Feds warned about risks of delaying 24 Sussex decision almost a year before it closed
CTV
Almost a year before the closure of 24 Sussex Drive due to disrepair and an infestation of rodents, the chairman of the National Capital Commission's board of directors warned that further delaying a cabinet decision on the fate of the residence would put the whole structure at risk.
Almost a year before the closure of 24 Sussex Drive due to disrepair and an infestation of rodents, the chairman of the National Capital Commission's board of directors warned that further delaying a cabinet decision on the fate of the residence would put the whole structure at risk.
The mansion, which sits on a prime riverfront property a few kilometres from Parliament Hill, served as the home for Canada's prime ministers between 1950 and 2015.
Concerns about the deteriorating state of the building prompted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family move into a different official residence after he was elected. For nearly eight years, they have lived at Rideau Cottage, which is on the grounds of nearby Rideau Hall.
Since then, the federal Liberal cabinet has continually deferred making a decision about whether to restore the heritage property.
It's seen as a bit of a political quagmire. In 2018, Trudeau remarked that no prime minister wanted to spend taxpayer dollars on 24 Sussex.
In January 2022, the NCC board's chairman Marc Seaman wrote to Filomena Tassi, the then-public services and procurement minister, "expressing concern around the delay of a cabinet decision beyond December 2021 on the future of 24 Sussex Drive."
The concerns are detailed in a briefing note from the Privy Council Office, the administrative arm of the federal cabinet. It was obtained by The Canadian Press under access-to-information laws.
