Question Period Note: Cultural Heritage Conservation

Cultural Heritage Conservation

• Our national historic sites reflect the rich and varied heritage of our nation and provide an opportunity for Canadians to learn more about our diverse history.
• Heritage places, located in communities from coast to coast to coast, are vital to our identity as Canadians and to our tourism industry.
• The 2017 ENVI Committee report on Preserving Canada’s Heritage and the 2018 Auditor General report entitled Conserving Federal Heritage Properties both called for the improvement of the conservation of Canada’s heritage places.
• Parks Canada is taking actions to implement recommendations from recent reports to strengthen the protection of heritage places in Canada.
• Canada is the only G7 country without a stand-alone legislation for the protection of its heritage places.

STEP FORWARD
• Parks Canada is committed to review the protection regime for historic places in Canada.

• Parks Canada is the lead federal organization for federal archaeology and for programs to conserve federal heritage properties.
• Canada is the only G7 country without a stand-alone legislation for the protection of its heritage places.
• In addition, at an accelerated pace, severe weather events and impacts of climate change are increasingly putting cultural heritage places at risk.

CONSERVATION OF HERITAGE PROPERTIES: RECENT REPORTS
• The 2017 ENVI Committee report on Preserving Canada’s Heritage: The Foundation for Tomorrow and the 2018 Auditor General report entitled Conserving Federal Heritage Properties both concluded that the Government of Canada is not adequately protecting its heritage places.
• The 2017 Parks Canada’s Minister Round Table Report recommended that Parks Canada reviews legislative measures, financial tools, and best practices to strengthen heritage conservation and protection in Canada.

NATIONAL COST-SHARING PROGRAM FOR HERITAGE PLACES
• Parks Canada manages the National Cost-Sharing Program for Heritage Places, a program that helps address the immediate need for conservation work at historic places that have been formally recognized by the federal government.
• The Program reference levels is $1M/year. Through Cost-Sharing, the Government of Canada stimulates economic growth while promoting local job creation and opportunities for skilled construction and conservation professionals to work on historic places across the country.

FEDERAL HERITAGE BUILDINGS REVIEW OFFICE
• Parks Canada hosts the Federal Heritage Building Review Office, which fulfills the heritage requirements of The Treasury Board's Policy on Management of Real Property. The policy states that federal departments must manage the buildings they administer in a manner that preserves the heritage character of the buildings throughout their life cycle: acquisition, use and disposal, including the mitigation of potential adverse impacts of interventions.

HERITAGE WRECK REGULATIONS
• The Act Respecting Wrecks, Abandoned, Dilapidated or Hazardous Vessels and Salvage Operations received Royal Assent on February 28, 2019.
• While the Act mainly falls to the responsibility of Transport Canada, under the Bill, Parks Canada has joint authority with Transport Canada to develop regulations for the protection of heritage wrecks, including ocean war graves.
• As the lead agency for federal archaeology, Parks Canada is currently working with other federal organizations to develop proposed heritage wreck regulations. Once implemented, these regulations would afford legal protection from unauthorized damage or disturbance for heritage wrecks, including those that contain the remains of military personnel, also referred to as ocean war graves.

Question Period notes as provided by the Department to the Minister’s Office