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Lettitor

Room and boards

Or of the first notable stories
revolving around our Prime
Minister Elect Justin Trudeau is
about his new residence. Twenty-
four Sussex Drive has been the
home of Canada’s prime ministers
since 1951, and Trudeau is now
refusing to move in until proper
renovations have been made.

According to reports, the 34-
room mansion is ina sorry state
of disrepair; there are cracked
windows, faulty wiring, and
asbestos in the walls. It should
come as little surprise that
Trudeau doesn’t wish to move
his family into the rundown
residence. Instead, he wants to
repair it, at a cost estimated to be
upwards of $10 million.

The decision has been
met with widespread support
across the country. Sussex Drive
does not exist simply to house
Canada’s prime ministers and
their families. The Ottawa
building is often used to entertain
visiting dignitaries and should be
something we can take pride in.
A veritable crumbling castle is a
miserable impression to present
to esteemed foreign guests.
Kudos to Trudeau for having the
country’s best interests at heart.

It’s very astute of him to
realize how quickly he has to
implement this remedy. The place
obviously fell to shreds during
some little-known major storm
the instant he came into power.

Full stop. It did not.

How is it that the endless

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: stories of the astoundingly poor

: condition of Sussex didn’t surface
during Stephen Harper’s time

: there? Harper and his family lived
: in the residence since he assumed
: power in 2006. Did he make major :
: renovations? Did his family die

> asa result of the asbestos, cold,

: or litany of other issues? Were

: there rampant tales of visiting

: ambassadors expressing shock at
: the embarrassing home they were
: invited into?

The answer is a resounding

: “no” onall counts. The last one

: especially should resonate since

: the Canadian public and media

: seemed to be on the former prime
: minister for even the tiniest slip-

: up. Were a foreign dignitary to so
: much as quip about needing to

: keep their jacket on while inside,

: the papers would have had a

: field day. “Harper’s house proves

: to be only thing colder than his

: heart,” “Cheap Harper humiliates

: country,’ or similar headlines

: could have danced across the

: pages of our dailies. The ex-

: Conservative leader would have:
: been buried beneath the landslide :
: of flak.

But perhaps such events did

: transpire and were kept quiet by
: even the newspapers, because

: sometimes the perception of

: a country is more important

: than belittling a hated figure.

: Or maybe they didn’t, but the

: mansion is a mess. Either way

: (and I voted NDP in case you were :
: wondering), for Harper to put up

newspapers that includes papers from all across Canada.

© The Other Press reserves the right to choose what we will publish, and we will not publish
material that is hateful, obscene, or condones or promotes illegal activities. Submissions
may be edited for clarity and brevity if necessary. All images used are copyright to their

respective owners.

: with such conditions is incredibly
: financially prudent of him. To live
: with subpar heating during those
: chillingly snowy Ottawa winters is
: a task most governmental heads

wouldn't take on. Harper should

: be praised for his efforts to save
: Canadians every last dime.

However, since we live ina

: country where it’s impossible for
: anyone to give genuine praise to
: Lego-hair, that can’t be the case.
: We'll step away from Harper’s

: involvement for a moment.

Sussex Drive is, of course,

: maintained throughout the year

: anyway. In fact, costs for 2008-09
: and 2009-10 were almost $1.5- and
: $1.1-million respectively. Utility

: servicing, including electricity

: and gas, were under $100,000,

: meaning that general upkeep

: and work done to the residence

: was still in the $1-million range

: (security costs not included in

: these figures). The weekly pool

; Maintenance came in at just

: under $10,000—yet supposedly

: needs more work. Fun fact: the

: heated indoor poor was installed

by Trudeau’s father when he was

: prime minister.

It seems curious that cracked

: windows would be ignored while
: the swimming pool saw nearly

: $40,000 a month. Nearly $10,000
: were spent on flowers as well...

: perhaps to hide the windows.

There are two conclusions

: that can be drawn from the

evidence on the table. Either

: 24 Sussex Drive, as reported by

ra

You

 

: the journalists who have been

: privileged to visit, is as shoddy

: as were all lead to believe and

: Harper is actually deserving of

: our admiration, or the residence

: is not shoddy at all and an

: effort has been made to deceive

: the public for some unstated

: purpose—maybe so as to make

: the allocation of funds towards

: aremodel spectacularly easy to

: procure.

: In any case, I can’t help but

: find it amusing how the story

: has been covered. Fora nation

: purported by every left winger

: to be heavily populated with

: hard right-wing newspapers,

: the exceptional disdain for

: Harper and unlimited support

: for Trudeau is remarkable. I’m

: no Harper fan, but I think we

: canall agree if he were the one

: refusing to make Sussex Drive

: his home until millions of dollars

: were poured into it, every soul

: would be calling for his head.

: Meanwhile, Trudeau is being

: carried on jubilant shoulders for

: taking the necessary measures

: to ensure the hugely important

: building is kept in respectable

: shape—a.k.a. the same thing.
All’s fair in love, war, and

: politics? Evidently not.

Danke danke,

nie Yilhi

Editor-in-Chief

   
 
  
    

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