You just knew the day would come when the term “politically incorrect” would spawn young of its own;
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I don’t deny that Calgary is a superb city. It is even one of the great cities of Canada. It is more than highly capable of representing the unique creative impulses of its citizenry, its region and its province. But Calgary does not have the mandate of a national capital. Nor does Toronto, Montreal, St. John’s or Winnipeg. Over and above being dangerous to individual artifacts, moving the Portrait Gallery of Canada is “nationally incorrect.” This decision, if decision it be, renders regionalistic [sic] a national museum. No city should abscond with or (unilaterally and without consultation) have offered to it a national institution.
Well, then Calgary is not a superb city then, especially when municipal officials express interest in a “nationally incorrect” manoeuvre such as this? Don’t these people know their place? […]
We must stop seeing Ottawa as a municipality like all others. It is not.
Don’t worry, we don’t.
Love it or hate it, […]
We hate it.
… Ottawa the capital is the symbol of the grandeur that we are in Canada and the collective will to thrive that we share.
God help us.
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I’m still attempting to absorb the news that Canada has an “Institute of Portrait Artists”.
“I’m still attempting to absorb the news that Canada has an “Institute of Portrait Artists”.”
Yeah, and I’ll bet that Istvan Kantor gets another GG award for splattering his bodily fluids all over it.
Hate Ottawa. Meh.
Hate Toronto? Damn right.
enough
Well, he’s convinced me. Keep the damned thing in Ottawa, deeply in Ottawa. Way up the river.
While you’re at it, refuse to accept our taxes in Ottawa, too, make it pay its own way.
Elitist twit!
Kate:
Institute of Portrait Artists/Collection of Welfare Bums. Yer call.
A little history:
Encana Resourses was previously known as Pan Canadian Petroleum or PCP. PCP was and still is a wholly owned subsidary of Canadian National Railways…CNR.
Now correct me if I’m wrong but I seem to remeber CNR having something to do with a spike or something like that.
But then I aint no artist.
Syncro
Encana was a merger of PanCanadian and Alberta Energy. PanCanadian was one of the pieces of CP, not CNR, and became an independant company when CP split into 5 companies from the orginal.
Dave
You’re right. CP Rail. My bad. My point(in an incorrect smarmy sort of way) was that the original leaseholdings of PCP came out of the mineral rights allowance around the rail right of way.
Regardless…I stand corrected.
My point. CP has had some influence in the building of this nation. How dare they attempt to rape the art of this nation and put up a paltry $35m to decorate their lobby.
Thugs…cowboys..rednecks!!!
Sarc off
Syncro
Ottawa has long been a city entitled to its entitlments. About 15 years ago in the middle of one of the recessions I toured the family through there. In between a crumbling Tronta infrastructure and miles of shut in Montreal factories stood a gleaming Ottawa , full of new Museums of Civilizations, Galleries ,and I remember this specifically, numbered trees with little brass plates identifying the owner of the tree as the NCC, national capital commission.
Ottawa, recession proof, and filthy stinking rich with the tech companies it had lured there with taxpayers money.
Ottawa, sitting above a pile of ill gotten tax money like a modern leering Caligula.civil service gone wild.
I thought most institutions had bars on the windows. Go figure… 😉
With this kind of thinking, the Americans would be moving Mount Rushmore to Washington, DC.
The complainer, Bernard Aime Poulin, lives in Ottawa. I presume he wants to be associated with, or probably director of, the gallery. That’s why he wants it in Ottawa.
Ok I’ll dissent….sort of. Why I want the subsequent abuse that will follow I dont know….but anyway…
First off if it generally makes sense from a number of perspectives to keep “national” things like that in the capital or capital region.
1) From a business perspective, if you are trying to build Otawa as a tourist destination it is better to put them all in a cluster. Simialr reasoning to why if there were more casinos in Ontario I would prefer them in Niagara Falls or Rama, the Windsor one is sad and alone. Better way to build the grouping
2) The national label tends to apply to things in the national capital.
