A national treasure

Letter of the day

Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Tuesday, Jun. 12, 2012

Re: Riel House closing down (June 11). I was deeply saddened to read that the federal government has decided to close Riel House. But I was not surprised. This is because the federal government under Stephen Harper has repeatedly shown its disdain for Canadian heritage and history (perhaps this accounts for some of his cabinet ministers' dismal record when it comes to historical knowledge).

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/06/2012 (5033 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Re: Riel House closing down (June 11). I was deeply saddened to read that the federal government has decided to close Riel House. But I was not surprised. This is because the federal government under Stephen Harper has repeatedly shown its disdain for Canadian heritage and history (perhaps this accounts for some of his cabinet ministers’ dismal record when it comes to historical knowledge).

Riel House is an incredibly significant heritage site not just for Canada, but especially for Manitoba and Winnipeg. I am curious as to whether something might not be worked out where either the province or the city, or a combination of the two, would be able to find a way to fund Riel House so that it may remain open with a staff.

Perhaps the staff could be shrunk to one or two employees. Anything is better than leaving the building padlocked and exposed to vandalism. Now that Winnipeg is a rising star economically, one would think it is the least the city could do.