CANADA STRONG! AT LAST A FEDERAL HISTORIC PLACES ACT?
HERITAGE OTTAWA
We are pleased to report that this month, the international OurWorldHeritage Foundation's blog has published Heritage Ottawa's post, Canada Strong! At last a Federal Historic Places Act? by Leslie Maitland and Hunter McGill.
Shortly following his election, Prime Minister Mark Carney declared "Canada Strong" as the theme for accomplishing economic and cultural renewal in the country. In the blog post, Heritage Ottawa asks "why not further celebrate Canada by enacting federal legislation to protect federally-owned heritage properties?" Legislation that ensures the use and rehabilitation of heritage places will generate social cohesion, national pride, economic benefits and jobs.
The subject of Canada being the only G7 country not to have enacted such legislation is not new. Heritage Ottawa is one of dozens of organizations across the country calling for protection at the federal level of nationally significant heritage places. And we came close. In the last session of Parliament before the most recent federal election draft legislation was ready to go to committee for study, but it never made it there before Parliament was prorogued for the election. Now is the time to revive it.
Why now? Without legislative protection, Canada's treasured national historic sites under federal stewardship remain vulnerable to inappropriate interventions, neglect or disposal. Together with dozens of organizations across the country, led by the National Trust for Canada, we are proposing a results-oriented Act which would ensure the conservation of Canada's national monuments by codifying in law a process for review of proposed interventions.
Read the full blog post by CLICKING HERE.
OurWorldHeritage was created following the World Heritage Convention's 50th anniversary with the goal of amplifying the voices of communities whose role in sustaining heritage places and spaces is indispensable. Created in 1972, the World Heritage Convention is a landmark UNESCO treaty and only international instrument that links nature conservation and cultural preservation.
