Thank you very much to the chair and to members of the committee. We appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to speak about the Indigenous Art Centre and its stewardship of the indigenous art collection by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.
With me today are associate deputy minister Rob Wright and chief audit and evaluation executive Stephanie Barozzi.
The indigenous art collection is a national cultural treasure. It consists of more than 5,000 contemporary pieces created by first nations, Inuit and Métis artists from across the country. These pieces express identity, history and resilience. They are an important economic engine for artists and communities and are an essential element of reconciliation, since they honour the cultural rights, artistic expression and self-determination of the indigenous people.
Over the last several years, our department has undertaken significant modernization of how the collection is cared for, documented and shared with Canadians. We have relocated the collection to a secure, climate-controlled facility that meets professional standards. We have put in place strengthened environmental controls, digital tracking systems, condition reporting and professional storage and handling procedures consistent with current national museum standards. We also maintain a robust loan program that supports national and international exhibitions, ensuring that indigenous artists and their work reach audiences across the country and the world.
Some time ago, our department commissioned an internal audit in order to do an exhaustive examination of the management of the indigenous art collection. The audit was not triggered by a single incident. Rather, it is part of our risk-based audit plan and reflects our commitment to transparency, accountability and continuous improvement.
The audit confirmed numerous strong points, including the roles and responsibilities established within the Indigenous Art Centre for collection management, secure storage, emergency plans and pest management, and inventory processes improvement.
The audit also revealed a number of things to be improved, and thus led to a number of recommendations that include complete resolution of gaps in recordkeeping that were inherited from earlier decades, documentation of the deaccession and disposal process, and an analysis of long-term lifecycle costs for preserving and promoting the collection.
We fully accept the recommendations of the audit, and work is well under way to implement all of them. This includes reviewing and updating policy instruments, establishing stronger contract and oversight frameworks, and reconciling historical records. Importantly, the audit also encouraged us to reflect on whether our department is the right long-term custodian of the collection or whether a transfer to a long-standing national institution with indigenous governance should be explored. We welcome that conversation.
For more than 30 years, the indigenous art collection's mandate has included the possibility of indigenous custodianship. We are just at the initial stages of looking at alternative models, such as indigenous-designed approaches, that uphold artistic integrity, public accountability and cultural sovereignty. Again, we welcome feedback in that context. One important consideration will be the importance of maintaining the integrity of the collection.
Throughout this work, we remain determined to support indigenous artists. The Indigenous Art Centre has directly contributed to the living earned by artists for several decades, through acquisitions, exhibition expenses and reproduction royalties. We will continue to ensure that artists receive fair compensation and the collection continues to support indigenous cultural and economic development.
Stewardship of the indigenous art collection is a responsibility that we take seriously. We acknowledge the legacy challenges identified by the audit, and we are acting on them with urgency. We also recognize that reconciliation requires listening, adapting and being open to change, including the possibility of indigenous-led custodianship of the collection in the future.
Wela’liek.
I'd be pleased to, with Rob and Stephanie, answer your questions.
