CMHR in the black after feds ante up for city tax bill

The Canadian Museum of Human Rights is operating in the black, after the federal government paid its city tax bill.

At the CMHR annual general meeting Thursday, chief financial officer Susanne Robertson reported that federal government funding approved in December 2016 would cover $8 million for payments in lieu of taxes(PILT) owed to the City of Winnipeg.

As part of new federal funding for museums, the CMHR will also receive$2.7 million per year going forward to cover future payments in lieu of taxes.

The museum marked a $7-million deficit in 2015-16, its first full fiscal year, as a result of the citybill. The $8-million payment being put on the 2016-17 books means the museum doesn't have a deficit for the year.

The PILTbill was issued after a dispute between the municipal and federal governments about the value of the land it was built on; after a seven-year battle, they settled on the city's valuation of $108 million.

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In August 2016, the federal government paid off $9.4 million owed to the city on behalf of the national museum from previous years.