Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Daughter of former federal cabinet minister James Sinclair joins public service union, BC Fed to urge federal government to drop sale of historic Sinclair Centre named after her father

Vancouver – Janet Sinclair, the daughter of former federal Liberal government cabinet minister James Sinclair, has joined the union for public service workers and the BC Federation of Labour in urging the Conservative government to drop plans to sell the historic Sinclair Centre that is named after her father.

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The federal government has requested bids for nine buildings across Canada, including the Sinclair Centre, located at 757 West Hastings Street, and is expected to announce its decision today to sell them and lease them back, says Kay Sinclair, Public Service Alliance of Canada BC Vice President.

“We are urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to not sell the Sinclair Centre or the other buildings and keep these public assets that benefits all taxpayers, Sinclair said. “Why would the government want to be a renter when it’s already an owner?”

Janet Sinclair said she and her family are concerned that the Sinclair Centre would be sold off given its heritage designation and her father’s commitment to public service.

“My late father would be shocked to learn of the federal government’s plans to sell this building,” Sinclair said. “Not because it’s named after him but because he was dedicated to public service and that’s what this building does as well – serve the public as a valuable asset for all time.”

BC Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair said the Conservative government is following a short-term political strategy that makes no sense for taxpayers.

“Why would you sell such a valuable asset and then pay someone else to rent it back to you?” Sinclair asked. “The only explanation is that the Conservatives want an infusion of cash in the treasury to spend before the next election and will let these buildings go at fire-sale prices to get it.”

Although all three Sinclairs are opposed to the sale, they are unrelated.

Kay Sinclair said more than 450 government workers represented by PSAC work at the Sinclair Centre in several different ministries and departments, including the Passport Office.

Sinclair said PSAC is also concerned the government will sell another federal building located at 401 Burrard, which is a model for green building technologies and was constructed in 2002.

Background

James Sinclair was a federal Liberal cabinet minister who was elected as a Vancouver Member of Parliament five times between 1940 and 1957 and served as Minister of Fisheries between 1952 and 1957. He was also a successful businessman, serving as President of Lafarge Cement North America from 1960 to 1970.

The Sinclair Centre was named after James Sinclair in 1983.

The Sinclair Centre is a federally designated heritage site comprised of four buildings, the original Vancouver Post Office built in 1910, Sinclair Centre is comprised of four different buildings: the Post Office (1910), the Winch Building (1911), the Customs Examining Warehouse (1913), and the Federal Building (1937). They were all restored by Henriquez Partners Architects in 1986 at a cost of $38 million.

The Sinclair Centre’s history includes being the site of the 1938 month-long occupation of the Post Office by unemployed protestors that ended on “Bloody Sunday” with a police attack.