MOVING FORWARD – TOWARDS a STRONGER CANADIAN MUSEUM SECTOR Report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
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MOVING FORWARD – TOWARDS A STRONGER CANADIAN MUSEUM SECTOR Report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Julie Dabrusin, Chair SEPTEMBER 2018 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION The proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees are hereby made available to provide greater public access. The parliamentary privilege of the House of Commons to control the publication and broadcast of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees is nonetheless reserved. All copyrights therein are also reserved. Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. This permission does not extend to reproduction, distribution or use for commercial purpose of financial gain. 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For greater certainty, this permission does not affect the prohibition against impeaching or questioning the proceedings of the House of Commons in courts or otherwise. The House of Commons retains the right and privilege to find users in contempt of Parliament if a reproduction or use is not in accordance with this permission. Also available on the House of Commons website at the following address: www.ourcommons.ca MOVING FORWARD – TOWARDS A STRONGER CANADIAN MUSEUM SECTOR Report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Julie Dabrusin Chair SEPTEMBER 2018 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION NOTICE TO READER Reports from committees presented to the House of Commons Presenting a report to the House is the way a committee makes public its findings and recommendations on a particular topic. Substantive reports on a subject-matter study usually contain a synopsis of the testimony heard, the recommendations made by the committee, as well as the reasons for those recommendations. STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE CHAIR Julie Dabrusin VICE-CHAIRS Hon. Peter Van Loan Pierre Nantel MEMBERS Pierre Breton Richard Hébert Sean Casey* Gordie Hogg Anju Dhillon Stéphane Lauzon Julie Dzerowicz Martin Shields Jim Eglinski Arif Virani OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED Ziad Aboultaif Rosemarie Falk Seamus O’Regan Gary Anandasangaree Garnett Genuis Darrell Samson Robert Aubin Raj Grewal Dan Vandal Kelly Block Hon. Hedy Fry Mark Warawa Randy Boissonnault Randy Hoback Kevin Waugh Pam Damoff Robert Kitchen Nicola Di lorio Larry Maguire * Non-voting member, pursuant to Standing Order 104(5). iii CLERKS OF THE COMMITTEE Andrew Bartholomew Chaplin Jean-François Lafleur Christine Lafrance Michael MacPherson LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information and Research Service Gabrielle de Billy Brown Erin Virgint iv THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE has the honour to present its TWELFTH REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), the Committee has studied The State of Canadian Museums and has agreed to report the following: v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................. 1 MOVING FORWARD – TOWARDS A STRONGER CANADIAN MUSEUM SECTOR ........... 5 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW ............................................................................................. 5 PART 1: PORTRAIT OF CANADA’S MUSEUMS ...................................................................... 6 1.1 Definition of “museum”................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Statistical Overview of Canadian Museums ............................................................ 7 1.3 Overview of Government of Canada Support for Heritage Institutions ...... 9 1.3.1 The Museums Assistance Program .................................................................. 9 1.3.2 The Canada Cultural Spaces Fund ................................................................. 10 1.3.3 The Canada Travelling Exhibitions Indemnification Program .......... 11 1.3.4 Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations .................................... 11 1.3.5 The Canada Cultural Investment Fund ....................................................... 12 1.3.6 The Canadian Conservation Institute .......................................................... 12 PART 2: STATE OF CANADIAN MUSEUMS ......................................................................... 12 2.1 Finance and Revenue .................................................................................................... 12 2.1.1 Major Financial Challenges .............................................................................. 13 2.1.1.1 Operating Costs ......................................................................................... 13 2.1.1.2 Short-Term Project Funding ................................................................ 14 2.1.1.3 Administrative Barriers ......................................................................... 15 2.1.1.4 Competition for Funding and Donations ......................................... 15 2.1.2 Federal Government Programs ...................................................................... 16 2.1.2.1 National Museum Policy ........................................................................ 16 2.1.2.2 Museum Assistance Program ............................................................... 17 2.1.3 Other Sources of Funding ................................................................................. 18 2.1.3.1 Donations and Endowments ................................................................ 18 2.1.3.2 Admissions .................................................................................................. 20 vii 2.2 Human resources ........................................................................................................... 21 2.2.1 Staff Retention ...................................................................................................... 21 2.2.2 Recruitment ........................................................................................................... 22 2.2.3 Training ................................................................................................................... 23 2.2.4 Peer-to-Peer Mentoring .................................................................................... 25 2.2.5 Youth Employment and Young Professionals .......................................... 26 2.2.6 Volunteers .............................................................................................................. 27 2.3 Collections and Infrastructure .................................................................................. 28 2.3.1 Physical Infrastructure ...................................................................................... 28 2.3.2 Digitization and Technology ........................................................................... 30 2.4 Other Challenges ............................................................................................................ 32 2.4.1 Particularities of rural museums ................................................................... 32 2.4.2 Role in the community ...................................................................................... 33 2.4.3 Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples .................................................... 35 2.4.4 Collaboration between museums ................................................................. 37 IN CLOSING ..................................................................................................................................... 40 Appendix A: List of Witnesses ................................................................................................................ 41 Appendix B: List of Briefs ......................................................................................................................... 45 Request for Government Response ..................................................................................................... 47 viii LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS As a result of their deliberations, committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below. Recommendation 1 The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage simplify the funding application process for museums, especially for small museums. ....................................................................................................... 15 Recommendation 2 The Committee recommends that the Department