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National Post

Kelly McParland: Carney's change agenda should start with fixing up 24 Sussex Drive

Never mind Donald Trump. Never mind western separatism. Does Mark Carney have what it takes to confront the fiasco of 24 Sussex Drive? Article content Article content Of all the issues on his plate it may be the most ridiculous. The long-running saga of the official residence without a resident offers evidence that absurdity isn't just a feature of Canada's shared sense of humour, but a national characteristic that envelopes its inability to construct a respectable roof over the head of its senior elected official. Article content Article content Not that it's the fault of the populace. I doubt that Canadians are so gnarled and nasty they object to the very thought of an official residence. It's the potential inhabitants of the ramshackle homestead who can't bring themselves to make a simple decision on its fate and be done with it. It's their fear of voters — which consists, in truth, of distrust — that prevents them from getting off the pot. Article content Article content Every prime minister since Pierre Trudeau has known something serious had to be done about the condition of the building at 24 Sussex Drive. Every one of them has recoiled in terror from doing so. Maybe it was Brian Mulroney's experience within its walls that frightened them. Mulroney calculated he approved $211,000 on fixtures and furniture for a structure that was already 117 years old when he took over the keys. He was scorched for it. Fifteen years after he left office the Toronto Star was still running articles about his 'extravagant spending.' Article content Jean Chretien refused to make the same mistake. He called the house 'an embarrassment to the nation' but the man who invented the 'Shawinigan handshake' acknowledged he did nothing rather than risk the negative headlines that might ensue. Paul Martin conceded it was drafty, and certain rooms were unbearable in winter, but neither he nor Stephen Harper would risk being Mulroneyed over it. Harper had a chance at a major repair job for just $10 million — which would barely get you garage space in parts of Toronto or Vancouver these days — but didn't want to vacate for the 10 to 15 months needed to do it. It was 2008 and he only had a minority, so perhaps he feared that if he left the house he might not get back in. Article content Article content So that was that. Justin Trudeau, who grew up in the place, refused to subject his own kids to the experience. He preferred to live across the street in a 'cottage' while the Governor General swanned around in the much grander complex on the same grounds. In his nine years as prime minister Trudeau showed no reluctance to pour hundreds of billions into any project that caught his fancy. He happily added as much to the debt as all previous prime ministers combined, but supply the cash to save a bit of historic Canadiana? Not a chance. People might get upset! Article content So it falls to Carney to make a sensible decision. The Carneys live not far from the scene of the disaster so they're well aware what a dump it's become. Like his predecessors he could studiously avoid making a decision, hoping the house doesn't actually collapse into rubble on his watch, looking away and humming to himself every time his motorcade passes its gates, but it would be an inglorious reaction by a man who says he's intent on building a better, stronger and more respectable country. 'Who's ready to build Canada strong?' he demanded in his campaign. Yeah, sure … except there's a house on Sussex Drive we can't possibly be expected to repair.