CLOSER LOOK: How the ROM lost 10 harpoons — and thousands of other artifacts

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In this new nightly feature, Village Media journalists break down the details of an important story making headlines around the province

In cities and towns across Ontario — and at Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill — our journalists work for you. Their mission is to dig for answers and tell you what they find.

This new feature — ‘Closer Look’ — is a chance to hear directly from those dedicated reporters and editors.

Every night, Village Media’s Scott Sexsmith sits down with one of our journalists to explore an important story they are covering. These in-depth conversations go beyond the headlines, helping viewers better understand how we gather the details that land in your local news feed.
On tonight’s episode of ‘Closer Look’: The case of the missing harpoons (and a whole lot more).

According to records released under access-to-information laws, the Royal Ontario Museum can't find more than 2,200 items from its collection — including 136 oracle bones, 30 coins, 10 harpoons and one nativity scene.

SEE: ROM can't account for 2,234 items in its collection, including 10 missing harpoons

The missing items are enough to stock a respectable museum on their own.

The ROM's chief of collections care says the quantity of missing items stems from the inventory practices that the museum used in the past, informal by modern standards.

TorontoToday reporter Patrick Cain, who broke the news earlier this month, joins us to talk about his treasure of an article. You can read the full story HERE.

Stay tuned for more episodes of ‘Closer Look’ every weeknight at 7 p.m. You can find all our previous segments HERE.