly funded museum shouldn't raise the suffering of one community above all others," Luciuk said.

How the agreement will translate into exhibits is still being hammered out, Angela Cassie, the museum's director of communications said. But there will possibly be collaboration on exhibits, creating films and sharing artifacts and artwork, for instance.

"There's not as much research or as much information for us," said Cassie. "It will help us in terms of how to represent the Holodomor."

Murray said they are reaching out to other genocide museums and memorials for more information, but this is the first agreement.

"It's the right thing to do to reach out to other institutions," said Myroslav Shkandrij, professor of Slavic studies at the University of Manitoba, whose studies include the Holodomor. "There's a desperate need to voice this experience in its fullness."

There has been controversy over whether the Holodomor should receive a more prominent exhibit at the museum, and how much space the other four Canada-recognized genocides will get compared with the Holocaust.

In late 2010, the museum announced its content would be divided into 12 zones. One each would be dedicated to the Holocaust and to indigenous rights. The Holodomor is to be included in a gallery dedicated to mass atrocities.

The largest part of the museum, Murray said, will still be dedicated to the Canadian human rights journey.

Museum officials spent time in Berlin last week visiting museums such as the Ethnological Museum of Berlin and the Jewish Museum Berlin.



Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 10, 2012 B4
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/ ... 88965.html

[styky]

Friday, July 13, 2012
Is the Canadian Museum for Human Rights headed for tax sale?

Psst.
Hey, buddy.
Wanna buy a museum? Have we got a deal for you.

Big mofo. Ugly as sin. No heat. No lights. Its still unfinished--- but you can't beat the deal.

Once in a lifetime opp, pal. Buy it for a song, and the federal government pays you $21.5 million a year.

Not a word of a lie. Hey, where you goin'? Buddy... Buddy...

Think we're kidding? Okay, a little bit.

But here's the real poop---as of June 30, the day you and we had to pay our property taxes to the city, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights was $453,505 in arrears on its tax bill. And that's after some Fairy Godmother secretly wiped out another $118,000 of the tax bill. We're still waiting for some explanation how that happened.

If it was any other property in the city, it would have received a notice in writing from the City of Winnipeg last month that it had better come up with some heavy coin to pay off its taxes or risk being put on the list of properties up for tax sale.................http://blackrod.blogspot.ca/2012/07/is- ... ights.html

[styky]

Loans ride to museum’s rescue
Governments offer room to fulfil vision

By: Dan Lett
Finally, a solution to the funding shortfall threatening the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

For much of the past year, the federal Crown corporation overseeing the museum has scrapped with its government masters over where to find an additional $40 million to complete construction.

The dispute has already delayed the opening of the museum by a year and threatened to leave the completed building an empty shell.

According to sources at all levels of government though, an agreement has been reached to bridge that funding gap.

Ottawa will offer the museum a no-interest loan that will be repaid through savings in the operating budget and revenues that will come when the museum finally opens to the public.

The province will also play a role, guaranteeing another loan to be taken out by the Friends of the CMHR, the private fundraising body that has contributed more than $130 million to the project.

Although the total cost of the museum — now estimated at about $351 million — has not gone up from its last published level, the total amount of the federal advance and the provincial loan guarantee could be as much as $70 million, sources said. It is believed some of this money is being provided as a cushion against some private pledges that have been slow to materialize.

The federal government in particular has been concerned about giving the museum more money. Despite the fact the original cost estimate for the museum was wildly low, and private donors had for the first time in history made a nine-figure contribution to a federal cultural institution, the feds stuck to their pledge to provide $100 million in cash for the project.

As criticism of the museum grew and the federal treasury went into deficit thanks to the global recession, the chances of a direct federal bailout became less and less likely.

In this solution, the federal government provides the museum with the money it needs at essentially no cost.

It is just a transfer of cash from one government entity to another. It is not an expenditure, does not add to the federal government’s deficit and is, according to sources, fully repayable.

Federal Heritage Minister James Moore could not be reached for comment, but in a statement from his office, officials were careful to stress this is not a handout.

"The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is an important new Canadian museum that we want built on time, and within existing budgets," a spokesman for Moore said. "We will be converting and advancing the operational funds over the next three years into capital funds to finish building the museum on time. This new funding arrangement will come at no additional cost to taxpayers."

The province would not comment on its involvement. However, sources confirm the provincial assistance comes in the form of a loan guarantee so the Friends of the CMHR can borrow a portion of the $70-million shortfall. As an organization with a proven track record of fundraising, the province hopes it will be seen as a relatively low-risk gesture.

The museum file remains, however, incendiary. Lingering concern among some ethnic groups about how historical incidents like the Ukrainian Holodomor will be represented in the museum continue to make political waves. And anti-museum forces across the country, which consistently make up for their lack of numbers with volume, continue to rake Ottawa for spending any money on a museum that explores human rights issues.

