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Council supports proposed museum for base underground complex

North Bay City Council members relived many important historical events while listening to a special presentation during Monday night's regular council meeting, Military history buff, Trevor Schindeler, gained unanimous support from council with his
North Bay City Council members relived many important historical events while listening to a special presentation during Monday night's regular council meeting,

Military history buff, Trevor Schindeler, gained unanimous support from council with his noble quest to have the Government of Canada consider developing the Underground NORAD Complex into a World Class National Cold War Museum.

The facility has immense historical significance. It was there that Canadian and American military personnel stationed in North Bay fought and won the Cold War.

If developed into a world-class museum, as envisioned by Schindeler, the underground NORAD Complex could become a major tourist attraction drawing thousands of visitors from across North America and from around the world.

The Underground Complex defines a period in Global History that placed both Canada and North Bay on the World stage. The former NORAD Headquarters, located at Canadian Forces Base North Bay has played an integral defence role in protecting Northern American air defence for the last five decades. The facility is unique in nature with regards to location, construction and use.

The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) was formed in 1958 to protect Canada and the United States from being attacked with atomic bombs by the Soviet Union.

Although the Cold War was never declared and shots were never fired, from the end of World War II to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the world lived under the threat of total nuclear annihilation.

Only two underground NORAD command centers were built, one in Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado and the other in solid granite, 600 feet below North Bay.

The underground NORAD complex in North Bay is an extraordinary feat of engineering and technology. It was built to withstand a direct hit with a nuclear bomb and housed the most sophisticated technology available.

In 2006, the Department of National Defence moved the functions previously housed within the Underground Complex to a new state-of-the-art Above Ground Complex.

The underground NORAD Complex is already a registered historic site in which Schindeler says that it should be developed into a museum. Specifically, he says that the underground NORAD Complex should be developed into a national Cold War Museum by the Canadian government through the Ministry of Canadian Heritage.

The Canadian Cold War Museum will educate both Canadian citizens and foreign visitors about how nuclear war was avoided and about how peace was achieved.

It is important for Canadians to understand the history of the Cold War and the lessons that were learned. Schindeler says that by developing the facility into a museum, that it will give Canadians a better appreciation of that history.

“There is no better place in the entire world to do that than in the underground NORAD Complex in North Bay,” he says.

The underground NORAD complex is currently under the administrative control of the Canadian Department of Defence. As the facility no longer serves a military function, The Government of Canada is currently in the process of declaring the Underground Complex surplus to the needs of the Federal Government.

The facility will most likely be decommissioned as it is expensive for the military to maintain. The department of Defence does not have a mandate for the development of museums or tourist attractions.

Schindeler says that there is a good possibility that the facility will be gutted and flooded with water. If that happens, he says, North Bay's best opportunity for a major tourist destination will be lost.

Schindeler thinks that it is very likely the federal departments and agencies that do have a mandate for developing museums and tourist attractions, such as the Ministry of Canadian Heritage, are not been aware that the underground NORAD Complex exists or that it is being decommissioned.

As it stands, no government agency outside of the military is engaged in planning what to do with the decommissioned facility.

Schindeler says that he has spoken to local MP Jay Aspin and also with Lieutenant Colonel Beaupre formerly of 22 Wing, Canadian Forces Base North Bay. He says that they have each expressed support for the proposed project. Lieutenant Colonel Beaupre, now at the Colorado Springs base, has confirmed that there are no current plans for the facility.

The City of North Bay is in a unique position because the underground NORAD Complex lies within municipal boundaries. This gives the City a legitimate interest in the future used of the facility.

Councillor Dave Mendicino forwarded the motion and was seconded by Councillor Mike Anthony. Mendicino says that the City of North Bay needs to take timely action to inform the Ministry of Canadian Heritage, Parks Canada, the Prime Minister’s Office and other government agencies about this opportunity.

Both Mendicino and Schindeler agree that North Bay needs to present a strategic vision setting out how and why the decommissioned underground NORAD Complex should be developed into a national museum.

“The concept has merit and all of council thinks so,” says Mendicino. “If the Federal Government wants to declare it surplus, then we should look at all the options on what to do with it.”

“It would be a real shame if we didn't.”