Heritage Ottawa has been advocating for years for a solution to 24 Sussex Drive. Here is a recent opinion piece in the Globe and Mail. 

The Globe and Mail | OPINION by John Ibbitson

The Prime Minister of Canada deserves a residence worthy of this country. 24 Sussex Dr. deserves a future. But the solution to the first challenge might be different from the solution to the second.

The prime minister’s official residence is in desperate straits. The house is uninhabitable: filled with asbestos, mould and dead rodents.

Canadians should be proud of their national capital, and their democratic system of government. One of the symbols of that democracy is the residence of the prime minister. Letting the official residence decay does not speak well of us – the prime minister needs a proper place to live and to carry out their duties.

The National Capital Commission reports that it is about to undertake abatement procedures that are necessary regardless of what happens to the building, such as removing the asbestos and dead rodents. (Yes, yuck.)

After that, the NCC should be told to either carry on and demolish the house, or to carry on and fix it. Either way, it’s time to decide.

“It might be hard to retrofit the building for 21st-century needs,” Leslie Maitland of Heritage Ottawa told me. “There are other sites around town that could better suit the needs of a prime minister’s family and the needs of a head of government.”

There are properties in the affluent neighbourhood of Rockcliffe Park that might be suitable – Ms. Maitland cites the residence of the papal nuncio as one example – or a new residence could go up on the grounds of Rideau Hall.

It’s possible that 24 Sussex itself could be expanded, rehabilitated and made secure. Or the existing building could be replaced with a new, larger and more secure structure.

Regardless, it’s going to cost $40-million, give or take, and the longer the government waits, the higher the cost will be.

Everyone knows what needs to be done. The Prime Minister needs to appoint a panel of apolitical specialists to examine options and come up a recommended solution. 

To further protect against accusations of conflict of interest, all political parties could agree that no prime minister will inhabit any new or refurbished residence for 10 years. It will take at least that long to decide and execute a plan.

There are any number of possibilities. But what matters is ending the inertia. Let’s get this done.

Read this article in its entirety on The Globe and Mail website.