I'd like to draw your attention to a peculiar aspect of the broader network of national historic sites, which, as you no doubt know, are governed by Parks Canada. The agency has been part of the Department of the Environment since 2003, rather than the Department of Canadian Heritage. Parks Canada is also in charge of Canada's major archaeological collections. In our view, linkages between the Department of Canadian Heritage and Parks Canada should be established to facilitate the funding of national historic sites not administered by Parks Canada. More than 750 such sites exist across the country.
Now I'd like to share with you a real-life example, one of our own experiences. The Fort Ville-Marie-Quebecor Pavilion, located on the site where Montreal was founded—a national historic site—was inaugurated in May 2017 in honour of Montreal's 375th anniversary. We received tremendous support from Parks Canada, through a program that provided preservation grants. This was a million-dollar project, and thanks to the grant, we were able to create an incredible preservation system to protect this extremely fragile site. Without Parks Canada's support, we would have had a very hard time achieving the level of innovation required to preserve and showcase the site. We very much appreciate the funding support, but it does not help cover the additional operating costs associated with the new pavilion. We have a new system accessible to the public, but it was paid for using our capital and preservation budgets. Now we have to look for funding to cover the operating costs.
I'd like to end on a different topic: the threat that looms over the heritage of religious communities. In the years ahead, many of these communities will hand over the management of their heritage assets. What organizations will be called upon to take over the management of these historic buildings, collections, and archives, and with what money? A huge part of Canadian history is at risk of being forgotten. The Government of Canada needs to play a central role in preserving and promoting these historic buildings and collections, for which funding is rarely, if ever, accessible.