The federal government spent $8 million to build a barn at Rideau Hall. This barn is going to be used as a storage facility.During the pandemic, this expensive construction project was managed by the National Capital Commission (NCC), which takes care of Canada's official residences.The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), through an Access to Information request, found out that the barn cost taxpayers $8,049,853.The $8 million spent on the barn is enough money to purchase Rideau Hall, the “palatial mansion” on the Rideau Canal, and still have money left over.“I don’t know much about farming, but I’m pretty sure my buddies in Brooks can build a barn for a lot less than eight million bucks,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of CTF. “It seems like the NCC goes out of its way to spend as much money as possible.”According to the NCC, the two-storey barn is the government’s first “zero-carbon” building and will be a “working and storage space.”The NCC gave the green light to the project's final design in June 2019.Construction work began in July 2020 and the project was completed during the winter of 2021.The barn has a “washing bay,” a “repair garage working area,” a “tool and equipment storage area,” “vehicle storage,” and additional “storage space.” The records that the CTF obtained showed some "change orders" for the project. This means that they made changes to the design after construction had already started.The NCC consistently complains of “decades of underfunding” or “chronic underfunding” in maintaining Canada’s six official residences, the taxpayer-funded mansions for politicians, the governor-general, and visiting foreign officials.A recent CTF report showed that the NCC spent $135 million on renovating and maintaining these properties from 2006 to 2022. However, the NCC said it needs $175 million more tax dollars in the next decade to “restore” the official residences.“It’s ridiculous for the NCC to be crying poor when it blew $8 million on a barn,” said Terrazzano. “If the NCC can’t figure out how to manage properties without costing taxpayers an arm and a leg, then the government needs to find someone else who can.”
The federal government spent $8 million to build a barn at Rideau Hall. This barn is going to be used as a storage facility.During the pandemic, this expensive construction project was managed by the National Capital Commission (NCC), which takes care of Canada's official residences.The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), through an Access to Information request, found out that the barn cost taxpayers $8,049,853.The $8 million spent on the barn is enough money to purchase Rideau Hall, the “palatial mansion” on the Rideau Canal, and still have money left over.“I don’t know much about farming, but I’m pretty sure my buddies in Brooks can build a barn for a lot less than eight million bucks,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of CTF. “It seems like the NCC goes out of its way to spend as much money as possible.”According to the NCC, the two-storey barn is the government’s first “zero-carbon” building and will be a “working and storage space.”The NCC gave the green light to the project's final design in June 2019.Construction work began in July 2020 and the project was completed during the winter of 2021.The barn has a “washing bay,” a “repair garage working area,” a “tool and equipment storage area,” “vehicle storage,” and additional “storage space.” The records that the CTF obtained showed some "change orders" for the project. This means that they made changes to the design after construction had already started.The NCC consistently complains of “decades of underfunding” or “chronic underfunding” in maintaining Canada’s six official residences, the taxpayer-funded mansions for politicians, the governor-general, and visiting foreign officials.A recent CTF report showed that the NCC spent $135 million on renovating and maintaining these properties from 2006 to 2022. However, the NCC said it needs $175 million more tax dollars in the next decade to “restore” the official residences.“It’s ridiculous for the NCC to be crying poor when it blew $8 million on a barn,” said Terrazzano. “If the NCC can’t figure out how to manage properties without costing taxpayers an arm and a leg, then the government needs to find someone else who can.”
