Someone needs to step up and fix 24 Sussex Drive, says the Auditor General:
Auditor says 24 Sussex falling apart; Harper will stay put
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper will not move his family out of 24 Sussex Drive, the prime minister's official residence, even though Canada's auditor general says the house is falling apart and in urgent need of millions of dollars of repairs.
Auditor General Sheila Fraser said Tuesday that 24 Sussex Drive has not undergone a major renovation in 50 years, and needs extensive work to fix the plumbing, air conditioning, windows and electrical system. The work would require the prime minister to move out of 24 Sussex for up to 15 months.
Although her report could be seen as giving a sitting prime minister the political cover needed to spend public money to fix the home he lives in, a spokesperson for Harper said he's not leaving.
“The PM and his family find 24 Sussex adequate to their needs and see no reason for a substantial renovation at this time. The Harpers have no plans to vacate 24 Sussex between now and the next election,” Carolyn Stewart-Olsen, the prime minister's press secretary, said in an e-mail message . . . [Read the full story]