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You might pass 24 Sussex Drive and say to yourself: “I wonder what it costs to keep that place running?”
So we found out — and it’s a bundle.
Some ordinary household bills for the official residence of the prime minister, the one that’s not been lived in since the 2015 federal election, were released by the National Capital Commission through an access-to-information request.
They show how the notoriously drafty old house sucks up energy — and money.
The total expenses for the period from November 2015 through March 2016 were $171,376 — for the building alone, not food or staffing. (The dates are approximate. Not all expenses were billed on the same schedule.)
Energy bills alone topped $50,000 for the first fall and winter that the Trudeau family chose not to live there.
Then there’s the pest-control company, quite a few odds and ends of repairs, and a special fence.
While the official residence has no full-time occupants, it does have official functions now and then.
Mark Kristmanson, the National Capital Commission’s CEO, noted in April: “In the meantime, you should be aware 24 Sussex is used. The staff of the PMO use it. The kitchen is used. It’s been decommissioned as a residence, but it continues to operate as part of our official residences portfolio.”
Let’s take Hydro first, because it’s the biggest bill.
In the five months from October through February, Hydro Ottawa billed the NCC $38,881 for electricity, including tax. The biggest monthly bill was naturally in winter — $10,232 from late January to late February.
More energy: Enbridge Gas billed $11,732 to heat 24 Sussex for five months (though the bills don’t specify whether the water heater is gas or electric.)
The water bill for the five months cost $885. When no one lives there, no one takes long showers.
They paid $425 in total for a series of monthly calls by a pest-control company. But the NCC called the company for one extra visit, to clean up mouse droppings in a basement washroom, for $550. (Visitors take note: The upstairs facilities appear to be mouse-free.)
After that, there’s a list of small-to-middling bills for maintenance that all owners of older homes will recognize. Someone installed a door and put non-skid coating on the stairs ($3,036 for the two jobs). A chimney cleaner did his thing (cheap at $150.) Generator maintenance was $785.
Thermostat repair: $253, on top of an electrical service call bill for a flat $1,000. Later, another $1,000 electrical “trouble-shooting” call, plus $1,290 to replace a defective breaker. Elevator maintenance: $2,280.
Vacuuming the drapes, because you can’t have dusty drapes on Sussex Drive: $491.
Someone was paid $1,500 to wash the windows and eavestroughs, even though Public Works says the eavestroughs aren’t working, and to do the age-old ritual of replacing screens with storm windows.
Carpet and furniture cleaning cost $6,680.
And the owners are keeping one Trudeau family tradition alive.
They installed a diving board for $5,695, so probably a pretty good one. It’s white. Weekly pool maintenance was another $4,500 though it’s unclear what period this covers. It was then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau who endured criticism over having a pool installed at the residence in the first place, four decades ago.
Meanwhile, there was more generator trouble. Three more repair bills to a generator totalled $14,980.
And a final nod to keeping up appearances: The NCC spent $21,250 to install a “rustic fence.”
tspears@postmedia.com
twitter.com/TomSpears1
查看原文...
So we found out — and it’s a bundle.
Some ordinary household bills for the official residence of the prime minister, the one that’s not been lived in since the 2015 federal election, were released by the National Capital Commission through an access-to-information request.
They show how the notoriously drafty old house sucks up energy — and money.
The total expenses for the period from November 2015 through March 2016 were $171,376 — for the building alone, not food or staffing. (The dates are approximate. Not all expenses were billed on the same schedule.)
Energy bills alone topped $50,000 for the first fall and winter that the Trudeau family chose not to live there.
Then there’s the pest-control company, quite a few odds and ends of repairs, and a special fence.
While the official residence has no full-time occupants, it does have official functions now and then.
Mark Kristmanson, the National Capital Commission’s CEO, noted in April: “In the meantime, you should be aware 24 Sussex is used. The staff of the PMO use it. The kitchen is used. It’s been decommissioned as a residence, but it continues to operate as part of our official residences portfolio.”
Let’s take Hydro first, because it’s the biggest bill.
In the five months from October through February, Hydro Ottawa billed the NCC $38,881 for electricity, including tax. The biggest monthly bill was naturally in winter — $10,232 from late January to late February.
More energy: Enbridge Gas billed $11,732 to heat 24 Sussex for five months (though the bills don’t specify whether the water heater is gas or electric.)
The water bill for the five months cost $885. When no one lives there, no one takes long showers.
They paid $425 in total for a series of monthly calls by a pest-control company. But the NCC called the company for one extra visit, to clean up mouse droppings in a basement washroom, for $550. (Visitors take note: The upstairs facilities appear to be mouse-free.)
After that, there’s a list of small-to-middling bills for maintenance that all owners of older homes will recognize. Someone installed a door and put non-skid coating on the stairs ($3,036 for the two jobs). A chimney cleaner did his thing (cheap at $150.) Generator maintenance was $785.
Thermostat repair: $253, on top of an electrical service call bill for a flat $1,000. Later, another $1,000 electrical “trouble-shooting” call, plus $1,290 to replace a defective breaker. Elevator maintenance: $2,280.
Vacuuming the drapes, because you can’t have dusty drapes on Sussex Drive: $491.
Someone was paid $1,500 to wash the windows and eavestroughs, even though Public Works says the eavestroughs aren’t working, and to do the age-old ritual of replacing screens with storm windows.
Carpet and furniture cleaning cost $6,680.
And the owners are keeping one Trudeau family tradition alive.
They installed a diving board for $5,695, so probably a pretty good one. It’s white. Weekly pool maintenance was another $4,500 though it’s unclear what period this covers. It was then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau who endured criticism over having a pool installed at the residence in the first place, four decades ago.
Meanwhile, there was more generator trouble. Three more repair bills to a generator totalled $14,980.
And a final nod to keeping up appearances: The NCC spent $21,250 to install a “rustic fence.”
tspears@postmedia.com
twitter.com/TomSpears1
查看原文...
