PM to break ground on site of Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected in Winnipeg on Friday for a sod-turning event for the $265-million Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The federal government has committed $22 million annually for the museum's operating costs — on top of the $100 million previously announced as a capital investment.

Manitoba is putting $40 million toward the project and the City of Winnipeg has approved a $20-million contribution in cash and in-kind donation in the form of land, infrastructure and forgiveness of property taxes.

Angela Cassie, a spokeswoman for the museum, said a tent will be set up for the ceremony to offer a bit of protection from the deep freeze affecting the Prairies.

"We're going to use Winnipeg ingenuity," Cassie said. "But we thought, we're not going to hide from the fact we're a winter wonderland here and we're going to celebrate it. Hopefully it will warm up a little bit, but I think we're putting things into place to make sure people feel the warm Winnipeg welcome."

The museum, set to open in 2012, is the first national museum in Canada to be located outside Ottawa. Construction is expected to begin in the spring.

It started as the private initiative of the Asper Foundation — one of the philanthropic arms of the Asper family, owners of the CanWest Global Communications media chain. 

The foundation launched the idea for the project in 2003, and after four years of government lobbying, the museum was declared a federal institution by Harper.