Exceptions, if there was something unique about the area…i.e. the national maritime museum would make sense on one of the coasts assuming their was one. But as indicated the risk is that when it is isolated, not in a distance sense but if there is nothing to reinforce why people are there.
Of course the complainer got overwrought in his complaint. If the gallery was there for reasons such as the majority of the collection came from an individual or company in Calgary it makes some sense.
Anyway, all things being equal things like that belong in the capital.
Now I always find it funny that public money for art means edgy and complaits about it are censorship, but public money for anything else means service for everyone and lowest common denominator. Inevitably art funding from public sources should inevitably mean fairly pedestrian stuff….edgy or weird should come from private sponsors or patrons
I like it. Beats “City Of Champions” all to hell.
As a freedom refugee who forsook the grandeur and munificence of Ottawa for Marshall, WI, I am willing to offer my little town as a new place of residence for the Portrait Gallery of Canada.
There is a great space right beside ‘Nails and Such’ on the main drag. Only 20 minutes to the main highway to Chicago. It would be a natural. You might even get more foot traffic than would be the case in the Capital Nationale.
Anything for the greater cause.
“collective will to thrive’ ???
That is a phrase that never struck me as defining Canada. perhaps “collective will of some to thrive off of the hard work of others” would better describe Canada
grandeur? more like delusions of grandeur.
they dont know how to plow sidewalks yet and it took them 200 years to build a decent highway connection to the main east-west route aka 401.
must be something in all that pulp mill polluted water.
If you all hate Canada so much why not just leave it alone for true canadians btw I voted conservative in the last election – it’s not relevant – I just can’t stand haters like you. Move to the U.S. please. You contribute nothing of value to this country
Todd,
M Poulin means to say: Calgary is not Canadian. Well frankly, my aunt and uncle are as Canadian as me, so you Lie-breals can bite me.
The conclusion from the Poulin argument:
Is the Liberty Bell/Mount Rushmore located in Washington because it is not a national insitution?
The Hockey Hall of Fame in Ottawa instead of Toronto (maybe this is a good idea actually given the Leafs are not a Hall of Fame team)?
The Canadian National galleries in Ottawa instead of Montreal?
The Hermitage Museum in Moscow instead of St. Petersburg?
The Great Wall moved to Beijing instead of Inner Mongolia?
The Korean national museum goes to Pyongyang instead of Seoul?
The mind boggles.
Hey Todd, I like Canada just fine. But I wish it was just a leeeetle more like the States in a few areas.
You know, lower taxes, you can own a gun, if you hurt a guy while he’s robbing your house you don’t go to jail and he does, right to own property, lower taxes, and lower taxes.
These are a few of my favorite things.
Oh and American kids come with one mommy and one daddy, legally anyway. (Science marches on y’know.)
This is no longer a sure thing in Canada. Some kid in Ontario has a daddy and two mommies today. I don’t object to same sex couples per se, but since SSCs can’t have kids except by adoption, enshrining the unnatural parental relationship in law seems somewhat rash to me.
Besides, imagine the hassles this kid gets at school, never mind the fun he/she/it will have bringing home boyfriends/girlfriends/it-friends to meet the parents. “Hey Dad, Mom, Mom, guess who’s coming to dinner!”
This kid is going to have no choices for rebellion other than to join the Young Conservatives while attending a Catholic seminary. Smoking cigarets out behind the barn just isn’t going to get it done.
Happy New Year kiddies. Imagine the fun we’ll all have with polygamy over the coming twelve months!
looks like the national theatre should be in trona, 13000 of the 21000 (Film Actors Guild ) located there.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/media/story/2007/01/02/actra-talks.html
Well then…I’m glad we won’t have to host any more national “arts” festivals in an outlander place like Banff.
Calgarians also note that in a multi level subsidized arts climate where Shawinigan gets a “national” canoe museum ( IE; Calgarians subsidize a national museum and Shawinigan gets the benefits), it seems linear to expect Calgary to host a national portrait museum that they pay for completely…then again Liberal, Ottawa and artistic thinking is seldom “linear” 🙂
“You’re right. CP Rail. My bad. My point(in an incorrect smarmy sort of way) was that the original leaseholdings of PCP came out of the mineral rights allowance around the rail right of way.”
