It urgently needs millions of dollars of repairs, but the current occupant, Stephen Harper, has resisted, perhaps fearing the political optics of spending large sums of taxpayers’ dollars to fix up the house he and his family call home.
But that doesn’t mean the 34-room mansion, which dates back to the 1860s, doesn’t cost a king’s ransom to run.
According to records released under access to information, the National Capital Commission has spent nearly $1 million over the past five years on utilities, maintenance and repairs to the building, its grounds and its indoor pool. (Ah yes, the pool. We’ll get to that in a minute.)
Here’s a summary of the 10 biggest costs at 24 Sussex over the past five fiscal years. Note that the 2013-14 figures do not include the final three months of the fiscal year.
1. OTTAWA HYDRO
Every Ontario homeowner knows the pain of opening the hydro bill. At 24 Sussex, it’s by far the biggest cost, amounting to about $255,000 since 2009-10. Interestingly, the annual bills have remained relatively steady over the years. Perhaps the Harpers have replaced their incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents.
2. ENBRIDGE GAS
The gas bill at 24 Sussex actually declined in recent years. It was $21,272 in 2009-10 compared with $15,598 in 2012-13. Given the major gas price hikes Enbridge is seeking, however, that’s likely to change soon. Overall, it cost nearly $80,000 to keep 24 Sussex gassed (no political commentary intended) over the past five years.
3. THE POOL
The indoor pool that noted lap-swimmer Pierre Trudeau had installed at 24 Sussex during his time as prime minister is the gift that just keeps on giving. The NCC has poured $58,500 into its maintenance, cleaning and repair since 2009-10, including a $300 “emergency repair” in 2011-12.
4. HVAC SYSTEMS
Lord, but it costs a lot to maintain the systems that keep 24 Sussex and the building housing its pool heated, ventilated and air-conditioned: just shy of $58,000 since April 1, 2009. Things are always breaking down. In 2010-11, contractors responded to two different “urgent” service calls to repair the HVAC system in the pool building. Guess someone needed a swim really badly.
5. SECURITY SYSTEMS
The Harpers aren’t regular folk like you, so it’s perhaps not surprising that they have more and fancier alarm systems and whatnot than most of us. They seem to need a good deal of monitoring and attention. Over five years, the NCC spent a cool $57,245 on security systems at 24 Sussex.
6. GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING
If you’re the prime minister, you have to invite people over to the house on a regular basis. Sometimes, you even have to invite people you don’t like, such as journalists or Liberals. So it stands to reason that you’ve got to keep the grounds looking shipshape. That comes at a cost: nearly $57,000 since April 1, 2009.
7. TREES
Trees are lovely to look at, but they demand attention. They need to be pruned and sometimes they need to be removed. Trees are abundant at 24 Sussex, so tending to them cost $47,300 over the past five years. Stephen Harper: closet tree hugger?
8. ELECTRICAL SERVICES
Have you called an electrician lately? Yikes, they must earn more than doctors these days. You can only imagine how wide their eyes get when they’re summoned to a job at 24 Sussex, which has forked out more than $40,000 for their services since 2009-10.
9. SNOW AND ICE REMOVAL
If snow and ice costs didn’t make the top-10 of this list, this wouldn’t be Ottawa. Removing snow and chipping ice off the roof at 24 Sussex cost its owners (that’s you, dear taxpayer) more than $38,000 over the past four-and-a-half winters. (The tally for the first three months of 2014 isn’t included.)
10. PAINTING
To keep a house looking good, you’ve got to slap a coat of paint on the appropriate parts every so often. They certainly adhere to that philosophy at 24 Sussex, spending more than $32,000 on painting projects since 2009-10 — more than half of that in 2013 alone.
OTHER FASCINATING TIDBITS
The prime minister’s residence has a bug problem. Pest control measures have cost $11,664 over the past five years. There are also a lot of windows to clean ($14,921) and an elevator that needs attention ($10,241). Water isn’t free, either ($26.652) and getting more expensive by the day, jumping from $3,652 in 2009-10 to $6,246 in the first nine months of 2013-14.
Like many of us, the PM also liked to put on a bit of a light show at Christmas. Taxpayers generously paid $12,777 between 2011 and 2013 to install and remove Christmas lights at 24 Sussex. (The bill isn’t in yet for 2014.)
For a time, someone thought it was a good idea to order pumpkins and bales of hay from the Orléans Fruit Farm to decorate the place at Halloween. That cost more than $4,000 over three years. But that seems to have stopped now.
Everyone knows about Stephen Harper’s skills as a pianist. But a player is only as good as his instrument. Hence the records show spending of $594 on piano tuning and maintenance since 2009-10.
Finally, the 2011-12 report lists an intriguing item bought for the grounds at Harrington Lake, the prime minister’s summer retreat — personal protective clothing and equipment. What could that be? A bug suit? A fencing outfit? A wetsuit? Speculation is encouraged.
Original Article
Source: canada.com/
Author: DON BUTLER
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