Palace on the Rideau

When veteran arts administrator Elaine Calder agreed to act as a temporary manager at the National Arts Centre in 1998, the place was in crisis: the Ottawa institution was running an unexpected deficit and had fired two CEOs in four years. On her arrival, Calder met with her development officer to check that at least a $1 million gift from hockey player Alexei Yashin was secure. The unsettling answer was “not exactly.”

There followed the Yashin affair. The generosity of the Ottawa Senators hockey player had made headlines around the world, but his gift was contingent on the NAC hosting Russian performers and paying fees to his parents to act as consultants in that area. Calder and her board got legal advice that the donation would breach Canadian tax law and, when attempts to amend the agreement with Yashin failed, they had the unpleasant task of going public with the...