Federal-Provincial-Territorial Meeting of Ministers responsible for Culture and Heritage

A Declaration enacted by the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers responsible for Culture and Heritage.

Preamble

Whereas historic places enrich the lives of Canadians in a multitude of ways and play a vital role in their identity;

And whereas historic places are important economically, culturally, educationally and environmentally;

And whereas we have witnessed the disappearance of many historic places in recent years;

And whereas it is the responsibility of each generation to safeguard and commemorate the historic places that connect us to our past and our future;

And whereas governments, in cooperation with all Canadians, have a responsibility to promote and protect heritage;

And whereas all levels of government in Canada have an important role to play, consistent with their jurisdictions, in identifying, celebrating, presenting and preserving our historic places;

Now therefore, the Canadian Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers responsible for Culture and Heritage, meeting on March 21, 2003 in Ottawa, support the stewardship of historic places through the following actions;

By individually or collectively creating tools to identify, protect, promote and celebrate historic places in Canada;

By undertaking activities to encourage, promote and expand the awareness and value of historic places;

By adopting and harmonizing standards and guidelines for the conservation of historic places;

By developing partnerships with the private sector, municipalities and Aboriginal peoples to promote and protect historic places;

By engaging more and more Canadians and partners in the conservation of historic places;

And by placing ongoing priority in the heritage sector on valuing the role of historic places in government initiatives and the lives of Canadians.