Quote:
Originally Posted by McKay
There are some things governments do where public consultation — or, more usually, stakeholder consultation — can add value, but I'm honestly at a loss to understand how building a museum fits that category. Design by a committee of thousands?
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Because it is a major investment in a public building in our highest-density neighbourhood and central business district, all categories that demand some level of public input or at the very least an open design, tender and consultation process.
I get that the compressed timeline is necessary for both the security of the collections (which is incredibly important) and for getting visible progress on the ground before the election next year, but this is a generational opportunity for the central core of the city and we shouldn't be rushing it or skipping key steps in a good process. Getting an iconic museum building would do wonders for the region, but you're not going to throw a building like the Canadian Museum for Human Rights or the Halifax Library together in a few fiscal quarters.
Now I know that a lot of people have been working for years on this file, and perhaps there has been a thoughtful, beautiful design completed and a meaningful site selection process undertaken (I do know some details of this, about which I cannot comment), but again, if that much work has gone into it, there should be more public notice given and more time left for input.