Mr. Speaker, today we are continuing to debate the merits of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act.
When the act came into place in 1977 the time was ripe for lengthy debate on the measures necessary so that the symbols of our cultural heritage were not only recognized but preserved. In 1977, 10 years had already passed since Canada celebrated its centennial and it was time to take a hard look at who we are as Canadians, what we are as a country and consider what Canada could possibly become in the next 100 years.
The Cultural Property Export and Import Act was brought into force very much in keeping with the spirit of encouraging the development of our nation not simply for nation's sake but as a nation that can hold its own beside its neighbour to the south and among its neighbours that make up the world; to encourage the
development of a nation we call Canada, which peaks the interests of other nations.
If we consider today is the future, 30 years into the next 100 years of our existence as a nation, where do we stand today? We stand as a nation that can and does attract people from all over the world either to visit this country or to invest in it. Canada as a nation is respected around the world. Foreigners are impressed that despite our geographical vastness we are holding strongly together. Despite the diversity of our cultures we are keeping together. Despite the disputes we have had and will continue to have we are growing stronger together.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations we in Canada are celebrating our commitment to developing all of those aspects integral to civilized nations.
Standing here today debating the merits of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act makes us sound like cultural barbarians; to think that we have to justify measures that have been in place for almost 20 years, measures that confirm our commitment to work with the United Nations to stimulate cultural growth, academic excellence, scientific achievements, beauty and peace and harmony.
How can we begin to presume that accomplishments and achievements can take place in a vacuum where the means to create awareness of progress are non-existent. Imagine our nation without our museums, art galleries, archival institutions. Imagine our 2,000 museums without collections that live and breath and grow to reflect who we are and how we are placed in the context of the rest of the world.
Imagine our nation without any symbols, without the pride our people can take in these symbols and share with our neighbours. Human nature is about interaction, linking history, the arts, science and our personal impressions, and sharing these linkages with our friends and colleagues so that we continue to learn, continue to seek, continue to live and continue to exist.
Let me point out some examples of symbols of our national heritage which thanks to the provisions of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act are now being preserved in Canada and, more important, are being exhibited to the public for the world to see and from which to learn.
In 1992 the Art Gallery of Ontario was successful in repatriating to Canada a magnificent painting by Franklin Carmichael, one of the founders of the Group of Seven, with the assistance of a grant provided under the terms of the very act we are here discussing today.
To give a sense of the importance of this painting, the Group of Seven in their day were regarded by the public as radicals, off the wall, artists who produce works of questionable artistic merit. As recently as the 1920s Canadians found the bold and confident landscapes painted by the Group of Seven what we might call too difficult. Imagine that, a Group of Seven painting being too difficult at a time when the rest of the world has already gone beyond landscapes, when impressionists had already been putting challenging images on the canvas for the past 50 years. Nonetheless, Franklin Carmichael was a central figure in the development of the decorative symbolist wilderness landscape that actually led to the formation of the Group of Seven.
The painting the Art Gallery of Ontario succeeded in bringing back from England is a brilliant example of the kind of radical painting in Canada in the 1920s that Carmichael was so instrumental in bringing to public attention. Here was one painting that was so instrumental in giving the Group of Seven public recognition. This painting has therefore become a symbol of how one object, one artefact, can have such an impact on the further development on how the public perceives art.
To see this painting hanging in the Art Gallery of Ontario today is only one example of how important it is for us to open our minds and our hearts to those who have the courage to introduce us to new ways of doing what we as citizens have been doing since we were born. To have access to the formative symbols of the past is integral to the definition of the present and to the assurance of the future.
In the bill the establishment of an appeal should be viewed as a reinstatement of the right of appeal that was lost when the responsibility for determining fair market value was transferred to the review board in 1991.
These amendments will ensure that donors who disagree with the determinations of the review board will have the right of appeal to the courts and will not be denied natural justice.
The announcement of the establishment of an appeal process was received positively by donors, museums, art dealers and the media. These legislative amendments therefore enjoy a high level of public support.
The amendments are technical in nature and respond to strong concerns expressed by the heritage community. Their passage into law should be seen as part of the ongoing commitment of the Government of Canada to ensure the preservation of Canada's cultural heritage.
Further, I think of the Art Gallery of Windsor, of the many functions in my riding and in the neighbouring ridings in Windsor and Essex county, Art by the River in Amherstburg, Art in the Park in Windsor and many other charitable events. I know of the many dedicated volunteers who assist in these events and other displays of our culture. I also know the thousands of people who visit them benefit from the culture and the experience.
The Art Gallery of Windsor has now moved into a shopping centre. At first it was met with large opposition but now it is in the shopping centre and thousands of people are visiting it.
More and more young Canadians are having the opportunity to see these displays of culture. More and more people are benefiting from what is being recreated in this act, continuing to be allowed their contributions worth up to $60 million a year open to all Canadians in public institutions, institutions that promote our culture and our heritage.
During the summer when I was in Jonquière I had the opportunity to visit a display in Chicoutimi by a local artist. We have to remember how important it is to all of Canada to encourage Canadians to understand and benefit from the cultural aspects and to continue on. We are only in the 30th year of the next 100 years. There are 70 more years to go. I know that in Windsor and Essex county we continue to do that on a regular basis.
Art in the park, for example, started small and has grown to such a large capacity it is now offered it in the winter as well. Thousands of people come through on Saturdays and Sundays and take the opportunity to purchase art. Many people in the local community have now taken and used art as a fundraising activity. Donations of art are used for auctions and other activities. It is important that we re-establish the appeal rights that were lost. The right of appeal should never have been lost. Unfortunately the last government decided that as a Canadian citizen one did not have that right of appeal.
We in this government believe that the right of appeal in all subjects is very important. No one should be denied the right of natural justice. When they do donate something they should be given their true value in the amount of effort and donations. I believe the value is many times more than the fair market value actually is of the object because thousands of people will come to see these objects in years to come and will all benefit from them and will go on from there.
Hopefully Windsor and Essex county can be a model for what is happening now and into the future.