Repairs may be set for PM residence
OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau appears to be seriously considering delaying his move into 24 Sussex Dr., raising the prospect the crumbling official residence could finally get its desperately needed makeover after years of delay and decay.
The possibility emerged Friday when Trudeau’s mother, Margaret Trudeau, told a CBC morning show the prime ministerdesignate would not move into the house he lived in as a child until needed structural repairs are done.
“Twenty-four Sussex is in need — has been in need since I was there 40 years ago — of major infrastructure repair, and it simply hasn’t been done,” she said, adding her son and his family will live elsewhere while the repairs are done.
A Liberal party spokeswoman said no decision has yet been made, but one is expected shortly.
The National Capital Commission, which is responsible for 24 Sussex, released a statement saying its official residences division is ensuring Trudeau and his family “will be accommodated in a comfortable and appropriate setting while details regarding the 24 Sussex Drive residence are finalized.”
The comments suggest that, for the first time since 24 Sussex became an official residence in 1951, there’s a real possibility a new prime minister won’t move into the historic house.
The urgent need for significant repairs has been thoroughly documented.
No major work has been done on the 34-room house since 1949, when Public Works gutted the interior and remade the exterior of the 1868 building after expropriating it for use as the prime minister’s official residence.
A 2008 audit by the federal auditor general said repairs had been put off too long and should be done as soon as possible or the country would face even higher costs and national embarrassment.
The house contains asbestos, a cancer-causing substance. Its windows, plumbing and electrical systems need replacement, a sprinkler system must be installed and the building must be made accessible for disabled visitors.
Emails obtained by the Citizen in 2013 painted a grim picture of a cold, drafty house plagued by mould, leaky pipes and even a toilet that alarmingly moves when sat upon.
In 2011, the NCC said there was an urgent need for $10 million in repairs — work that would have required Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his family to leave for more than a year. Harper refused to do that, largely for reasons of political optics. He feared spending large sums of public money on the house would play poorly with Conservative voters. But Trudeau’s election victory offers an opportunity, said Leslie Maitland, an architectural historian and past president of Heritage Ottawa.
Given the cost of the renovations, some argue the house should be demolished and replaced.