VICTORIA, B.C. – In response to the BC NDP’s business case for the new Royal BC Museum, a $789M investment, Adam Olsen, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands and a member of Tsartlip First Nation has issued the following statement:
“While we are thankful to finally see the business case, this has been a public relations disaster. At a time when British Columbians are struggling with an affordability crisis, the government has chosen to build the most expensive museum ever constructed in Canada.
“It is no wonder the public response has been overwhelmingly negative. The BC NDP have failed to bring people along in a process that has been ongoing for years. They dropped this announcement on a Friday afternoon without meaningfully consulting the public or providing consistent updates. They have yet to justify why this project is a priority when people are struggling with the rising costs of living and accessing basic healthcare services.
“The BC NDP have framed the new Museum as an act of reconciliation and an opportunity for increased repatriation of items, but today's business case clearly points to the construction of a larger and 'modernized' building to house our sacred items and ancestral remains as the primary objective
“We do not need a new building to house items they intend to return to Indigenous people - we simply need the museum to prioritize their return. The business case says that Truth and Reconciliation will be minimal if the original building is maintained, but does nothing to assert how a shinier building will do anything more for Indigenous people.”
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