This solution does solve the immediate problem of providing enough money to ensure the museum opens in the spring of 2014. However, it may have come too late to stop the museum from having to make major compromises on content.

During the period of funding uncertainty, the museum has lost several key staff members, many of whom were involved in developing content for the unique institution. As well, there are rumours the cost of technology for some of the exhibits, which have been billed as among the most advanced and interactive in the world, has continued to rise.

The real question facing the levels of government is whether all the fussing, and the delays it has caused, will deal the museum a fatal blow. With so many critics of the museum coming forward during its period of fiscal dysfunction, will anybody give the museum a chance to prove itself to be the innovative, dynamic institution it promised to be?

That will not be known until early 2014 when it finally opens and people get to see what all the fuss is about. At this stage, only a successful opening will ultimately prove the value of the investment.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breaki ... 13356.html

[styky]

Human rights museum gets $70M in government loans
CBC News
Posted: Jul 19, 2012 12:49 PM CT
Last Updated: Jul 19, 2012 2:24 PM CT

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg is getting some financial help from the provincial and federal governments, amounting to about $70 million combined.

The help comes in the form of loans and loan guarantees of about $35 million each from both levels of government towards the project's completion.

Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger says the federal contribution is an interest-free loan, while the provincial contribution is a loan guarantee, and both have been in the works for some time now.

"The province and the federal government have been working on this in partnership with the museum board for several months to find a solution that didn't put any additional taxpayer dollars upfront but allowed the project to get completed and this is the best solution that we've been able to agree on," he said Thursday.

Selinger added that both levels of government see the economic benefit of supporting the museum, which is under construction near The Forks in downtown Winnipeg.

“Increase the economic activity here by about $58 million a year, there’ll be 250 jobs created as a result and about a $21 million payroll and about $12 million in taxes that are generated,” he said.....................http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ ... loans.html

[LAR]

about a $21 million payroll

And who do they think is going to pay for that? It's the cost that just keeps on costing. Reminds me of our so-called rapid transit system.

[styky]

These morons assume people from all over the globe will plan their vacations around this silly thing.

[wildernessvoice]

I would trust these clowns only if the brought a person of the stature of Lubomyr Luciuk on board. Until they make such a move I regard them as the Wild West Asper Gang.

[styky]

Monday, July 30, 2012
Animal Farm, Conservatives-style. All ethnic groups are equal, but some are more equal


Two months ago the Stephen Harper government announced they were shutting down the Experimental Lakes Area, a one-of-a-kind science research project, run by Winnipeg scientists.

They said it was to save $2 million a year, a half-a-gazillionth of the federal budget.

The ELA consists of 58 lakes near Kenora. For 44 years scientists were able to use the closed ecosystems of the lakes to do groundbreaking research on acid rain, toxic metals, the effect of phosphates on freshwater lakes, what spawns algae blooms that kill lakes, and climate change. One story on the closure declared "the ELA was to water ecology what the supercollider is to physics."

As a result of the defunding of the world-reknowned project, 40 biologists, chemists and other scientists from Winnipeg will lose their jobs. Scientists from around the world have decried the Harper government's action, giving Canada a bad name in science circles everywhere........................http://blackrod.blogspot.ca/2012/07/ani ... e-all.html

[richardson]

Loans ride to museum’s rescue
Governments offer room to fulfil vision

By: Dan Lett
Finally, a solution to the funding shortfall threatening the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

For much of the past year, the federal Crown corporation overseeing the museum has scrapped with its government masters over where to find an additional $40 million to complete construction.

The dispute has already delayed the opening of the museum by a year and threatened to leave the completed building an empty shell.

I told my parents I would pay for the car with money I made from my after-school jobs. I don't have enough money. My parents won't give me the rest I need. THEY ARE DELAYING MY BUYING MY CAR.

[styky]

Human rights museum construction hits milestone
CBC News
Posted: Sep 20, 2012 9:03 AM CT
Last Updated: Sep 20, 2012 9:48 AM CT
It's a big day for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, where the last pane of glass is being installed on the Tower of Hope.

Construction of the $351-million museum, Canada's first national museum outside the Ottawa region, began in spring 2009 at The Forks in Winnipeg.

It is currently slated to open in 2014, about a year later than originally planned, after encountering spiralling construction costs.

Installation of the 1,670 pieces of glass covering the tower and museum has been ongoing for the past year. There are 1,336 pieces on the museum and 334 on the tower..................http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ ... nipeg.html

[styky]

Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Heritage Minister Moore talks of CMHR compromise --- and mismanagment

Infuriating tales of board mismanagement and government malfeasance that cost taxpayers more than $70 million peppered a recent update on the jinxed Canadian Museum for Human Rights by Heritage Minister James Moore................http://blackrod.blogspot.ca/2012/09/her ... -cmhr.html