Tuesday, August 6, 2019

The Chateau Laurier Hotel should be nationalized, owned by the People of Canada.

The National Capital Commission owned the Chateau Laurier from 1964 until 1967:
"The Crown transferred Phase 1 property to the National Capital Commission on October 26, 1964."( From: Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment, 1 Rideau Street, Page 13 of 484---Part 4.1.2 First Use Determination.)
The National Capital Commission then transferred the hotel to another federal Crown corporation called the Canadian National Railway on June 15, 1967. The CNR created a real estate subsidiary called CN Real Estate in 1980, that is when the Crown corporation started privatizing land, hotels, train stations, round houses, CN Towers in Toronto, Ontario; Edmonton, Alberta; London, Ontario and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; warehouses and other properties. The Conference Centre across the street from the Chateau was a National Capital Commission property.
 The taxpayers of Canada built the CN Tower on railway lands in Toronto during the 1970's.
When the Chateau Laurier was transferred to the CPR in 1988, all heritage designation and protection was removed.
The Government of Canada should conduct an inventory of all the paintings, rugs, furniture, statues, memorabilia, etc. in the hotel. Before the Royal Alexandria Hotel in Winnipeg, Manitoba was divested by the CPR scavengers had a field day traipsing through the historic building. And during the Mulroney era so many keepsakes were removed from the Parliament Buildings that the federal government hired an inspector to keep a detailed inventory of all movable items including furniture.

I am in front of a statue of Sir Wilfred Laurier, after whom the Chateau Laurier Hotel is named. The lobby of the "L'Hotel du Canada" in July of 2019.





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