Sarah Leamon: With so many pressing public issues, can B.C. residents really afford a glorious new museum in Victoria?

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      A recent announcement from our provincial government is causing a great deal of controversy—and for good reason.

      Last week, Premier John Horgan and Tourism Minister Melanie Mark unveiled a grandiose plan to replace the world-renowned Royal B.C. Museum with a new museum. Horgan said that the new state-of-the-art monument will highlight the experiences and perspectives of British Columbia’s colonial history by paying special homage to Indigenous communities.

      Although it sounds nice, it has many people questioning whether this is simply performative tokenism. 

      Some, including B.C. Green MLA Adam Olsen, have even gone so far as to describe the museum as a monument to colonial storytelling disguised as Indigenous reconciliation. Ultimately, a museum does nothing to address the systematic roots of colonial oppression and the ongoing discrimination. 

      The museum's price tag is also a major cause of concern. With nearly $800 million of taxpayer money earmarked toward the project, criticism has turned into outrage. 

      After all, our province is facing no shortage of problems that require immediate attention—and dollars to fix. Among them is our broken healthcare system, for example.

      With an estimated 900,000 British Columbians without a family doctor, and hospitals functioning at bare minimums, we have now reached an undeniable crisis point in this province.  Surgeries are being cancelled, walk-in clinics are being shuttered, and residents are being left without the critical care that they need in order to maintain their health. And all of this in the midst of an ongoing pandemic and an opioid public health emergency. 

      So far, the province has only firmly invested $3.46 million in finding solutions to this problem. This short-term measure plan is aimed at keeping just five Capital Region walk-in clinics up and running. It is far from adequate. 

      Lawyer Sarah Leamon describes the proposed new museum as an "empty public relations stunt".

      Although Horgan says that his government is committed to solving the problem, he’s also gone on record to say that he is counting on a “massive infusion of cash” from the federal government to do so. 

      It’s almost as though he doesn’t have nearly $1 billion dollars set aside something else. 

      On top of healthcare crisis, British Columbian’s continue to struggle under some of the highest costs of living in the country. That's only been compounded by soaring gas prices at the pumps. 

      But the premier has expressed a flippant attitude about this issue at a recent news conference. As gas prices reached a record high of $2.339 per litre in Metro Vancouver, Horgan told concerned residents to “think before” they drive.  He suggested that drivers could just carpool or use public transit instead. 

      It did not sit well with many.

      Not only does it demonstrate a brazen disregard for the financial hardships faced by so many, it also exposes a political elite deeply out of touch with the ordinary citizen. 

      Countless people in this province rely on their ability to drive to earn an income. For delivery and taxi drivers, realtors, tradespeople and even lawyers, the ability to drive is essential. So, while Horgan says that he wants to prioritize making groceries more affordable before gas, the sheer fact is that many people count on gas in order to put food on the table. 

      And let’s not forget about the immunocompromised. 

      Although the province has lifted all public-health restrictions, including the requirement to wear a mask in public indoor spaces, COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Expecting people to ride public transit or carpool under these circumstances, which runs the real risk of potential exposure, is nothing short of absurd. Not to mention that public transit options around the Lower Mainland are chronically underfunded and inadequate; something it has painfully in common with legal-aid funding throughout the province. 

      With nearly a billion dollars in taxpayer money available to the government, one wonders why it wouldn’t focus its efforts on solving at least one of the numerous issues facing our province rather than funnelling it into an empty public relations stunt.

      If the government was truly committed to Indigenous reconciliation, that money could go a long way to reducing the numerous inequalities suffered by First Nations people off-reserve (the federal government has constitutional jurisdiction on reserves), including access to adequate housing, transportation, and healthcare. 

      Perhaps the premier should take his own advice—and “think before” he spends. 

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