Canada Tree proposal rejected

The federal government has turned down a request to put the Canada Tree in its addictions research centre in eastern P.E.I.

The Canada Tree is a massive art project by the late artist Tyler Aspin. It stands close to 10 metres high and weighs more than four tonnes. Shaped like a tree, it contains objects from across Canada: a pencil from Margaret Atwood, planks from the Bluenose II, and jack pine from the Northwest Territories.

The plan was to build an addition onto the addictions research centre in Montague that would house the artwork. The Canada Tree Committee recently sent out 19 letters to local and federal politicians asking for support.

On Friday the committee received a letter from Public Safety Minister Vic Toews rejecting the plan.

"We're waiting on some of our support letters to come back," said committee member Janice MacBeth.

"What we're proposing is that they take a look at what we're requesting of them, give us support for that and then we're going to send it all back to Addictions Canada and say, 'Hey, this is where we've gotten support. Could you reconsider?'"