State of Protected Heritage Areas for the period ending March 31, 2005

Chief Executive Officer's Message

With the launch of the Historic Places Initiative, in 2001, and its Action Plan for the Protection of Canada's Natural Heritage, in 2002, the Government of Canada set out an innovative vision for the long-term protection of Canadians' shared treasures. A vision based on governments at all levels, Aboriginal peoples, stakeholders, private entities and individual Canadians all working together as partners to preserve our nation's built and natural heritage for future generations, and to develop a culture of heritage conservation in Canada.

At Parks Canada, in accordance with our mandate to protect and present Canada's natural and cultural heritage, we worked hard over the one-year period covered in this report to achieve this vision; to preserve the ecological and commemorative integrity of our existing national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas; to enhance the quality of the heritage experiences we offer to visitors; and to expand our system of places, people and events of national historic significance. We have enjoyed considerable success in all areas, as indicated in this report. The new funding that Parks Canada received in budgets 2003 and 2005 will help us to build on this success.

Of particular note, in 2005, the Government of Canada signed agreements that will lead to the establishment of Canada's 42 ^nd national park, the Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve. This is a significant development that - along with the feasibility studies that are underway on the establishment of two additional national parks and two new national marine conservation areas of Canada, and the agreement in principle that is ready to be signed as the next step in the establishment of a new NMCA in the Great Lakes - demonstrate the great progress we are making toward the implementation of the Government's Action Plan.

During this period, Parks Canada has also initiated new programs and projects to enhance the ecological integrity of our national parks, including an innovative program to restore grizzly habitat, enhance the trail system and better protect ecosystems in the Lake Louise area of Jasper National Park of Canada. Our Parks and People initiative, which is being undertaken in partnership with the Canadian Nature Federation, also holds great promise. It is introducing young Canadians to our national parks, engaging them in the protection of our natural heritage and helping them to become the heritage stewards of tomorrow. All of this has been achieved through consultation and collaboration, and it is contributing to our efforts to build a culture of heritage conservation in Canada.

We are currently implementing new monitoring and reporting protocols that will not only enhance our understanding of EI, but also help us to better ensure the continued ecological health of our national parks and respond more effectively to the stressors that threaten them, from climate change to invasive species. Another key goal is to ensure that our national park management plans are up to date. We have some work to do in this area.

With the new funding we received in Budget 2005, Parks Canada has embarked on a program to repair and replace our visitor centres and facilities, restore national historic sites, and renew critical infrastructure. This program will result in significant improvements in our visitor experience offer, and help us to engage Canadians in the conservation of Canada's natural and cultural treasures.

The new funding will also allow us to fully develop the Historic Places Initiative in cooperation with provincial and territorial governments. Though HPI, and the Commercial Heritage Properties Incentive Fund, we are taking positive and proactive steps to reverse the trend that has seen Canada lose over 20% of its historic buildings in the last 30 years.

Working in partnership with all 13 provinces and territories, we have put in place new tools to engage Canadians in conserving built heritage: the Canadian Register of Historic Places and the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada . The positive impacts of the Commercial Heritage Properties Incentive Fund (CHPIF) are also beginning to be felt in communities. Several projects to rehabilitate historic buildings for commercial purposes have already been approved for federal funding through the program or are in the approval process. When these projects are complete, they will contribute to the vitality and economic sustainability of communities across Canada.

Although these successes are very encouraging, it is clear that there is much more that we can do to protect, celebrate and present Canada's wealth of historic places. One of the key areas where we must make progress is in creating a federal legislative regime for built heritage, to provide statutory protection to our valued built heritage and archaeological resources. We also need to work with Aboriginal communities to develop specialized tools and programs that will help them to protect and celebrate their unique historic places.

While CHPIF has been successful, we are already seeing evidence that a contribution program may not be the most efficient instrument to encourage the rehabilitation of commercial heritage.We need to offer a financial incentive for built heritage that is more aligned with the needs of the commercial sector.

Many of our country's most treasured historic places are owned by not-for-profit groups, which cannot access funding through CHPIF.We are therefore exploring other avenues, in particular targeting new funds toward the National Historic Sites Cost-Sharing Program, to help support these groups in their conservation efforts.

The period covered by this report has indeed seen many successes as we work towards creating a culture of heritage conservation in Canada, but much work still lies before us. This is work that we cannot accomplish alone, and we will continue to work in partnership with other levels of government, with Aboriginal people and with the Canadian public as a whole, to ensure that the historic places we treasure today will be experienced and enjoyed by the future generations of tomorrow.

In the months and years ahead, we will work diligently to offer Canadians and international visitors memorable heritage experiences in our national historic sites, national parks and national marine conservation areas to ensure that they understand the historic and natural significance of these places and to engage them in heritage conservation.

On the following pages, you will find summary tables which indicate the Agency's progress on key planned results. For further informaiton please consult Parks Canada's Web site .

Alan Latourelle
Chief Executive Officer