For a long time, the federal government has talked about the state of the Prime Minister’s residence, 24 Sussex Drive. It hasn’t been well looked after for many years and it is now inhabitable. To think that we would let one of our most cherished heritage buildings fall apart like that is embarrassing.
It’s reached the point where the question is… tear it down or renovate. I’m solidly on the renovate side of the argument, although the price tag is outrageous. Reminds me of the quote for a new ‘Welcome to Boundary Bay’ sign that the Optimist reported on during the summer.
I heard the suggestion of turning the renovation into a reality show, with some of Canada’s celebrity builders working on the project. I love that idea.
My wife and I enjoy watching many of the home improvement shows on TV. We talk about what we might want to do with our house, what looks good and what looks weird (we usually don’t agree on that part.) We have some of the world’s most influential celebrity renovators, so let’s given them one of Canada’s most important renovation projects.
We can call the show - Love It or List It, 24 Sussex Drive.
Let Mike Holmes, Brian Baeumler and the Property Brothers go in, tear things apart, fix it right and then decide if it’s good enough for the Prime Minister to live in. If not, sell it off and build something else. Make it a reality show to help offset some of the costs. To make it even more Canadian, Rona and Tim Hortons can sponsor it, and broadcast the show on the CBC to get some ad revenue.
When I initially heard this idea, there was concern because of security measures that need to be implemented. Implement them, cover them up and don’t broadcast it.
The White House is open for public tours. What do we have to worry about?
Do something, because doing nothing is even more embarrassing.
Brad Sherwin, MBA is a long-time resident of South Delta, and has over 30 years’ experience in marketing, public relations and business strategy. He teaches post-secondary marketing, coaches hockey goalies and is past-president of Deltassist.
