Image: Government of BC

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Why we need to spend money on museums, theatres and Olympics

May 28, 2022 | 6:49 AM

‘ALL WORK AND NO PLAY makes Jack a dull boy.’ Jack Nicholson typed it over and over again in The Shining as his character descended into madness.

The proverb has been around long before Stephen King’s novel, at least since 1659, in fact, when it’s first known to have been written down. Simply put, it means we need balance in our lives. To use another saying, truer words have never been spoken.

That’s why I disagree with much of what’s being said about the provincial government’s billion-dollar plan to replace the Royal B.C. Museum, and why I’m sure I’ll also disagree with what’s bound to be said about B.C.’s bid for the 2030 Winter Olympic Games, a bid likely to include Sun Peaks as one of the venues. And why I disagree with one of the favourite arguments against plans for a performing arts centre in Kamloops.

I’m already on record as being one of many who think the museum plan is bonkers. The reason I think so is based on its dubious merits and a profound disagreement with most of the reasons the NDP government thinks it’s such a good idea.

But I also profoundly disagree with those who insist the reason the museum plan should be scrapped is that we should spend money only on social programs or needy projects such as seismically protecting schools.

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I disagree with politicians like Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone when he says money should be spent on a new maternity ward in Surrey instead of on the museum. And on training more nurses. Or doing something about high gas prices. Not that I think those other things aren’t needed. Not at all.

Certainly, the timing of the museum announcement was tone deaf, as charged, but what I disagree with is that it’s a choice, an either-or situation. “A billion dollars would go a long way towards….” Simply add your favourite sacred cow.

This argument says we should spend tax money on the necessities first, and on the nice-to-haves later, or not at all. The museum, the Olympics and the performing arts centre fail the test of being “necessary.”

They’re frivolous extras, and therefore a waste of our precious, hard-earned tax dollars, according to detractors. That’s where I beg to differ. I differ first with the view that such things aren’t necessary. We need more in our lives than work. We need time to relax. That’s why we have the 7.5-hour work day with weekends off.

Until we reach perfection in our democratic and social systems, there will always be pressing problems we must work to solve. Poverty isn’t going away any time soon. Health care is badly in need of help.

Addictions, crime, and on it goes. But if we put all our effort into those things 24/7 we’d have no parks, no bicycle lanes, no art galleries, no swimming pools or ball diamonds, and certainly no museums. We definitely wouldn’t have a tournament capital. To be clear, we need all those things, too.

They are necessities of life just as much as food, clothing and shelter. Without them, we would suffocate from lack of oxygen. We need a world-class provincial museum that reflects all aspects of our history, not just some.

We need a Tournament Capital Centre and a McArthur Island Sports and Events Centre to reflect a healthy lifestyle, and a performing arts centre to enjoy the talent it will put in front of us.

And those Olympics. For all the scandals and criticisms, they bring our elite athletes together for a couple of weeks and provide us with immense pleasure watching the very best of the best. Imagine the fun of having some major Olympic events right here in our neighbourhood.

Imagine, too, the awe and enjoyment we get out of walking through Old Town or standing in front of the mastodon at the provincial museum. Imagine the joy of sitting in a brand new performing arts theatre for a concert or a play, allowing ourselves to be taken to another time and place.

It can all be done as we continue to seek answers to homelessness and so many other realities of life. It’s not a choice between a new maternity ward and a museum or theatre. We are not one-dimensional people.

We’re capable of doing more than one thing at a time. We can attack problems at the same time as we build places where we can set aside daily worries and just enjoy being on this earth. It’s how we avoid falling into the pit of dullness that Jack has been worried about since 1659. It’s how we find all-important balance.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.