rfmcdonald | [LINK] The government funds the Toronto Reference Library's renovations (Reply)

One more post before I got to bed.

So what if this funding looks to be a Conservative photo op? The Toronto Reference Library deserves it.

A major expansion of the Toronto Reference Library will get a $3-million boost in stimulus Friday from Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The funds will be used for the second phase of the library's $34-million expansion, a five-year renovation that began in 2007 to modernize and expand the six-storey building on Yonge Street just north of Bloor Street, sources said.

Mr. Harper will make the announcement along with Mayor David Miller and several library officials – just days after the Tories were criticized for slapping Conservative Party logos and MPs' signatures on mock cheques at similar events throughout the country.

The Toronto Public Library Foundation, which is raising $10-million for the reference library project, applied for the grant when Ottawa opened up its $4-billion Infrastructure Stimulus Fund to applications from non-profit organizations.

The project includes the Bram and Bluma Appel Salon, a 16,800-square-foot 1,560-square-metre event space that opened last month, as well as plans for a three-storey “cubed” glass entrance, a new two-storey rotunda for the library's special collections, expanded areas for research and study, and 140 Internet workstations.

The Toronto Public Library's 2010-2019 capital budget says the $3-million federal stimulus grant will be matched with $6-million from “non-city” sources such as the province and private donations, and will have no impact on city debt.