Cameco-linked culture complex workable notion
SP Opinions
The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, April 19, 2007
City officials and councillors should consider what could be lost before they shut the door for good on the possibility of Cameco building a head office on the site initially set aside for a hotel-spa development.
Cameco has outgrown its current location 11th Street and is spreading out to other sites to accommodate a rapidly growing administration as the world's largest uranium company struggles to meet exploding global demand for its product.
The combined impact of the end of the Cold War and the growing awareness of the dangers presented by global warming have helped to boost not only the credibility of nuclear energy but also the stock value of companies deemed critical to the industry.
This has created the best of times of Saskatoon-based Cameco.
It is also worth remembering that this company has a stellar record when it comes to public service. It's tough to find any major sporting, cultural or educational endeavour in Saskatoon that doesn't have Cameco's stamp on it somewhere.
Whether the company is tapped as a major donor or sponsor, or allows its executives the flexibility to take a lead in projects, Cameco has helped build the university, played a critical role in bringing the Canadian Light Source to the University of Saskatchewan, set up special programs to encourage Northerners -- and particularly First Nations people -- to obtain the science and math skills necessary to work in skilled jobs in the mining sector and contributed to cultural facilities in Saskatoon.
City officials understandably are concerned that an office tower in the centre of River Landing would leave a gaping dark hole in the development as soon as night falls and office workers go home.
But that doesn't preclude a proposal that would see the office portion form part of a grander complex designed (as set out in the city's initial request for expressions of interest) to: "Ensure River Landing will become a major destination for both residents and visitors."
Consultants who have studied this site and compared it to developments elsewhere insist that success depends on creating a mixed use environment that attracts people to this part of the riverbank at all hours of the day and evening, and in all seasons.
But there may be many ideas that a company such as Cameco could bring to the table that not only would meet those criteria but be unavailable without such private co-operation.
For example, Cameco has a strong record of promoting the interests of Northerners (last year it bought shares in UNOR, an exploration company dedicated to examining the potential locked up in Nunavut) and First Nations people.
While Canada has a number of smaller museums and even a portion of the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Que., dedicated to aspects of aboriginal culture, it doesn't have a national facility that speaks to the important role First Nations people played in this country's development. It also doesn't have an adequate format to explain to non-aboriginals and to visitors to Canada how the treaties came about and how these set the tone of peaceful Canadian development.
If not First Nations, it's worth remembering that former Cameco CEO Bernard Michel played a leading role in lobbying for the CLS. So, Cameco's connection to a science museum would also be a natural fit.
The corporation could also credibly support a museum dedicated to the peaceful use of uranium, the role it can play in reducing greenhouse emissions and the importance of the environment.
Similarly, its support for the arts could dictate a museum dedicated to artists, writers and performers on whose shoulders Canada expresses its identity.
For these to succeed, however, the federal government must be convinced not only of the need for such cultural facilities but also that it has a responsibility to fund national cultural institutions outside of the capital region.
Proponents of the Winnipeg-based Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the Calgary-based Portrait Gallery of Canada already are forcefully putting this argument forward. Considering our federal taxes disproportionately flow to federal facilities in Ottawa, Toronto, the province of Quebec and in the Atlantic region, it is an argument, one would hope, that western-based Prime Minister Stephen Harper appreciates.
Particularly if Saskatoon can put forward a proposal that, like the Alberta and Manitoba projects, carries with it a strong private-sector partner working on raising the capital needed to promote Canada's culture.
SP Opinions
The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, April 19, 2007
Source:
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoen...?id=761c7fda-5ea4-47bd-a2a1-229fe28bdc62
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Interesting opinion, I wonder if there is any truth behind it?
For obvious reasons I don't want to to see an office building go up, but suggesting Cameco would be interested in building something with an included destination center permits me to listen with an open mind.
Here's a thought/comment:
Why a River Landing site? Cameco could build on a number of downtown locations, but the good thing about this site is it's tied to a concept (R.L.) which has large public support; public support which Cameco would gladly piggy back for the sake of raising acceptance for the uranium/nuclear industry which still receives a bad rap(is that a good/bad thing?
) from some in the community.
This idea might be too little, too late. I never heard Cameco express with great interest for a River Landing office tower, but there was an article months ago in the SP that suggested such a move might occur.
Meh, such a proposal would never succeed with Saskatoon's rising construction costs, or would it
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