Bah those leaseholdings have been bought sold and moved around so much it’s hard to keep track of where they are now anyway… I’d bet that Encana, (successor of CP rail lease via CP/Pan Canadian etc) and BP (the current successor of the Hudsons Bay company when it comes to the other big chunk of mineral rights via Dome, and Amoco mergers) probably hold less of those leases than any one of the larger energy trust companies.
“Welcome To Calgary
Nationally Incorrect!
I like it. Beats “City Of Champions” all to hell.”
yea a whole bunch of us who have lived in Edmonton wish there would be a city council with enough guts to drop that ridiculous title…
“Gateway to the North” is much more descriptive and apporpriate, (and less pretentious)
No abuse, but response:
1) From a business perspective, if you are trying to build Otawa as a tourist destination it is better to put them all in a cluster.
Who is trying to build Ottawa as a tourist destination (other than the typical local chamber of commerce / travel bureau like any other town)? From a business perspective, if it makes more financial sense re: business sponsors to move the thing somewhere else, do it. If you’re trying to build Calgary as a tourist destination, it is not better to diversify beyond the Stampede, no?
2) The national label tends to apply to things in the national capital.
The national label tends to apply to things relating to a nation rather than its capital city (which is just another city except for a significantly higher number of federal bureaucrats.) The position of “hey, it’s national, send it to Ottawa” should not be default. From the perspective of the West, why should we have to traipse across Canada for a glimpse of something “national”? This should be make nationhood stronger not weaker.
I spent a number of years in various parts of this great country including the Prairies, and now reside outside Ottawa boudaries (amalgamation leads to high taxes), unfortunately close enough to get the local news. David McGuinty Lib. MP. brother of Dalton and Paul Dewar NDP, Ottawa riding members, are leading the charge on this Portrait gallery. Initially it was to go in the former U.S embassy building – large and imposing across from Parliament. As only Gov’t public works go initially to cost $40 mil. it kept escalating without anything done but studies. The last proposal was at several times this amount when the Conservative Govt called halt. If it goes to Encana in Calagary (and it should) it costs taxpayers nil for this Liberal (Copps-Chretian) inspired fiasco.
I didn’t say anything negative about the US as far as I remember. I’m just sick of so called Canadians trashing and mocking their country. As far as national institutions being outside of the capital, I don’t have a problem with a reasonable discussion about why this should be but I haven’t seen it. Just insults and lame attempts at humour.
Funny how the ‘sharing and caring’ platitudes used by the feds to rob both the East Coast and Western Canada go out the window when Ontario and Quebec are the ones who should do the ‘sharing and caring’.
Greed and selfishness are always wonderful qualities when it comes to Ottawa and the Liberals.
So what else is new?
Todd, SDA has a filtering mechanism which, in your case, seems to be broken. It’s called your “brain.” There has been some (albeit marginal) attempts at discussion of which none of those attempts are signed by Todd. Why not engage in some discussion instead of self-righteous hissy-fits? Elevate yourself above the din and others may follow.
Sierra:
Perhaps, for Mr. Poulin’s benefit, Calgary should just go with
According to this line of reasoning, the Art Institute of Chicago should be moved to Washington, DC, since Chicago is not even the capital of Illinois.
Unless there is a portrait of the Canadian Junior Hockey team, WHO CARES!
Ottawa is the national capital.
So it does make sense that national museums, galleries and related institutions would be clustered there.
This is how it works in London, Paris, Washington and, no doubt, places like Oslo as well.
But that said, nothing says a national institution must be located in Ottawa.
I agree Ham. Lead by example. my apologies
Ottawa is a great town. Too bad it gets associated with the federal civil service.
Ottawa may be a ‘great town’ (with the emphasis on ‘town’), but I resent having to travel 3000 kilometers to see museums paid for by my tax dollars. Sure, there may be museums congregated in places like Paris and London, but no citizen of France or the UK has to travel 3000 kilometers to see them (excepting, of course residents of Noumea, Papeete or Fort de France). Italy has set a good example of distibuting its national treasures among cities like Florence, Bologna and Milan rather than concentrating them in Rome.
