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December 13, 1999
(Executive Council)


The following statement was issued today by Premier Brian Tobin. It was also read in the House of Assembly, on the premier's behalf by Lloyd Matthews, Minister of Municipal and Provincial Affairs:

It was in 1905 that Sir Robert Bond stood in the Colonial Building to announce the construction of the Newfoundland Museum. It was in 1955 that the Honourable Joey Smallwood stood in our former House of Assembly to announce the creation of the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador. And, it was in 1961 that he stood in the same House of Assembly to announce the creation of the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador.

It is mindful of these historic precedents that I am proud to stand in this House today to announce that, a full 94 years after the first announcement and 38 years after the last, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador will construct a new facility to house our three heritage institutions: the Newfoundland Museum, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador.

This new building will be constructed at a cost of $40 million and will be financed by the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It will be a state-of-the-art facility which will draw upon the latest technology, while its architecture will be rooted in our vernacular. We have decided to call the building "The Rooms" in order to reflect the tradition of building our fishing structures close to the water, close to the resource which has sustained Newfoundland and Labrador for centuries.

The existing buildings which house our three institutions are no longer adequate to store and exhibit our heritage treasures. Many of these structures were built prior to the development of modern museum standards, and others were never built to serve as heritage institutions. This is placing our natural specimens, our material artifacts, our archival documents, our films and photographs and our works of art in danger of deterioration and loss. This is cheating the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. They deserve to have these treasures preserved for their children and grandchildren. And, they deserve to be better able to enjoy these treasures today.

That is why, we have taken this bold step to consolidate all three heritage institutions into one building. This building will be constructed at Fort Townshend in St. John's, on the site of a former military fort. I will draw your attention to one outstanding feature, among many others, and that is the building will have an archaeological dig taking place inside, even after the building is constructed, making it a rare and unique museum in North America for this type of archaeological program.

I would like to offer a special thank you to the Advisory Committee on Cultural Infrastructure, co-chairs Mary Pratt and Robert Jenkins and their dedicated team including Wayne Trask, Dr. Phil Warren, Dr. Art May, Robert Thompson, Clyde Granter, and Aileen O'Rafferty. This group consulted widely with the cultural community of this province and developed the proposal we are announcing today.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are justly proud of their cultural heritage, be they descendants of Innu, Inuit, Mi'Kmaq, English, French, Irish, Scottish or any other ancestors. What we have in this province is unique and deserves to be preserved for future generations. It also deserves to be better displayed for our own enjoyment and for the enjoyment of visitors to our province. We are therefore very proud to continue the tradition begun by Sir Robert Bond and continued by Joey Smallwood of ensuring that we do not forget from whence we came, so that we may face the world in full confidence. This is indeed an historic occasion, and I am certain that all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will rejoice at this announcement.

1999 12 13             2:20 p.m.


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