OTTAWA – New Democrat MP Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre) called on the Minister of Heritage to reconsider the decision regarding the status of the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (CMCP).

Government recently announced that the CMCP has been permanently closed as a stand-alone institution. In a letter to the Minister of Heritage, James Moore, Dewar raised concerns regarding the waste of public funds and the shrinking amount of space dedicated to arts and culture in the Nation’s Capital.

“The museum’s home located at 1 Rideau Canal has been under renovation for a substantial length of time and has received substantial public funding” Dewar wrote. “I caution that the last minute decision to turn that building to a meeting space for parliamentary functions wastes the amount of funds dedicated to making the location a proper space for exhibiting works of art”.

“Millions of dollars were lost when a similar decision was made by your government to cancel the plans for locating the Portrait Gallery of Canada at the old American Embassy building” wrote Dewar, pointing out a memo by government officials warning the Minister of Public Works that reversing course on the Portrait Gallery of Canada lost $4.5 million already spent on the project.

Dewar pledged his support for the Canadian artists and citizens who are mounting a bid to maintain the CMCP at its home location at 1 Rideau Canal.

“The decision to permanently close the CMCP as a stand-alone institution will diminish the federal government’s cultural footprint in the Nation’s Capital” concluded Dewar. “Therefore, I urge you to carefully reconsider the decision regarding this vital institution of our cultural heritage”.