Last time I visited, Canada was a nation, like from sea to sea to sea. I can see that a “National Widget Museum” should be within the borders of the nation, but not necessarily within city limits.
The worst ten years of my life were the four years I lived in Ottawa. I was a young, single man with expectations when I moved there that I would meet many people who were interested in world affairs, political thought, philosophy, etc. (that is, I hoped to meet the type of people that blog here). My hopes were soon dashed. The vast majority of Otta-wans are clerks at RevCan, the post office, Treasury, etc. They had high school educations and small-town mentalities. “Oh, I went to Toronto once. It’s too big.”
There is nothing grand or beautiful about Ottawa like there is about Montreal or Vancouver – or Calgary. Yes, there are a few nice buildings along Elgin and Parliament Hill, but there’s nothing spectacular. For the original author to suggest that Ottawa possesses some special reason to host most of Canada’s cultural repositories misses a very big point: virtually none of that culture is created in Ottawa’s artistically sterile confines. And worse, the beauracrat culture of Ottawa ensures that any such institution will be headed by minor-league kleptocrats who will insist on rewarding themselves with 6-figure salaries, club memberships, and car service. Nope, spread it around.
Queen Victoria chose Ottawa to be Canada’s capital, and she was right. God save the Queen!
Beautiful wilderness, fantastic views of Parliament Hill from the Ottawa River; lumbering the main industry; some mining, mixed farming (but it was never very prosperous); a fine capital for a vigorous young country (and a long way from Toronto).
Of course the lumbering is gone, the farms are played out as are the small mines. Half the country are now jaded pooftahs, and that type does gravitate to Ottawa. I wish that they would stay in Montreal or Vancouver, especially the latter (Canada’s granola capital). But it’s a free country.
What I want to know is whether Kate can get into this Institute of Portrait Artists with a likeness of a famous Canadian airbrushed on a motorbike gas tank or a goalie mask or such. Or how about Farley Mowat painted on a Screech bottle?
“…Farley Mowat painted on a Screech bottle.”
Dammit, Anthony, I was sipping my coffee! 🙂
Actually, closer to the Ultimate Canadian Image than most.
Heh.
I can picture the signs as you drive or fly in…..
Welcome to Calgary – “even one of the great cities of Canada.” M.Poulin
“What I want to know is whether Kate can get into this Institute of Portrait Artists with a likeness of a famous Canadian airbrushed on a motorbike gas tank or a goalie mask or such…”
Nominate this.
http://www.katewerk.com/images/dryden.jpg
I live in Ottawa and think that some of the negative comments are a bit over the top. Ottawa is a nice place to live — lots of culture, lots of green space and not everyone here works for the government. I favour having the portrait gallery in Calgary. I think it is valuable to have at least some of our national symbols located outside of Ottawa. This is such an expansive country that I think it is hard to have a real sense of connectedness among regions. The portrait gallery is particularly symbolic in the way that it captures the country’s history through portraits of the people who have shaped the country. The gallery would add little to Ottawa tourism and I think that locating it in the West sends the right message to potentially alienated Westerners. Also — the economics of this are brilliant!
I’m shocked that all the anti-centrists here don’t see the simple logic of this. Canada shouldn’t be run from Ottawa. The more ‘national’ symbols built there, the more people perceive that all good comes from the seat of federal power.
Canada is a great country, not because of Ottawa and the federal government. Lifelong bureaucrats and politicians should have to get out more and see this instead of surrounding themselves with reinforcement of their inflated self importance.
I’d like to see a lot more of this. Coal mine shuts down somewhere – move the Supreme Court into the abandoned buildings. Forest industry collapses from pestilence – install Canada Post headquarters.
Miners and treefarmers have to live in these fringe communities, why shouldn’t these pampered bureaucrats?
Yeah. wouldnt it be great to have the SCC moved to Drumheller?