New Petition Urges Federal Government to Fund Historic Places in 2019 Budget
/
Heritage building, Quesnel Forks ghost town. | Image: @magnell_photography via Instagram.
Heritage advocates, make your voices heard! Heritage BC is circulating a petition which will be sponsored by Liberal MP John Aldag (Cloverdale—Langley City), calling on the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Hon. Catherine McKenna, to ensure substantial funding for historic places in Federal Budget 2019.
The petition comes as part of the national Year of Action #changethegame4heritage campaign, which seeks to establish prominent funding for historic places at a federal level. You can find out more about the petition and the campaign here. You can sign the petition here.
The text of the petition follows below.
Whereas:
- Canada’s collective story is told through its historic places, and thousands of sites have been formally recognized by public authorities;
- Canada has committed to protecting and preserving cultural heritage by being party to the UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage;
- Investing in the rehabilitation of historic places contributes to economic growth through job creation, revitalization of traditional downtowns, and tourism;
- The retention and reuse of historic places contributes to the fight against climate change, reducing construction and demolition waste and avoiding the environmental impacts of new development;
- Reconciliation requires investment in historic places of significance to Canada’s Indigenous peoples;
- The Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development in its report Preserving Canada’s Heritage: the Foundation for Tomorrow identified the need for federal leadership, including funding and incentives for historic places not owned by the federal government; and
- Federal action is needed without delay, since estimates indicate that more than 20% of Canada’s historic places were lost between 1970 and 2000 – and losses continue due to lack of funding;
We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to demonstrate federal leadership for historic places by working with the Minister of Finance to create a multi-million dollar fund in Budget 2019 that would support the efforts of Indigenous peoples, charities and not for profits to save and renew historic places, and encourage private sector investment and heritage philanthropy.
