(The Canadian Press)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

blockbuster announcement

Province puts brakes on controversial Royal BC Museum replacement project

Jun 22, 2022 | 1:11 PM

VICTORIA — The B.C. government is halting plans to replace the Royal BC Museum in downtown Victoria until they can hear from the public.

The nearly $800 million proposal to rebuild the aging museum was met with intense backlash, as people felt the money could be better spent elsewhere.

In a news release the government says they will lead a broad public engagement campaign to consider all options for the future of the museum.

Premier John Horgan said he always tries to act in the best interest of British Columbians, which also involves listening to them.

“That also means taking responsibility when you make the wrong call. Over the past few weeks, we listened to British Columbians who have made it clear they want the Royal BC Museum to remain open while we rethink our long-term plans to protect its priceless artifacts. That is exactly what we are going to do.”

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Those public engagement sessions will be used to seek input on what residents want to see in a modernized museum experience, as well as addressing structural and safety issues with the current building.

The timeline and scope of those sessions will be determined by museum board members and announced at a later date.

The museum will remain open in the meantime.

The province intended to replace the aging Royal BC Museum at an estimated cost of $789 million, which would have seen the facility closed for nearly eight years as of this September.

Construction of a new Collections and Research Building in Colwood will continue, which will be used to safely store museum artifacts once it’s completed.

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