PM’s summer residence racks up bills
Around this time every year, cottage owners take stock of their summer hideaways to see how much they’ll shell out to keep the cosy nooks up to snuff for another season.
The National Capital Commission knows all about cottage repairs, judging by the list of nearly $500,000 in work that has gone into keeping the prime minister’s country home at Harrington Lake habitable for the past two years.
NCC spokesman Nicholas Galletti said the building envelope and the systems controlling the heating, ventilation and air conditioning have reached the end of their life cycles. The agency is working with other federal departments on a plan to make the necessary repairs, he said.
The 13-acre lakeside estate nestled in the Gatineau Hills near Chelsea, Que., has been under NCC management since 1986, but the summer home dates back to the 1920s. The federal government bought the land in 1951 before making it the official summer digs for prime ministers.
The compound includes a staff cottage and two guest cottages.
Just like the prime minister’s official residence in Ottawa, the summer home in the Outaouais is aging and has required a regimen of maintenance and upgrades.
Unlike 24 Sussex Drive, though, the Harrington Lake home-away-from-home is still in tolerable condition. In fact, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has used the property to host VIPs.
The list of expenses, which was obtained by access-to-information specialist Ken Rubin, was produced in January 2017 and itemizes payments going back to April 2015. The list includes payments made to Hydro Québec for utilities.
A house of this vintage and importance needs to have a clean safety record. The NCC has paid thousands of dollars to maintain generators, inspect fire protection systems and clean the stone chimneys.
More than $17,000 went into upgrading the septic system over the two years. The septic tank needed replacing at an additional cost of $8,800. A hot water tank needed to be swapped out, too, adding another $1,659 to the list of work.
The NCC ordered one batch of testing on the well water and for radon gas, together costing about $8,200.
Work has also been done on the structure. Repairs on ceiling drywall and work on the framing cost more than $21,000 and new electrical installations cost $10,866.
Outside, grading for a gravel road cost $1,764.
There was plenty of money spent to maintain an RCMP detachment building on the property, from removing hazardous materials to installing new lighting.
Of course, as is the case with any stately home, the window drapes require a good vacuuming. The work cost about $500.
Cleaning the windows and rain gutters were part of another $1,575 bill.
Trudeau and his family can’t have a summer home besieged by insects and vermin. There were several payments made for pest control on the property.
In one case, the NCC spent $1,008 for a supply of pest control strips and $220 for “extra large glue traps.”
According to the NCC, the pest control expenses are for preventive maintenance to deal with insects and rodents.