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| Robert Harris, "Local Stars" |
Stopped briefly in Charlottetown on Thursday during our brief visit to Prince Edward Island, and we visited the replica at the Confederation Centre of the room where the Confederation Conference was held . I had not realized the Confederation Conference chamber in Province House (the legislative building in Charlottetown) is closed along with the rest of the building for a major renovation. Rumour has it the building's sandstone materials from the 1840s have been more-or-less turning to sand. The is replacing it for the time being.
Anyway, the replica and presentation at the Confederation Centre for the Arts in Charlottetown is charming, interesting, and forward-facing in acknowledging the failings of the confederation makers and incorporating reference to women, Indigenous nations, and others excluded from the process. Historians may be in conflict, but the heritage industry is moving forward.
Travel note: the inspection and paperwork required at entry to Prince Edward Island is both extensive and very efficient. It included a mandatory fast-result covid test, which we took at the bridge, having driven in from Moncton airport. And since PEI has had zero Covid deaths and maintains vigorous contact tracing for every case, being in PEI feels like being on Covid holiday: some mask-wearing by store clerks, very little by anyone else beyond Ontarians and others totally habituated to it. More places are closed because its the post-Labour Day slow season than due to covid issues.
Also: it is very beautiful in Prince Edward Island. Also, I swam in the ocean. Also we liked the Robert Harris exhibit currently on at the Confederation Centre.
