The federal and provincial governments are teaming up to expand the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
Kent Hehr, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of Defense, on behalf of Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage was in Drumheller. He announced a commitment of $3.595 million of infrastructure funding for the Royal Tyrrell Museum's expansion.
"When we look at cultural spaces and what they mean to this country, this is an opportunity to invest in a flagship operation," said Hehr. "We see the Tyrrell as a great place where kids of all ages come to care, share, and play together."
This investment is complemented by$5.705 million from the provincial government for a total $9.3 million investment.
This is the first time the federal government has contributed to the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
"We find our relationship with the Government of Alberta an example of cooperative federalism. It is a place where we can come together, exchange ideas, look at projects and try to build a better province and a better Canada. It doesn't mean we agree on every single issue, but it means we sit down like adults and discuss things of importance to Alberta and important to the national government and try to come to a consensus."
Shannon Phillips, Alberta Minister of the Environment was in attendance for Minister of Culture and Tourism Ricardo Miranda. She underscored the economic importance of the project.
"Construction will begin as soon as we can, and there are a number of short term jobs associated with that and long term jobs as the museum expands. Our capital plan as a province and the federal government has taken the same view. It is really designed to put people to work as soon as we can, particularly here in Alberta where we have seen job losses due to the downturn in the price of oil."
The expansion will add about 1,300 square metres to the facility for activities that encourage exploration, as well as multi-use rooms for meetings and school groups, and additional outreach areas.
