Thank you, Madam Chair. You've already introduced my colleagues, but just to repeat, you have representatives here from Parks Canada, the Department of National Defence and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
I would like to begin by thanking the chair and the committee members for inviting Parks Canada and our colleagues from other departments to appear today.
It is a privilege to testify before the committee and to have the opportunity to discuss the results of the recent Auditor General's report on the conservation of federal heritage properties.
We'd also like to express our thanks to the Office of the Auditor General for their collaboration in the conduct of this audit and also express our sincere condolences to our colleagues here at the table and their colleagues at their office on the recent passing of Auditor General Michael Ferguson.
Canada's natural and cultural heritage places are an essential part of all our identities as Canadians. Parks Canada has been entrusted with the mandate to protect and share with Canadians and the world some of the greatest examples of our nation's heritage, and we take this duty very seriously.
Parks Canada administers federal heritage designation and conservation programs on behalf of the Government of Canada. Preserving heritage places involves a broad community of stewards, including federal custodian departments, such as our colleagues here at the table. The community also includes federal agencies and Crown corporations, as well as provinces, territories, municipalities, indigenous peoples and communities, and a number of organizations active in the preservation of history and heritage across the country.
Over the years, the government has formally recognized more than 2,150 persons, places and events of national historic significance. There are over 1,300 federal heritage buildings, as well as 164 heritage railway stations and 39 Canadian heritage rivers. In addition, 19 world heritage sites in Canada have been inscribed on the world heritage list.
Each of these designations focuses on different objectives. Some are solely commemorative, others focus on protection and conservation, and others still are a combination of the two.
In our role as steward of built heritage, Parks Canada safeguards 171 national historic sites, 504 federal buildings and 10 heritage lighthouses. Incidentally, we're also responsible for more than 10,000 archeological sites across the country.
Some of these places, buildings and designations overlap. For example, the Rideau waterway, including the canal here in downtown Ottawa, is a national historic site, a world heritage site, part of the Canadian heritage river system and home to 26 federal heritage buildings.
Parks Canada also oversees the federal heritage buildings review office, which provides guidance to other federal custodians on the conservation of their heritage buildings.
The agency also administers a national cost-sharing program for heritage places, providing matching funds to eligible non-federal custodians of national historic sites, lighthouses and railway stations and to support heritage conservation and presentation projects.
We are proud of the work done by the agency and other federal departments, but we also recognize that we are facing a number of challenges related to the conservation of our cultural heritage.
Parks Canada welcomes the Auditor General's report on the conservation of federal heritage properties as part of our ongoing commitment to protect Canada's heritage places. The Auditor General's attention reflects the importance of Canada's built heritage to the government and to Canadians.
The agency is determined to address the shortcomings identified by the Auditor General with regard to its asset management databases and the related impact they have had on the information shared with Canadians and parliamentarians.
We are committed to ongoing improvement in data quality within the agency's national asset information management database, especially as it pertains to cultural heritage, and we'll monitor the results of these corrections to avoid any recurrence of errors in the future. Once up to date, the data will be maintained.
In the spirit of openness and transparency, Parks Canada will also work to improve public access to this information. As noted in the Auditor General's second recommendation, Parks Canada will continue to review the approach for designating federal heritage buildings and will work with partners to establish a consistent standard of heritage conservation across the federal government.
As part of the Treasury Board Secretariat policy reset initiative, Parks Canada will contribute to efforts to improve the language around life-cycle management of heritage properties, to ensure that federal heritage buildings and properties are managed in a manner that demonstrates sound stewardship and value for money, consistent with federal government priorities.
In parallel, as part of Parks Canada's response to the recommendations found in the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development's recent report on the preservation and protection of Canada's historic places, we are currently pursuing a research plan and stakeholder engagement aimed at identifying the right mix of measures that can be used to strengthen the conservation of historic places in Canada, including legislative measures and financial tools.
When the Auditor General's Office visited several Parks Canada sites, they observed that some built assets were in poor condition. Since those visits, I'm pleased to report that Parks Canada has been able to make considerable progress on improving the condition of the heritage properties that we administer.
While many challenges remain, hundreds of millions in federal investments are being made to preserve, rehabilitate and restore national historic sites such as the Fortress of Louisbourg, the Rideau Canal, Province House, Grosse Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site, and the Klondike National Historic Sites.
These investments lead to the remediation of many heritage sites and buildings across Canada. The agency is working hard to develop strategies to be able to maintain those important places going forward.
Parks Canada recognizes the inestimable value of our country's natural and cultural heritage. We welcome the report of the Auditor General and are grateful to the committee for this opportunity to discuss our work in the preservation and presentation of some of Canada's greatest historic places.
We thank you for your time.
My colleagues and I will be happy to receive your questions.
