There was no shortage of laughs Monday as members of the Learning Library capital campaign cabinet along with staff and faculty from Canadore College and Nipissing University gathered as the permanent name for the new library was unveiled.
There was no shortage of laughs Monday as members of the Learning Library capital campaign cabinet along with staff and faculty from Canadore College and Nipissing University gathered as the permanent name for the new library was unveiled.
Philanthropist Seymour Schulich, who paid the $1.5 million dollars for the naming right, started the ball rolling by telling the crowd the ceremony reminds him of a classic western movie.
“The good (he points to the crowd), the bad (he points to the rain filled clouds) and that means only one thing left (he points to himself) the ugly.”
Schulich then told the crowd today's announcement was the closing of a circle for him that started back in 1998. He explains that he had endowed the business school at York and the school was looking to partner with the province to tap into the Super Build funds the Harris Government had in order to build the state-of-the-art facility. And the partnership started but moreover a strong friendship was born.
“And beside Super Build during his eight years in power 300 new schools were opened, 275 existing schools were renovated and yes about one billion dollars in matching bursaries and scholarship money went to universities and colleges. So that meant for the billion dollars that the government put up other donors put up another billion.”
“So personally I felt both myself and the people of Ontario owed Michael Harris a tremendous debt for his judgement and his accomplishments. And today the circle closes and one man has played a role in paying a small part of that debt back and I am extremely honoured and privileged to be here to do it.”
Harris started by noting that naming of the building was an honour for him and for his family and that it has a much deeper connection now as his son will be attending Canadore in the fall. Adding to the jovial mood set by Schulich, Harris shared what his sister Mary had to say when she learned the news.
“It is an honour for our entire family, we've lived here for 64 years.”
“The librarian in the family asked they're naming it after you … have you ever been inside a library?”
“So I am not known as the academic achiever of the three children. But I am very proud for the whole family for what is taking place today.”
Harris says the whole naming honour came from out of the blue. He explained to the crowd that the campaign cabinet was looking for a lead donor and he undertook the responsibility to solicit the million and a half dollars from individuals who were in a position to lend their support to the project.
“We picked about eight people that I knew that I thought that might be in the category of having this amount of money laying around needing a good place to go.”
“I got a call from Seymour Schulich and he said I am very interested in this project and I'd like to talk to you. We arranged lunch about two weeks later and by the time I went for the lunch he said I've researched a lot about Nipissing University, I'm looking for my next school to make a benefaction to I'd like it to be in education, I'm very impressed with what I have learned in the two weeks about Nipissing University. You heard the announcement of some $15-million dollars for the Schulich school of education a couple of months ago,” explains Harris.
“Oh and he said by-the-by I gave them a million and half for the Learning Library Centre, I told them that it was to be named after you. So that's how I found out about the naming opportunity.”
But reaction to such a gesture didn't come without criticism, in fact just a rumour that the building could be named after the former premier saw a public campaign launched calling on the institutions to rethink the donation and Nipissing First Nation officials rescind their financial support of the project.
During a question and answer period with the media Harris refused to comment on Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee's statement that it would be more appropriate to name a rifle range after him than a library. As for his other critics Harris said the events happened well before he was swept to his second majority government and today's events were purely about education.
When asked if he was deserving of the honour Harris said it was Schulich's decision and not for him to say.
“Well this is Seymour Schulich's benefaction maybe is better to answer that then I am.”
“Definitely,” Schulich said with conviction.
