Federal lifeline coming for Dionne home?

Dionne Quints spokesman Carlo Tarini got some encouraging words from Federal Minister of Canadian Heritage Mélanie Joly in a letter today.

She writes, "Please be assured that the Government of Canada recognizes the cultural significance of the Dionne Quintuplet's story in Canadian history and of the house, artifacts and archives that formed the Dionne Quints Museum.

"I understand that Ms. Cecile and Ms. Annette Dionne and the citizens of North Bay feel strongly about the closing and relocation of the Museum and that North Bay City Council held a vote on the future of the facility on February 21, 2017. Following the vote, Department of Canadian Heritage staff in the Ontario Region will work with the City of North Bay and other involved parties to seek an approach for the ongoing preservation of the Museum's collections."

Tarini added, "Hopefully the Ontario Government through Eleanor McMahon; Provincial Minister of Tourism and Culture will also personally get involved to ensure the survival of this most important chapter of Canadian History. Federal and provincial collaboration is essential, especially with the looming June deadline to move the Dionne Museum. In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity, this is the final opportunity to ensure, once and for all, the respect and survival of the Dionne legacy. A legacy which is today as much about the importance of respecting childhood, early life and multiple births as it is about the respect to be given to two senior citizens, the two surviving Dionne sisters now in their twilight years."