[JaredMilne]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

JaredMilne JaredMilne:

Lots of countries around the world provide official residences for our head of state and government, so why can't we do the same?

We do provide a residence for the Head of State. Does, for example, the US provide housing for it's Speaker of the Senate?

I don't think 24 Sussex is historical or unique enough to bother to restore it. Tear it down, build something similar, but better.

No, but the Speaker of the House is not head of the U.S. government. The U.S. President gets an official residence by virtue of being both head of state and government. A bunch of other countries also provide official residences for their head of government, whether that role is merged with the head of state (as it is in many presidential republics) or it's in a seperate role (if the head of state is a monarch or president, while the head of government is a prime minister). A few countries also provide residences for their vice-presidents.

We also provide an official residence for the Leader of the Opposition, so why shouldn't we have one for our head of government, the Prime Minister?

[Sunnyways]

We certainly need to have an official residence for the PM and there are some arguments for starting again rather than restoring what we have. A new building could be designed from the bottom up with security in mind which is probably going to become a bigger issue.

[CDN_PATRIOT]

The government needs to suck it up and fix 24 Sussex and preserve it. Tell the prima donna PM to stop acting like a little bitch and actually do something about it, then push his ass in there already.

Like it or not, 24 Sussex is historical and a facet of Canada.

-J.

[housewife]

CDN_PATRIOT CDN_PATRIOT:

The government needs to suck it up and fix 24 Sussex and preserve it. Tell the prima donna PM to stop acting like a little bitch and actually do something about it, then push his ass in there already.

Like it or not, 24 Sussex is historical and a facet of Canada.

-J.

The problem is restoration will cost a lot more than demolition and starting over. If no pm wants to take on the political crap to spend anything on the house how can you expect him to open that can? It’s needed windows over 20 years ago! That should have been an easy sell in parliament! With the argument ending statement We either replace the windows or we put the plastic shrink stuff on every winter and deal with higher heating costs! But no one said anything cause they didn’t want to open that can! It has been lived in for years now the cost to demo or repair go up every day. Face it no political leader wants to be the one that spent money on the house! No one is brave enough to make a decision one way or the other. Our only hope is a disaster to take it out! It’s the only way that there will be any solution on it

[DrCaleb]

JaredMilne JaredMilne:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

JaredMilne JaredMilne:

Lots of countries around the world provide official residences for our head of state and government, so why can't we do the same?

We do provide a residence for the Head of State. Does, for example, the US provide housing for it's Speaker of the Senate?

I don't think 24 Sussex is historical or unique enough to bother to restore it. Tear it down, build something similar, but better.

No, but the Speaker of the House is not head of the U.S. government. The U.S. President gets an official residence by virtue of being both head of state and government. A bunch of other countries also provide official residences for their head of government, whether that role is merged with the head of state (as it is in many presidential republics) or it's in a seperate role (if the head of state is a monarch or president, while the head of government is a prime minister). A few countries also provide residences for their vice-presidents.

I use the example of the Speaker of the US house, because IIRC they are 3rd in line, after the President and VP. We provide for our Opposition leader, but they don't.

JaredMilne JaredMilne:

We also provide an official residence for the Leader of the Opposition, so why shouldn't we have one for our head of government, the Prime Minister?

Perhaps that should be considered. These people aren't poor. They can afford to rent something.

Sunnyways Sunnyways:

We certainly need to have an official residence for the PM and there are some arguments for starting again rather than restoring what we have. A new building could be designed from the bottom up with security in mind which is probably going to become a bigger issue.

housewife housewife:

The problem is restoration will cost a lot more than demolition and starting over. If no pm wants to take on the political crap to spend anything on the house how can you expect him to open that can?

^^ These. Knock it down, and build it better this time. The cheapskate in my and the efficient part of me agree on this. If we have to have it, let's spend the least on it as we can (and still not embarrass ourselves).

[xerxes]

$1:

Perhaps that should be considered. These people aren't poor. They can afford to rent something.

What? I thought Chretien was just a little guy from Shawinigan and not a well known Bay Street lawyer....

[JaredMilne]

xerxes xerxes:

What? I thought Chretien was just a little guy from Shawinigan and not a well known Bay Street lawyer....

Actually, he was da little street fighter from Shawinigan, ya know? 'Dere's a reason 'is popularity went up after he gave dat protester da Shawinigan 'andshake, ya know?

[Thanos]

CDN_PATRIOT CDN_PATRIOT:

Like it or not, 24 Sussex is historical and a facet of Canada.

-J.

I bet you could show an uncaptioned picture of that house to the average person and 99 out of 100 of them couldn't tell you what or where it was. That's how underwhelming & unimportant the "official residence" concept is in this country.

[bootlegga]

Thanos Thanos:

The thing is that 24 Sussex is nowhere near as iconic as the White House or 10 Downing.

I think that's more due to the relative power of both the UK and USA though, not because the building is any less special. Churchill made 10 Downing Street famous during World War 2 and the USA made the White House famous as the house of the world's most powerful politician.

I know when I went to Ottawa a few years ago, I made sure to visit Parliament, the Governor General's grounds and mansion, 24 Sussex Drive, as well as a bunch of world class museums.

Thanos Thanos:

I agree on having Mike Holmes fix the place. They need to be sure to have it on video for when Sylvie Trudeau breaks down crying when Mike tells her the asbestos removal alone will cost $30 million dollars. "Our inspector did a half-assed job and lied to us!".

To me this seems far more American an idea than a Canadian one, because it's so flamboyant and silly. I say just restore the house and make it livable again. If we don't, then we should kick the Opposition leader out of Stornoway and let the PM live there.

[housewife]

And what shape is Stornoway? Asbestos? Windows? Wiring?