Opening Statement to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage

Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Federal Government
(Chapter 6 - November 2003 Report of the Auditor General)

Madam Chair, thank you for the opportunity to discuss my November 2003 Report, Chapter 6, on the protection of cultural heritage in the federal government. With me today are Ginette Moreau, Principal, and Richard Gaudreau, lead Director, who were responsible for this audit.

Our objective in this audit was to obtain an overall picture of the federal government's protection of cultural heritage. It was the first time an audit office like ours has adopted a horizontal approach to this issue. As you probably know, Canada 's legacy and heritage is one of the key areas I will emphasize during my term.

This audit focussed on built, archival, and published heritage and some collections of federal departments. We examined the relevant protection regimes and management practices of the main organizations responsible for heritage protection: the Department of Canadian Heritage , the National Archives of Canada , the National Library of Canada, the Parks Canada Agency , the Treasury Board Secretariat, and others . We did not examine the four national museums of Canada and their affiliated museums because they are subject under the Financial Administration Act to special examinations every five years.

Our audit revealed that cultural heritage under the protection of the federal government is exposed to serious risks of loss, as shown by the following examples

• The National Archives has difficulty identifying and collecting documents of historic value because first, it has not yet developed the tools it needs to acquire efficiently those government documents that may be of historic interest and archival importance; and second, departments have given little attention to information management in recent years .

• More than 90 percent of the collections of the National Library of Canada are housed in buildings that do not meet current standards for temperature and humidity .

• More than two thirds of national historic sites administered by the Parks Canada Agency and federal heritage buildings are showing signs of deterioration. This will have to be addressed in the next two to five years to prevent their closure to the public, rapid deterioration of the sites, or the permanent loss of the sites' historically significant components . The needed restoration work ranges from re-roofing buildings to stabilizing the foundations of structures and monuments.

Once a piece of our history is lost, it is lost forever . If nothing is done, generations to come may not have access to key parts of their heritage or may have to bear higher costs to preserve them .

A number of factors are responsible for the difficulties we identified: the continual growth of heritage assets, a decrease in resources over the past few years, inadequate information about the condition of the heritage assets, inadequate facilities, weaknesses in the protection practices of some organizations, and weaknesses in the legal frameworks for protection.

Adding resources on an ad hoc basis and improving management practices will not be sufficient to guarantee the protection of cultural heritage in the long term. The current protection regimes have reached their limits. The time has come to adopt a more strategic and global approach to the protection of cultural heritage , because our heritage continues to increase while our resources are limited. We must rethink how we do things and even what elements of heritage are worthy of preserving. An overall review must take place.

There is a need to clarify federal organizations' responsibilities and accountabilities for the management of government information, the management of collections, and the protection of national historic sites and federal heritage buildings not owned by the Parks Canada Agency. In effect, the Agency is not responsible for the protection of the majority of built heritage held by other departments, other public jurisdictions, and owners in the private sector. Thus, it is important that the protection of built heritage be included in the overall review.

The Department of Canadian Heritage can and must exercise stronger leadership in the search for a more strategic and global approach to heritage protection . The role of the Department is to support the Minister of Canadian Heritage in the development of heritage policies and allocation of resources within the portfolio. The role of the Department is also to support the Minister's assurance to Parliament that the strategic directions of the organizations in the portfolio uphold the government's goals and priorities .

Currently, the National Archives, the National Library, and the Parks Canada Agency are having difficulty fulfilling the heritage protection aspects of their legislative mandates. The government needs to ensure a better balance between its mandate for heritage protection and the resources it makes available for the purpose. This would foster more responsible administration and accountability by the federal players and would also provide greater assurance about the protection of heritage assets .

We have recommended that the government review the objectives of protection and the available means, with the participation of public and private partners; reinforce the regimes for protection; and ensure that federal organizations responsible for heritage protection improve their management practices .

All of the responsible organizations, including the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Treasury Board Secretariat, accepted the recommendations in our Report. However, they will succeed in implementing the recommendations only if a shift to a culture of heritage protection takes place within the federal government; and cooperation among all entities involved is strengthened. Effective management tools need to be developed as soon as possible, particularly to identify and collect national archival records and obtain information on the nature and the condition of our heritage.

The management of heritage protection is fragmented. The recent transfer of responsibility for the Parks Canada Agency to the Minister of the Environment underlines the need for more concerted and better coordinated efforts within the protection regime. Your Committee could play an active role in supporting federal heritage organizations in implementing our recommendations and in strengthening the overall protection regime.

More specifically, the Committee could ask the Department of Canadian Heritage what action it will take to

• undertake a global review of the results the government wants to achieve for heritage protection and the means of protection available;
• complete the development of the strategic framework for heritage it started three years ago; and
• improve information on the nature and the condition of our heritage and develop better performance indicators, with the participation of entities involved.

The Committee could ask the National Library of Canada how it plans to

• improve information on the condition of its collections; and
• evaluate alternative infrastructure options.

The Committee could ask the National Archives of Canada how it plans to

• modernize its regime of records disposition authorities;
• develop efficient tools to acquire federal archival records;
• protect electronic records; and
• implement, with the collaboration of the Treasury Board Secretariat, the new Management of Government Information policy.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We will be pleased to answer any questions the Committee may have.