New Brunswick Museum expansion plan draws fire

Out with the old and in with the new. It’s a familiar slogan, but one that likely wouldn’t find much support in Saint John, New Brunswick.

The seaside community founded in 1785 teems with history, from its resilient stone architecture to its unique town squares.

Ironically, some residents are up in arms over an expansion by the province’s main museum that would see it swallow up part of a park that was devoted more than a century ago to Canada’s Boer War veterans.

The New Brunswick Museum is struggling to find space for its collections. The new space needs to be climate-controlled and well-suited for housing a variety of sensitive artifacts. The NBM Collections Centre is currently located in a grandiose building that was completed in 1932 for the purpose of housing a museum and its collection.

The Museum’s website  discusses the proposed plan for its facilities, “This historic building is in poor shape and is no longer capable of sustaining its mission to protect the collections and the people.” The proposed $40-million expansion would rectify the situation, bringing the museum’s preservation and storage facilities in line with modern standards.

However, the site of the planned expansion is already occupied by Riverview Memorial Park — Canada’s first memorial to Boer War veterans.

The Boer War, or South African War raged from 1899 to 1902. It marked Canada’s first official dispatch of troops to an overseas war. Of the seven thousand Canadians who served, seven hundred were New Brunswickers.

The memorial park was created in 1902. The Museum’s plan calls for the relocation of a memorial statue, as well as the cutting down of trees planted in memory of Boer War veterans. Museum officials want to break ground quickly to ensure construction is completed before 2017 when the Museum celebrates its 175th anniversary.

Critics say the park should be preserved as is.

Eric Marks, a concerned citizen, and contributor to the Canadian Inventory of Historic Building (New Brunswick) project states:

“Even if councilors believe they have the legal authority to approve the Museum’s engineering plan, they must address a more complex question - one that will put Saint John in the scrutiny of national media and at the centre of a heated national debate. Does this council have the moral authority to dismantle a park that was established, in trust, as a war memorial?”

According to Harold Wright, a Saint John historian this is not the first time the Museum has wanted to encroach on Riverview Memorial Park’s perimeter,

“Several decades ago they [the Museum] wanted to put two parking lots within the park. The City of Saint John's Legal Department pointed out that this was illegal, due to the property covenant, so the parking lots were not allowed. The law hasn't changed with respect to this park, so why is the City even contemplating allowing this warehouse to be constructed?”

Since people have started to share their opinions with the Saint John city council, Councillor Bill Farren has “asked that the decision to allow the museum’s contractors bore test holes in the park be postponed until more information about the site is produced."

This debate is ongoing, for the most up-to-date details refer to CBC’s coverage:

New Brunswick Museum seeks $40-million expansion
New Brunswick Museum's park expansion bid meets opposition